The Postgraduate Program in Forest Sciences has agreements and cooperation arrangements with some research institutions, universities, and forestry companies at a national level, which have enabled Professors and students exchanges to develop several teaching and research actions:
INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH AND FORESTRY STUDIES (IPEF)
This Cooperation Program established with IPEF, is linked to the Cooperative Program on Forest Improvement (PCMF/IPEF). The objective of the research is to maintain and expand the available genetic base in the country of species of the Eucalyptus and Corymbia genera, through the rescue and importation of seeds and pollen. This partnership has already enabled implementing a provenances and progenies test of Eucalyptus viminalis at the university, as well as providing opportunities for students from the PPGF to do internships at IPEF.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AMAZON WOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (INPA)
Cooperation Program in which Professors of the PPGF/UNICENTRO are part of the group of researchers participating in the “INCT Amazon Woods” project led by researcher Niro Higuchi from INPA. This program provides mutual collaboration for qualifying personnel and to develop research projects in sustainable forest management, aiming to increase the yield of the timber industries and reduce the uncertainties in quantifying environmental services in the Amazon region. In addition, it has enabled an exchange of students from the PPGF/UNICENTRO in the PPGCFT-INPA, participating in courses offered in the Forest Management Experimental Station of INPA.
EMBRAPA FORESTRY
Development of research projects; participation of Embrapa’s researchers in student’s co-orientation and examining committees for Master’s and Doctoral degrees; mobility of Professors, students and researchers in courses, scientific events, and technical meetings.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO ACRE, UFAC
Cooperation Program established with the Postgraduate Program in Forest Sciences at UFAC under the National Program for Amazon Academic Cooperation – PROCAD/AMAZÔNIA/CAPES, which has the objective to execute the project entitled “Training human resources in technologies for the native and planted forests management in the Amazon region”. The project proposed by UFAC has the support of the forestry postgraduate programs of UNICENTRO and UFPR, as associates. In addition to the mobility between Professors and students for the development of teaching and research activities, it foresees the cooperation between the researchers of the associates to develop the research proposed by UFAC’s Postgraduate Program in the following themes: precision management techniques applied to forest management; quantification of biomass and carbon stock in pasture areas, areas under-recovery and in natural forest; potential SAFs for the forest recovery of degraded and altered areas; seedling production of forest species for the recovery of degraded and altered areas; and forest management for wood production in different forest typologies.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARANÁ, UFPR
Participation of UFPR Professors as permanent Professors in the PPGF; development of cooperation research projects; co-supervision of students and participation in examining committee promoted by both institutions; students exchange taking courses offered by both programs; sharing of research infrastructure; and participation of professors and students in courses and scientific events promoted by both institutions.
UNIVERSIDADE DE CAXIAS DO SUL (UCS)
Cooperation Program established with the Postgraduate Program in Processes and Technology Engineering, PGEPROTEC of the UCS, aiming to develop research in the areas of Wood Polymer Nanocomposites, co-firing of biomass char and mineral coal and wood pellets, and the participation of UCS researchers in the co-orientation of Master’s degree students oriented by the PPGF, with the participation of researchers and the co-orientation of Master’s and Doctoral students.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO ESPIRITO SANTO – UFES
Development of research projects, co-orientation and participation in Master’s and Doctoral examination committees; and student’s exchange attending courses jointly promoted by both institutions.
MAMIRAUÁ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE – IDSM
Participation of PPGF Professors and students from forest management area in research proposed by the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute (IDSM), which has been researching floodplain forests in the Amazon Rainforest. Using data from permanent plots, research is being initiated in a partnership entitled: “Artificial intelligence for modeling the dynamics of volume, biomass and carbon of floodplain forests in the central Brazilian Amazon” and “Modeling the dynamics of tree species of floodplain forests in central Amazonia using traditional methods and artificial intelligence”.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO OESTE DO PARÁ – UFOPA
Partnership between the two Universities involving the forest management area of both institutions. The partnership has enabled the exchange of PPGF Professors and students through technical visits held every two years at UFOPA in Santarém, PA. The technical visits mainly focus on showing the students forest management practices for timber and non-timber products. The partnership has also made it possible for students from UFOPA to come to study for their Master’s or Doctorate degrees at PPGF/UNICENTRO, with data from the Amazon Forest and the participation of UFOPA Professors in co-orientation and on examination committees.
EMATER/IAPAR (INSTITUTO ÁGUA E TERRA, IAT)
Partnership in research development, where the Program maintains close cooperation with EMATER/IAPAR, currently IAT (Water and Soil Institute) of the Paraná government, since the implementation in 2010 of the “Imbituvão” project. EMATER has supported field research in the Imbituvão project and recently UNICENTRO formalized a Cooperation agreement with IAPAR to start research at the Forest Experimental Station of IAPAR in Irati, PR, which is located about 12 km from UNICENTRO campus.
FORESTRY COMPANIES
The partnerships comprise technical visits, practical classes and development of Master’s and Doctoral research in forestry companies, which provides or allows data collection, and logistical support. Currently the main partner companies are: Klabin, Remasa, Arauco and Berneck (Parana State); Suzano (São Paulo State) and Eldorado (Mato Grosso do Sul State), where several research projects have been developed.
The Postgraduate Program in Forest Sciences has several international partnerships, promoting exchanges of Professors and Students, highlighting the following:
ROTTENBURG UNIVERSITY (HFR), GERMANY
This partnership was established with the University of Rottenburg since 2010, which began with work missions and studies by Professors, graduate (UNIBRAL program) and postgraduate (PROBAL program) students from both institutions. The IV phase of the joint project “Strategies for forest management in small rural properties in the South-Center of Paraná”, called “Imbituvão project” is currently in progress, led by Professors Afonso Figueiredo Filho (PPGF) and Artur Petkau (HFR), which involves several subprojects developed in 36 small rural properties in the region, with the participation of Professors, postgraduate and undergraduate students. The main goal of the project is to valorize the Araucaria Forest remnants to promote income and valorization of the forest, where several actions have been developed, citing the following: diagnosis and monitoring of forest resources; sustainable management of wood and non-wood products; management of the invasive exotic species Hovenis dulcis as a way to control the species, generating income for smallholder farmers; development of forest resource recovery models; production of native seedlings for forest enrichment; support for beekeeping activities, etc. The project is financed by the governments of the states of Paraná, Brazil, and Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in addition to resources from the CNPq Universal Public Notice. Several Master’s and Doctoral dissertations have already been completed within the scope of this program and others are under development.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND
This partnership program was established in 2015 with the Department of Plant Science at Oxford University, with the direct participation of researchers Dr. Evandro Vagner Tambarussi and Dr. David Boshier, in order to develop research in the areas of tree genetics and breeding. Among the studies, emphasizing the development of microsatellite loci for the species Roupala brasiliensis for the first time and studies regarding parameters of the reproduction system, genetic diversity and intrapopulation spatial genetic structure. The studies also cover indicators of genetic diversity and genetic control of quantitative characters, as well as provenances and progenies tests with genotyped seeds for the reproduction system, in order to study inbreeding depression. The partnership encompasses the participation of students, having already produced a Master’s and a Doctoral thesis, which is in its concluding phase.
COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION (CSIRO), AUSTRALIA
This Partnership Program established with CSIRO, Canberra, Australia, involving Professor Evandro Vagner Tambarussi aims to develop studies for understanding genetics and the improvement of species with mixed reproduction systems. New methodologies have been developed for Brazilian forest improvement programs with the participation of Master’s and Doctoral students, as well as researchers from the Australian institution, by which have developed technologies and supported companies to better understand genetic gain estimation, which have enabled forest productivity gains up to 30%.
POLITECNICAL UNIVESITY MADRID (UPM), SPAIN
Partnership Program established with researchers Dr. Ignacio Bobadilla Maldonado, Dr. Miguel Esteban Herrero, Dr. Francisco Arriaga Martitegui, and Dr. Guillermo Iñiguez from the Advanced Forest Research Doctorate Program and the Course in Forestry Engineering at UPM. This partnership is the result of a post-Doctoral internship developed by Professor Éverton Hillig at UPM, developing research on non-destructive tests to assess wood properties, wood panels and polymer-wood composites, with the participation of Professors and students.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ASSUNCION (UNA), PARAGUAY
A Partnership Program established with UNA chaired by Professor Andrea Nogueira Dias (PPGF) for the development of the research project entitled “Proyecto Associativo de Investigacion 14-INV-005 – Diagnostic analysis of the wood production chain with industrial and energy purposes from plantation forests of Paraguay”, financed by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT). In addition to the development of this research, the partnership aims to train Paraguayan students, providing the Master’s degree of three UNA Professors, and at the moment there is a Doctorate student in the Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Program in Forest Sciences (PPGF/UNICENTRO).