Laboratories of the Botanical Garden Foundation of Poços de Caldas

The Botanical Garden Foundation of Poços de Caldas – MG has a scientific collaboration agreement signed with UNIFAL-MG, which allows PPGCA professors and students to carry out experiments in the laboratories of the Botanical Garden. The space comprises laboratories of seed propagation and in vitro micropropagation (50 m²); an herbarium with about 4,000 exsiccates (40 m²); basic material for collecting botanical material; vehicle for visits and collection of botanical material; a growth chamber for seed germination and a greenhouse for seedling production (maximum capacity for the production of 30,000 seedlings).

Herbarium

The UALF Herbarium houses the botanical collection with about 3,000 specimens of native plants, mostly representatives of the flora of the southern region of Minas Gerais. The UALF Herbarium is registered with the Brazilian Herbarium Network and the botanical collection is currently being digitized for incorporation into REFLORA’s digital collection, which coordinates the “Flora do Brasil” project.

Herbarium of the IF Sul de Minas

Continuous structure of the Botany and Plant Ecology Laboratory whose function is to store in appropriate conditions (low relative humidity and temperature) the collections of botanical, scientific and didactic collections of exsiccates and associated collections (carpoteca, seeds and wood collections) for research, teaching and extension purposes.

Botanical and Medicinal Garden of the Santa Clara Educational Unit – UNIFAL-MG

This space comprises a Garden of Medicinal Plants (70 m²); seedling nursery (100 m²); six greenhouses for cultivation containing photoconverter meshes and natural light condition (size: five greenhouses of 15 m² and one greenhouse of 60 m²); experimental field (200 m²). Field experiments and controlled conditions can be carried out in this space that additionally contains gardening tools, irrigation systems, pots and other utensils suitable for plant research.

Applied Laboratory for Research in Energy Efficiency

This lab is reference in the energy field. This fact can be verified by the document ” Quem é Quem na Eficiência”, in which it is enshrined in material available nationwide, in addition to the partnerships between the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Instituto Brasileiro do Cobre (Procobre), within the scope of the “Energy Systems of the Future II” project. This laboratory, called LAPEE – Laboratory of Applied Research in Energy Efficiency and the Energy Group, was created based on the approval of an R&D project and is consistent with a fully equipped research and teaching laboratory for measuring and controlling actions involving energy efficiency and correlated themes.

Support laboratory for Ecology classes

The laboratory’s role is to support activities to support the disciplines of ecology and botany, and it also works as a research support room for undergraduate and graduate students of the ECOFRAG research group. This space has tables and an internet network for research carried out on computers, such as statistical analysis, GIS analysis and ecological modeling, besides housing the fieldwork and laboratory material carried out in research and disciplines.

Laboratory of Molecular Biology applied to Biodiversity

This laboratory is aimed at the development of laboratory classes (support in preparing and conducting classes) in Molecular Biology for Undergraduate and Graduate courses.

Biochemistry Laboratory

The Biochemistry Laboratory was built with institutional funds to boost the growth of Graduate Studies at the institution and to allocate various equipment purchased with funds approved by the research professors in development agencies. Among the main equipment that make up the infrastructure of this laboratory are: high-efficiency liquid chromatograph (HPLC, Shimadzu brand, Prominence model), equipped with an automatic sample injector and coupled to DAD, fluorescence and electrochemical detectors; equipment for carrying out cell cultures (cell incubator with continuous CO₂/O₂ flow, IncuSafe brand; laminar flow, Filter Flux brand); water purification system containing deionizer, distiller and ELGA (Purelab maxima); three UV-VIS spectrophotometers.

Environmental Biotechnology and Genotoxicity Laboratory

This laboratory is aimed at helping and preparing practical classes in the following subjects: Plant Biotechnology and Germplasm Conservation, Plant Physiology, Classical Genetics, Cytogenetics and Ecotoxicology Fundamentals. This laboratory brings together research activities in the areas of Plant Biotechnology; Plant Ecophysiology, Plant Genetics and Cytogenetics and Ecotoxicology.

Computational Biotechnology Laboratory

Laboratory inserted in the Institute of Exact Sciences (ICEX) with 80 m² of construction and equipped with 20 computers with tables and chairs for works in Bioinformatics, Environmental Management and data analysis and modeling.

Botany Laboratory

The Botany laboratory supports the development of research projects and practical classes in Plant Biology. The research projects developed in this space cover the areas of Floristics and Phytosociology, Ecophysiology and Plant Reproduction. In this sense, the laboratory supports the stages of collection, herborization and identification of botanical material, seed processing and germination and initial stages of seedling production, among others.

IF Sul de Minas Botany and Plant Ecology Laboratory

This laboratory meets the demands of research in Botany and Plant Ecology, supporting the teaching of disciplines (Organography and Systematics of Spermatophytes, Biology and Ecology of Cryptogams and Ecology) and extension (monitored visits of schools and various courses). It supports research projects in the process of collecting botanical material, litter and soils, identifying specimens, drying and preparing plant exsiccates, preparing fruits, seeds and wood for collections. It has scientific and didactic collections of herb plants, carpoteca, seeds and xyloteca (Herbario Geraes do IFSULDEMINAS – Campus Machado).

Engineering Science Laboratory

The Engineering Sciences laboratory is a multidisciplinary space where practical classes and academic research take place in the teaching of Interdisciplinary Bachelor’s Degree courses in Science and Technology, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Mining Engineering, in addition to research by postgraduate students guided by teachers from the Poços de Caldas campus. The space has classrooms, mechanical and electromechanical workshops and laboratories equipped with various devices and systems for the study of engineering.

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Ecology Laboratory

This laboratory works in the same space as the Environmental Chromatography and Spectrophotometry Laboratory and aims at taxonomic and ecological studies of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in lotic and lentic ecosystems, mainly in the Poços de Caldas Plateau region.

Experimental Laboratory with Rain Simulator

This space is on the Poços de Caldas-MG campus and is used for practical classes and research. Inside it is the largest rain simulator in Brazil and Latin America. The laboratory enables research using rain simulators on impermeable surfaces and pollutant transport. It consists of 16 sprinklers connected to a hydraulic system, wetting a surface of 100m².

Geology and Paleontology Laboratory

The laboratory has granite countertops with high stools and has a capacity for 40 students. In 2018, a drone equipped with sensors in the visible and infrared range was acquired for this laboratory through internal notices from the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. The laboratory is used for undergraduate and graduate practical classes, for research activities and experiments.

Limnology Laboratory

This laboratory is dedicated to the development of research in Limnology, with an emphasis on the planktonic community, and allows for physical, chemical and biological analyzes of samples collected from rivers, lakes and reservoirs, in addition to digitizing and analyzing the data obtained. Infrastructure: room for cultivation and for toxicity tests, chemical analysis room, microscopy room, material screening room, study room (equipped with computers), teachers’ room and storeroom, 5 m boat and 15HP engine, 6 m boat with 110HP engine, 3.5 m boat with 5HP engine.

Ecological Modeling Laboratory

This laboratory is aimed at the development of practical classes and research in Ecology related to statistical modeling and analysis. It also enables the digitization and analysis of data collected in the field, from published or theoretical works. Equipment: Computers (23).

Zoology Laboratory

This laboratory is aimed at the development of practical classes and research in zoology. It works as a support center for teaching (Zoology/Ecology), research (in the areas of Zoology/Ecology) and extension (monitored visits of schools and various courses). It supports several research projects, in the process of collecting zoological material, identifying specimens, fixing and preserving this material in wet and/or dry ways. It has a didactic zoological collection that supports practical zoology classes.