Technical tour 2 - CAMPOS GERAIS (to see Technical Tour 1, please, choose this option on the left menu)

Departure from hotel (Holliday Inn) at 8h AM
Itinerary: Curitiba - Vila Velha State Park - Fazenda Agripastos - Curitiba

A one hour bus ride will take visitors to the Vila Velha State Park (click here to access more information), about 10 km from Ponta Grossa (110 km from Curitiba). Along the way, you will enjoy beautiful views of the landscape and climb a major Escarpment (Devonian Range) up to 1200 m, where the Campos Gerais region begins. The vegetation of the region is characterized by Mixed Ombrophylous Atlantic Forest fragments in the richer soils (Dark Red Latossols), with Araucaria angustifolia as the dominant trees, surrounded by native grasslands on Organosols, Lithosols and Cambisols (rocky, shallow soils). Many fresh water springs and wetlands (Organosols and Gleysols) are sources of several of the most important rivers in Paraná. At Vila Velha, a guided walking tour of 2 hours will be led through the park’s 300 million years old sandstone figures including a camel, cup, rhinoceros, ship and more. The walk with also take us through the forest and grassland habitats, where a constant battle is being waged against invasive grasses (Brachiaria plantaginea) and trees (Pinus sp.). The soils of the Park have been well characterized, but the soil fauna still remain unknown. So far, only 3 earthworm species of the Ocnerodrilidae family are known from the park’s wetlands.

After eating lunch in Palmeira (45 minutes bus ride) at a typical Southern Brazilian Churrascaria, with a wide variety of choices of meats, salads and vegetables (beverages will be charged separately), the following stop will be at the Fazenda Agripastos, the oldest farm with No-Tillage in the Campos Gerais region.
We will visit (from 2h to 4h PM) the Farm´s No-Tillage Museum and field experiments. Explanations by one of Brazil’s leading farmers and researchers in No-tillage will be provided and some of the results of the research on the topic will be presented in the form of posters.
At the end of the tour a small snack with drinks will be offered and the bus will leave back towards Curitiba at 5h PM, arriving at approximately 6h30 PM back at the Hotel.

DOWNLOAD TOUR RESERVATION FORM (click here)
Please send the form to AGATUR preferably attached by e-mail (agatureventos@up.edu.br)
or print it out and send it by Fax (+ 55 41 3285-6327).