Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

About the publication - Technical expeditions: Borborema Mountains and Plateaus, Sertanejo Surface and Paraíba Inselbergs

Since 2019, the IBGE, in partnership with the Brazilian Geological Service (SGB), the Brazilian Geomorphology Union (UGB) and researchers from several Brazilian universities, undertook the mission of developing the Brazilian Relief Classification System (SBCR), categorically, hierarchically and multiscaling expressing the diversity of existing relief forms in the national territory.

Continuing to register the field expeditions carried out under this project, started in 2022 under the title "Through Rio de Janeiro Mountains", this publication documents the itinerary and discussions taken in the 3rd Technical SBCR Expedition, called "Borborema Mountains and Plateaus, Sertanejo Surface and Paraíba Inselbergs", in October 2024 within the context of the XX Brazilian Symposium of Applied Physical Geography (SBGFA) and of the IV Luso-African-American Meeting of Physical Geography and Environment (ELAAGFA), held in João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba. The expedition included five stops distributed along 340 km, covering mountains, plateaus, lowlands and inselbergs between João Pessoa and Teixeira City.

The publication describes the region of Borborema, focusing on the stretch between the cities of Campina Grande and Patos; brings an overview of the vegetation cover and land use in the state of Paraíba, taking into account likely changes noticed between 2000 and 2020 based on mappings accomplished by the IBGE; describes the selected itinerary and stops, adding, whenever possible, information that streamline the use of this work as a guide for scientific, education and tourism expeditions; and shares discussions and reflections occurred in each stop, mainly involving forms and origin of the relief and associated processes. Lastly, considerations on the diversity of forms of relief observed during the expedition and perspectives of geomorphological mapping in the region are taken, according to the SBCR.

It is expected that this publication, also available on the IBGE portal, might promote the SBCR and its advances, thus fostering the engagement of researchers and of those interested in studies of the Brazilian relief.