A pesquisa sobre solos na Antártica: um estudo cienciométrico-espacial

Abstract

This dissertation is a a scientometric-spatial study of the international and Brazilian scientific production related to soils, whose study site was Antarctica. The importance of cryogenic soils, as they are known, is undeniable. Data on their thermal and water regimes are important and reliable indicators of global environmental changes, their bio-geo-physical dynamics are central to the understanding of periglacial landscapes and they still constitute notable sources of economically interesting biological material. With that in mind, this research aimed to: a) Characterize the situation of global and Brazilian scientific research on soils in Antarctica through indicators of scientific production; b) Describe and characterize the structure of the scientific community involved through co-authorship networks; c) Spatialize the surveys from the identified sampling sites. d) Describe and characterize the conceptual and spatial dynamics of Antarctic cryopedological research based on the countries, subjects and places studied. For this purpose, bibliographic data were retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases and, after treatment, indicators and bibliometric networks were built; sampling location points were plotted and mapped. It was identified that the research field is productive and of great interaction between groups of authors and institutions around the world. Topics related to microbiology, pollution, bioremediation, biogeochemistry and monitoring of soil thermal and water regimes were the main focus of research on Antarctic soils. It was noticed that the pattern of spatial distribution of the points and the average distance from a point to an infrastructure are influenced by factors such as the research history in the region (if it is well known or little known and where) as well as by landscape elements such as the location of ice-free areas, biodiversity, ecological relationships and local climate. In addition, Brazil stood out as the main country to study the soils of Maritime Antarctica, in addition to its scientific production being prolific, internationalized, with an impact on the literature and spatially wide throughout the region it is part of. It is hoped that this research will help the scientific community to better understand its field of action, in addition to supporting public policies and investments in Brazilian cryopedological science.