A paisagem de Vila Velha e seu significado para a teoria dos refúgios e a evolução do domínio morfoclimãtico dos Planaltos das Araucãrias

Abstract

This paper aims at reconstructing the late-pleistocene landscape of Vila Velha Park, one of the most important conservation areas of Paraná State, which preserves a typical ecosystem sample of the southern brazilian highlands. It consists of grasslands and subtropical forests as well as vegetal species considered palaeoclimate relicts of the driest pleistocenic epochs and that genetically descend from the central Brazilian Cerrado. More than an attempt to distinguish and classify Vila Velha's present and past types of landscape, the research tries to contribute to the knowledge regarding the evolution of the Araucaria Highlands Morphoclimatic Area. The methodology consists of analyzing palaeopalinologic data and proposing hypothesis concerning the origins of Southern Brazilian Highlands landscape.