Patterns and processes of pasture to crop conversion in Brazil: Evidence from Mato Grosso State

Historically, conservation-oriented research and policy in Brazil have focused on Amazon deforestation, but a majority of Brazil's deforestation and agricultural expansion has occurred in the neighboring Cerrado biome, a biodiversity hotspot comprised of dry forests, woodland savannas, and grasslands. Resilience of rainfed agriculture in both biomes likely depends on water recycling in undisturbed Cerrado vegetation; yet little is known about how changes in land-use and land-cover affect regional climate feedbacks in the Cerrado. We used remote sensing techniques to map land-use change across the Cerrado from 2003 to 2013. During this period, cropland agriculture more than doubled in area from 1.2 to 2.5 million ha, with 74% of new croplands sourced from previously intact Cerrado vegetation. We find that these changes have decreased the amount of water recycled to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration (ET) each year. In 2013 alone, cropland areas recycled 14 km(3) less (-3%) water than if the land cover had been native Cerrado vegetation. ET from single-cropping systems (e.g., soybeans) is less than from natural vegetation in all years, except in the months of January and February, the height of the growing season. In double-cropping systems (e.g., soybeans followed by corn), ET is similar to or greater than natural vegetation throughout a majority of the wet season (December-May). As intensification and extensification of agricultural production continue in the region, the impacts on the water cycle and opportunities for mitigation warrant consideration. For example, if an environmental goal is to minimize impacts on the water cycle, double cropping (intensification) might be emphasized over extensification to maintain a landscape that behaves more akin to the natural system.

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“…We tested and accounted for spatial autocorrelation following the methods of Cohn et al . (). Every variable exhibited spatial autocorrelation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Land‐use change affects water recycling in Brazil's last agricultural frontier

Spera

Galford

Coe

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

324

194

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“…Second, 4.9–6.4 million ha (31–42%) of land in northern Mato Grosso is degraded pastureland (Cohn et al . 2016b; Dias et al . ), which could accommodate cropland expansion and sustainable intensification without the need to expand the agricultural frontier for many years to come.…”

Section: Public Policies and Private Governance Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, federal and state policies -such as the Forest Code; the Low-Carbon Agriculture (ABC) plan; the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; and Mato Grosso's Produce, Conserve, Include (PCI) Strategy -set goals and provide credits for restoration and reforestation, as well as require establish-ing minimum conservation targets on private properties (see WebPanel 3 for a more detailed description of these policies). Second, 4.9-6.4 million ha (31-42%) of land in northern Mato Grosso is degraded pastureland (Cohn et al 2016b;Dias et al 2016), which could accommodate cropland expansion and sustainable intensification without the need to expand the agricultural frontier for many years to come. The Novo Campo Program, led by the non-governmental organization Instituto Centro de Vida, has successfully piloted a deforestation-free, climate-smart beef supply chain that restores degraded pasturelands and increases farm productivity while cutting GHG emissions by 60-90%.…”

Section: Public Policies and Private Governance Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate risks to Amazon agriculture suggest a rationale to conserve local ecosystems

Costa

Fleck

Cohn

et al. 2019

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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In southern Amazonia, more than half of all cropland is devoted to the production of two rainfed crops per year, an agricultural practice known as “double cropping” (DC). Climate change, including feedbacks between changes in land use and the local climate, is shortening the extent of the historical rainy season in southern Amazonia, increasing the risk of future detrimental environmental conditions, and posing a threat to the intensive DC agriculture that is currently practiced in that region, with potential negative consequences at regional, national, and even global scales. We argue that the conservation of undeveloped forests and savannas in southern Amazonia is supported by socioeconomic justifications and is in the best interests of agribusiness, local governments, and the public.

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“…Land use changes are intrinsically uncertain to model, and difficult to reverse since, for example, pasture abandonment does not lead to the spontaneous restoration of original old-growth ecosystems [79]. Despite the fact that conversion of pasture to annual crops is the most frequent conversion in Brazil [80], its conversion to forest or perennial bioenergy crops is likely to promote many environmental benefits, including the increase in soil carbon stocks [81,82]. However, we take a conservative assumption that production of eucalyptus SRC systems do not increase soil carbon stocks when produced in areas previously occupied with pasture, with some degree of degradation in Brazil.…”

Section: Climate Impacts From Changes In Land Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

2018

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The international market of woody biomass for bioenergy is expected to have a major role in future global scenarios aligning with a 2 or 1.5 • C target. However, the quantification of the environmental impacts of energy and transportation services from novel technologies and biomass production systems are yet to be extensively studied on a case-specific basis. We use a life cycle assessment approach to quantify environmental impacts of four bioenergy systems based on eucalyptus plantations established in abandoned pastureland in Brazil. The alternative bioenergy systems deliver energy and transportation services in Europe (cradle-to-gate analysis), including modern technologies for production of heat, electricity (with and without carbon capture and storage), and advanced liquid biofuels. We find that all bioenergy systems can achieve sizeable climate benefits, but in some cases at increased pressure in other impact categories. The most impacting activities are biomass transport stages, followed by eucalyptus stand establishment, and pellet production. An estimate of the potential large-scale bioenergy deployment of eucalyptus established in marginal areas in Brazil shows that up to 7 EJ of heat, 2.5 EJ of electricity, or 5 EJ of transportation biofuels per year can be delivered. This corresponds to a climate mitigation potential between 0.9% and 2.4% (0.29 and 0.83 GtCO 2 per year) of the global anthropogenic emissions in 2015, and between 5.7% and 16% of European emissions, depending on the specific bioenergy system considered. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the best environmental performance is achieved with on-site biomass storage, transportation of wood chips with trucks, pellets as energy carrier, and larger ship sizes. Our quantitative environmental analysis contributes to increased understanding of the potential benefits and tradeoffs of large-scale supply of biomass resources, and additional research can further improve resolution and integrate environmental impact indicators within a broader sustainability perspective, as indicated by the recently established sustainable development goals.Sustainability 2018, 10, 4068 2 of 18 combination with technologies for capture and storage of carbon emissions (BECCS) [3]. BECCS allows achieving negative CO 2 emissions, after energy and transportation services are used to replace fossil fuels. However, many studies alert to the fact that feasibility of large-scale deployment of BECCS has not yet been demonstrated, nor have its potential and risks been fully examined [1,[4][5][6].The international market of forest biomass in the form of wood pellets have increased dramatically in the recent years, with Europe being the main importer and North America the main exporter [7][8][9][10][11], mostly due the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) [12]. In this policy, the European countries aim to increase the share of renewable energy in their gross final energy consumption to 20% by 2020. Much has been written about the environmental issues of this increasing use of woo...

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Patterns and processes of pasture to crop conversion in Brazil: Evidence from Mato Grosso State

Cited by 47 publications

References 56 publications

Land‐use change affects water recycling in Brazil's last agricultural frontier

Land‐use change affects water recycling in Brazil's last agricultural frontier

Climate risks to Amazon agriculture suggest a rationale to conserve local ecosystems

Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

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