A pós-graduação em Ciência do Solo no Brasil: evolução e tendências

Abstract

The soil is one of Brazil’s uppermost sources of wealth, in terms of extension and agricultural potential. For this reason graduate programs in Soil Science have great responsibility in the training of human resources and in the making of science and technologies that allow for the rational usage of soil and water, with social and economic benefi ts which are environmentally acceptable. The graduate programs in Soil Science have experienced major growth in recent years, although they are concentrated in the Southeast and South regions of Brazil. The establishment of new programs in the Central-West, North and Northeast regions is imperative, because in these regions there are fragile environments such as the biome Cerrado, the Amazon, the Caatinga (semi-arid) and the Pantanal (wet-land). Soil Science is a key fi eld for the generation of knowledge about soil and water management, aiming at a harmonious relationship between human beings and the environment. To achieve this goal the graduate programs in Soil Science have to increase the insertion and participation of professionals from other fi elds, turning the results obtained on the graduate level in Soil Sciences into products that are more complete and of better quality. The Capes system of evaluation and oversight has directed the graduate programs to restructure themselves with respect to the distribution of professors and scientists and to avoid concentration of academic activities and intellectual production in a few professors and scientists, as well as in a limited number of the areas, specialties and research projects. The number of scientifi c papers published in journals qualifi ed as International A by Qualis must be amplifi ed and become a priority of graduate programs in Soil Science. It is also necessary to increase the participation of graduate students in the intellectual production. Soil Science is one of the graduate training areas that have proportioned a high return to Brazil’s investment in research. Its importance will be even greater in the future, primarily because in Brazil thenatural resources, especially soil and water, are abundant and diverse, and their usage has a strong impact on global environmental quality.