Socioeconomic and environmental effects of soybean production in metacoupled systems

Abstract

Human–environment interactions within and across borders are now more influential than ever, posing unprecedented sustainability challenges. The framework of metacoupling (interactions within and across adjacent and distant coupled human–environment systems) provides a useful tool to evaluate them at diverse temporal and spatial scales. While most metacoupling studies have so far addressed the impacts of distant interactions (telecouplings), few have addressed the complementary and interdependent effects of the interactions within coupled systems (intracouplings) and between adjacent systems (pericouplings). Using the production and trade of a major commodity (soybean) as a demonstration, this paper empirically evaluates the complex effects on deforestation and economic growth across a globally important soybean producing region (Mato Grosso in Brazil). Although this region is influenced by a strong telecoupling process (i.e., soybean trade with national and international markets), intracouplings pose significant effects on deforestation and economic growth within focal municipalities. Furthermore, it generates pericoupling effects (e.g., deforestation) on adjacent municipalities, which precede economic benefits on adjacent systems, and may occur during and after the soybean production takes place. These results show that while economic benefits of the production of agricultural commodities for global markets tend to be localized, their environmental costs tend to be spatially widespread. As deforestation also occurred in adjacent areas beyond focal areas with economic development, this study has significant implications for sustainability in an increasingly metacoupled world.

Projecting global mariculture production and adaptation pathways under climate change

“…Although, our results show that, about 3.7% of SBM production in 2015 (Ruiz et al, 2020) will be required to farm total finfish species in the study in 2015, this proportion will increase substantially if we considered all fed aquaculture including freshwater and crustacean species. The higher demand on SBM may subsequently increase the direct and indirect impacts of soybean production expansion on land, water and biodiversity (Fearnside, 2002; Gasparri et al, 2016; da Silva et al, 2021; Soutullo et al, 2020). Nevertheless, the critical need to implement alternative protein sources for sustainable mariculture production cannot be overemphasized (Cottrell et al, 2020).…”

Effects of global shocks on the evolution of an interconnected world

“…Consumers can then be brought closer to producers. Therefore, if society at-large obtains an understanding of the metacoupling framework, this will not only improve research, such as identification of knowledge gaps (Liu and Yang 2013 ), but also assist with the production of new knowledge (Schaffer-Smith et al 2018 ; Dou et al 2020 ; Xu et al 2020a ; da Silva et al 2021 ), and the development and adoption of more effective sustainability policies (Liu et al 2018b ). Such an understanding may come from the incorporation of the framework into education curricula, from K-12 to graduate school levels, with a direct identification of individual coupled human and-natural systems, the flows within and between those systems, and the causes and effects of those flows.…”

Vegetation Change in Katsina State, Nigeria: Influence of Local Perceptions and Land Use Land Cover Dynamics

“…The term LULC change refers to the transformation of the natural environment or wilderness into a built environment, such as elds, pastures, industrialization, settlement, agricultural practices, etc (Abbas et al 2010). It has been demonstrated that LULC changes have signi cant impacts on the environment at the local, regional, and global levels (Kilic et al 2006; Yaro and Abdulrashid 2017; da Silva et al 2021). LULC change is a cause and consequence of global environmental change (Song et al 2018).…”