PUBLICATIONS ON PHYTOLITES IN THE STATE OF PARANÁ: WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

Abstract

Phytoliths are microparticles of silica that form during plant growth and are released when the plant dies and decomposes. These microparticles are used in paleoenvironmental reconstitution research. As these researches are related to Geography, the present study aimed to conduct a survey on the total number of publications (articles in scientific journals, book chapters, theses and dissertations) involving phytoliths in the state of Paraná, between the years 2011 and 2021. The searches were made from the world wide web (internet) with the following keywords: Phytolith; "Phytolith"; Paraná State; "Paraná State". With the results: i) a map of distribution of the studies in the state was elaborated; ii) the authors' graduation area was listed; iii) the graduate programs involved in the research were indicated. The results showed that: a) 40 publications were made between the years 2011 and 2021; b) 55% of the authors have undergraduate degrees in Geography, 12% in Biology, 9% in Geology, 7% in Environmental Engineering, 5% in Agronomy and 12% in other areas; c) the publications cover 21 municipalities (southern, southeastern, southwestern, central and northwestern areas); d) among the 5 graduate programs that developed research with phytoliths, 4 are Geography programs. These results seem to show new paths for geographic research, especially that developed in Physical Geography in the study of the Quaternary and soils.

Keywords: Silicophytolites. Biogenic silica. Scientometrics.