Characteristics, Impacts and Perspectives in Geomorphology and Pedology in Postgraduate Geography

Abstract

Geomorphology and Pedology are found in several Geography postgraduate programs. However, there is no qualitative and quantitative evaluation of their role in each program. The objectives of this study were: a) to evaluate the impact of Physical Geography in Geography postgraduate programs; b) to describe the scientific production in Geomorphology and Pedology within the scope of Geography programs in Brazil, and c) to evaluate the perspectives and risks for Geomorphology and Pedology in the context of the Brazilian Geography. The main conclusions were: 1) the correlation of the H-index, which is based on the impact of academic production, explains about 70% of the program score; 2) in the Southeast region's programs, Physical Geography had the lowest participation (20.8%) in the H-index; 3) the South region stands out with the highest scientific production in Geomorphology (36.2%) and Pedology (39.4%); 4) the areas of Geomorphology and Pedology publish 50% of their articles in English, and 5) 67% of Pedology articles are published in English.