Land Use In Brazil Research Articles

METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL FOR EVALUATING THE TRANSFORMATION OF URBAN MICROCLIMATE IN MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES: A CASE STUDY IN THE URBAN MESH OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF PARACATU, MINAS GERAIS – BR

This work aims to propose a methodological proposal for areas evaluated with potential for the formation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI). Satellite images were used to control surface temperature (Land Surface Temperature - LST) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the study area. They were also employed in the Annual Mapping of Land Cover and Land Use in Brazil. The city of Paracatu, Minas Gerais (MG) was chosen for application and validation of the proposed method. Images from LANDSAT-5 and 8 satellites were used, which initially underwent resampling and pixel standardization. Subsequently, LST and NDVI calculations were applied, and these data were compared with use and occupation. In general, it was possible to notice that, in the urban area of Paracatu, there was an increase in the average, minimum and maximum LST. The same space-spectral behavior occurred for the NDVI index, which are related to Land Use and Occupancy Changes (LULC). In relation to areas with potential formation of UHI, it was noted that, in the interval of 14 years, they tripled in the city, making it possible to relate the situation with urban expansion and the presence of new subdivisions in peripheral areas. It was also noted that areas with mitigation potential for UHIs were not planned, especially in the most populous neighborhood of the municipality. The results obtained were satisfactory and the proposed methodology can serve as a basis for municipal decision makers in relation to measures to mitigate urban microclimate.

Mapping crop producer perceptions: The role of global drivers on local agricultural land use in Brazil

Agricultural trade and climate change have altered land cover and land use worldwide. For example, the recent growth of international soybean demand has been associated with 1.3 Mha primary Amazon forest loss and up to 13-fold increase in double-cropping areas in Brazil. Many studies have tried to understand which and how global and local drivers affect deforestation and agricultural intensification processes at the landscape level, yet few have incorporated the direct perspectives of actual land users. Under the influence of a variety of social, economic, and cultural factors, producers are the ones who make decisions that will cause a significant impact on the environment. In this paper, we adopted Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs), a semi-quantitative modeling approach to represent complex decision-making systems, and we modeled land use and agricultural management perceptions of 27 crop producers from the three states - Mato Grosso, Goiás, and Tocantins - important soybean production and export areas in Brazil. We analyzed individual models and integrated them into aggregated regional models to compare individual and regional differences among the producers. In addition, we simulated how producers from the three states will make land-use decisions under more trade and extreme climatic events scenarios using the FCMs. Our results indicate that extreme climatic events are among the most important factors producers consider when it comes to the sustainability of their operations. Climate change scenarios have a stronger overall impact than trade scenarios on local land-use changes, causing a 12% reduction in total agricultural production. The improvement of technology packages can effectively mitigate climate change risks and has an overall positive impact on land-use intensification than expansion. On the other hand, sharing accurate climate information and socio-economic improvements such as credits have larger impacts on agricultural expansion than productivity itself. Moreover, the model complexity shows differences among the three states. Soybean trade has more weight in the perception of producers in Goiás and Tocantins than Mato Grosso. Based on the results, we discuss the importance of co-designing place-based, alternative policies and mitigation options for both agricultural intensification and environmental conservation, taken into consideration through the intertwined global and local forces.

Carbon offset from the Amazon forest to compensate aviation emissions: Global solution, local struggles

The paper focuses on how actors re-signify locally a climate international agreement involving carbon offset in terms of their differential interests and understanding about the material and symbolic meaning of the territory. Approved in 2016, the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) defines that part of the greenhouse gases emissions from international aviation will need to be offset by purchasing carbon credits. Since forest carbon credits are accepted under the scheme, it may greatly stimulate forestation projects as well as programs for combating deforestation. The paper analyzes the Brazilian debate about the eligibility of forest carbon credits’ implications under CORSIA, as the scheme may impact on land use in Brazil. The argument is that, at the global level, CORSIA may be about fighting climate change; however, at the local level, it is about defining and legitimizing ways of living and using territory and forests.

Perspectives on carbon footprint of agricultural land-use in Brazil

Brazil is one of the main producers in the agricultural and forestry sector worldwide, with production systems based on high consumption of inputs that contribute to high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper presents an analysis of the scenario of national GHG emissions and carbon footprints in the major production systems of agriculture, including livestock production and forestry, and the potential for soil carbon storage as a mitigation strategy under these systems. The main sources of national GHG emissions are beef cattle due to enteric fermentation and the management of agricultural soils through the use of nitrogen fertilizers. The increasing adoption of low-carbon agriculture has led to a reduction in the carbon footprint through no-till technologies, agrosilvopastoral systems, N2 fixation, and tree plantations. These technologies deserve to be increasingly disseminated to generate economic opportunities leading to financial gains from the commercialization of carbon credits and payment for environmental services.

La protección ambiental como norma y uso del territorio: el ejemplo del Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservación de la Naturaleza (SNUC) en Brasil

El Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservacion de la Naturaleza (SNUC) constituye un conjunto de mecanismos normativos para la creacion y la gestion de areas protegidas en Brasil a partir de la actuacion integrada de las distintas esferas politico-administrativas del Estado. Su diseno legal preve una serie de “unidades de conservacion” que buscan garantizar la conservacion y la preservacion ambiental. Ademas de presentar la estructura del SNUC y su materializacion en el territorio brasileno, este trabajo hace una reflexion sobre sus objetivos como usos del territorio y normas territoriales. El principal aporte pretendido es el desarrollo de una forma de leer la planificacion territorial que sea alimentada por el marco teorico propio de la geografia, para asi alcanzar una comprension integral de las areas protegidas como elementos inherentes a la dinamica del uso del territorio en Brasil.

Optimising Tree Plantation Land Use in Brazil by Analysing Trade-Offs between Economic and Environmental Factors Using Multi-Objective Programming

In order to meet the growing global demand for bioproducts, areas of forests planted for productive purposes tend to increase worldwide. However, there are several controversies about the possible negative impacts of such forests, such as invasive potential, influence on water balance and biodiversity, and competition with other types of land use. As a result, there is a need to optimize land use, in order to achieve improvements in terms of sustainability in the broadest sense. In this study, the environmental and economic performances of pine and eucalyptus forest production systems for multiple purposes are compared aiming an optimized allocation of land use in the Center-West Region of Brazil. Life cycle assessment, life cycle cost and analysis of financial and economic indicators were used to assess potential environmental and economic impacts, covering the agricultural and industrial phases of pine and eucalyptus forest systems managed for the production of cellulose and sawn wood and, for pine, the production of rosin and turpentine from the extraction of gumresin and by applying the kraft process. Subsequently, the TOPSIS multicriteria decision-making method was applied to rank production systems in different combinations of phases and criteria, and multi-objective optimization was used to allocate land use according to different restrictions of areas and efficiency. The adoption of cleaner energy sources and the use of more efficient machines, equipment and vehicles are the main solutions to improve the environmental and economic performance of the forestry sector. The production systems of pine for cellulose and pine for sawn wood, rosin and turpentine were identified as the best solutions to optimize land use. For this reason, they must be considered as alternatives for the expansion and diversification of the Brazilian forest productive chain.

Assessing the pasturelands and livestock dynamics in Brazil, from 1985 to 2017: A novel approach based on high spatial resolution imagery and Google Earth Engine cloud computing

The livestock activity accounts for a large part of the transformations in land cover in the world, with pasture areas being the main land use in Brazil and the main livelihood of the largest commercial herd in the world. In this sense, a better understanding of the spatial-temporal dynamics of pasture areas is of fundamental importance for a better occupation and territorial governance. Moreover, because they provide different ecosystem services, pastures play a key role in mitigating climate change and in meeting GHG emission reduction targets. Within this context, and based on Landsat image processing via machine learning methods in a cloud computing platform (Google Earth Engine), this work has mapped, annually and in an unprecedented way, the totality of the Brazilian pastures, from 1985 to 2017. With an overall accuracy of about 90%, the 33 maps produced indicated the pasture area varying from ~118 Mha ±3.41% (1985) to ~178 Mha ±2.53% (2017), with this expansion occurring mostly in the northern region of the country and to a lesser extent in the midwest. Temporarily, most of this expansion occurred in the first half of the period evaluated (i.e. between 1985 and 2002), with an increase in Brazilian pasture areas of ~57 mha in just 17 years. After 2002, this area remained relatively stable, varying between ~175 mha ±2.48% and ~178 mha ±2.53% by 2017. In 33 years, about 87% of the mapped areas experienced zero, one, two, or three land-cover / land-use transitions; overall, of the ~178 mha ±2.53% of existing pastures in 2017, ~52 mha are at least 33 years old, ~66 mha were formed after 1985, and ~33 mha may have undergone some reform action in the period under consideration. The dynamics revealed in this study reinforce the thesis of pasture utilization as a land reserve, and demonstrate the importance of these areas in the economic, social, and environmental aspects of Brazil.

Who owns Brazilian lands?

Land tenure in many parts of Brazil remains uncertain and controversial. These problems have recently been exacerbated by changes in the legal framework regulating protected areas and the land market. A particular challenge facing attempts to improve land tenure security and governance in Brazil is the lack of a single, integrated assessment of all types of lands. Here we address this problem and present a first, integrated map of Brazilian land tenure encompassing all official data sources pertaining to both public and private lands. Of the total (8.5 million km2) 36.1% of all lands are public (with 6.4% officially undesignated), 44.2% are private, and 16.6% are unregistered or with unknown tenure. Strikingly, overlaps among land tenure categories sum to 50% of the registered territory of Brazil. A clearer understanding of uncertainties in land tenure, and the spatial distribution of those uncertainties can help guide research and public policies focused on minimizing land conflicts and strengthening governance and territorial planning to improve economic, environmental and social outcomes from land use in Brazil.

Priests, Conflicts and Property Rights: the Impacts on Tenancy and Land Use in Brazil

Abstract Compared to the rest of the world, farmers in Brazil rely relatively little on tenant contracts. In agriculture, career mobility is associated with moving up the agricultural ladder from working for wages to renting to owning (Alston, L.J., and J.P. Ferrie. 2005. “Time on the Ladder: Career Mobility in Agriculture,” 1890-1938 The Journal of Economic History 65(04): 1058–1081. Cambridge University Press). Alone, this fact may not present a puzzle, but coupled with the large number of landless peasants and large amounts of unused land, the question is, Why don't landowners with unused or underutilized land negotiate land rental contracts with the landless.? In Brazil, this avenue for advancement has been hurt by a reluctance of owners to rent in areas experiencing land conflict. The lack of rentals is an important issue because Brazil is geographically a large country, roughly the size of the continental United States and has an expanding agricultural frontier, some of which is cutting into the Amazon. If the lack of land rentals is pervasive across Brazil and also signals inefficiency in production, the total magnitude is likely to be large when summed across the country.

Property Rights and the Soybean Revolution: Shaping How China and Brazil Are Telecoupled

China currently has the largest population in the world and is currently experiencing rapid economic and urban growth, becoming the world’s number one pork and poultry consumer. In order to meet this growing demand for meat, China has increased its demand for soybeans to produce chicken and pork. It has imported soybeans from the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, while keeping its soybean production for direct human consumption stable at home. Brazil has become the largest soybean exporter to China, and, in response specifically to Chinese demand, has become the second largest producer of soybeans in the world. This has changed land use in Brazil, particularly in its central plateau. In this paper, we indicate how these two countries, telecoupled by trade in soybeans, are depending on each other as they try to balance environmental and economic objectives. Brazil, as a sending system, has created pressures on its natural ecosystems, which have led to losses particularly in the Cerrado biome and its ecotones in the Amazon’s tropical moist forest biome. China, as a receiving system, has created a land asset important to regenerating its lost natural systems (e.g., forest cover areas). Both countries have different property rights regimes, which have created distinct circumstances in which they are to protect or regenerate their natural ecosystems. Throughout this paper, we analyze how both countries have dealt with the lure offered by the soybean commodity trade.

What Comes after Deforestation Control? Learning from Three Attempts of Land-use Planning in Southern Amazonia

According to recent reports on deforestation control, Brazil’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are successful. This is attributed to a combination of command-and-control style of public regulation and civil society pressure. Looking beyond decreasing deforestation rates reveals a different picture for the future of GHG optimized land use in Brazil. Command-andcontrol regulation seems to work as long as prohibitive measures against deforestation are concerned. However, as soon as tailormade policies for complex issues such as land-use planning are required, the outcomes are ambiguous. Comparing the origins, the actors and the perspectives of three different cases of resource governance in Southern Amazonia, we show that the major challenges of regulation attempts are the lack of transparency and the appropriation of state agencies by powerful groups. Due to institutional weakness, the various regulation efforts fail to consider the system links needed for effective implementation. To conclude, we provide suggestions to possibly overcome the problems through innovative forms of governance.

Land tenure in Brazil: The question of regulation and governance

This paper addresses the serious problems involving land regulation in Brazil and stresses the urgent need to solve the country's agrarian issues. The historical background of landholding and land property regulation in Brazil is analyzed in parallel with the overall institutional framework of land regulation. In addition, it interprets the connection between regulation of land use in Brazil and the various social, economic and environmental impacts. After discussion of recent land policies, a new sustainable and participative proposal for municipal land governance is outlined.

Pervasive transition of the Brazilian land-use system

This Review considers the evolving relationship between land-use change and greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil. Despite the intensification of agriculture over the past decade or so, deforestation has decreased, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, inequality in land ownership and city growth fuelled by rural–urban migration remain pressing issues for policymakers. Agriculture, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and local/regional climate change have been closely intertwined in Brazil. Recent studies show that this relationship has been changing since the mid 2000s, with the burgeoning intensification and commoditization of Brazilian agriculture. On one hand, this accrues considerable environmental dividends including a pronounced reduction in deforestation (which is becoming decoupled from agricultural production), resulting in a decrease of ∼40% in nationwide greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, and a potential cooling of the climate at the local scale. On the other hand, these changes in the land-use system further reinforce the long-established inequality in land ownership, contributing to rural–urban migration that ultimately fuels haphazard expansion of urban areas. We argue that strong enforcement of sector-oriented policies and solving long-standing land tenure problems, rather than simply waiting for market self-regulation, are key steps to buffer the detrimental effects of agricultural intensification at the forefront of a sustainable pathway for land use in Brazil.

Metodologias para estudos integrados de recursos naturais: uma discussão a partir do zoneamento ecológico-econômico

Este artigo adentra-se no debate sobre as evoluções metodológicas dos zoneamentos integrados constantes nos instrumentos de planejamento ambiental e de ordenamento territorial do Brasil. Em especial, enfoca o debate promovido em torno da metodologia do Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico – ZEE - brasileiro, instrumento basilar de planejamento territorial do país. Ao longo de seu processo histórico de desenvolvimento, o ZEE tornou-se um zoneamento amplo, que incorpora diversas temáticas ambientais e sócio-econômicas. Contudo, ainda existem diversos pontos nevrálgicos em constante discussão, bem como vários desafios a serem vencidos. O artigo pretende cobrir várias facetas desse debate, além de sugerir novas metodologias provenientes de outras áreas de estudo, e que podem contribuir para que os estudos integrados de meio ambiente tornem-se cada vez mais eficientes.

Framing land use changes in the expansion of Brazilian ethanol production

Internationally land use change for the expansion of ethanol production in Brazil has been associated with deforestation and CO2 emissions. This association has been denied by important Brazilian actors. To clarify the diverging opinions, a study was made of the expansion of sugarcane plantations. Frame analysis was the tool selected. The conflicting frames identified were named ‘ethanol as destructive for nature’ and ‘ethanol as green fuel’. The analysis suggested that the frames are mostly economically orientated, environmental orientation being secondary and that a reframing process is underway. International actors started to recognise the peculiarities of land use in Brazil. Brazilian actors started to understand that acceptance of Brazilian ethanol on the international market depends not only on price and energy balance competitiveness, but also on product traceability and certification. However, a serious environmental threat remains to the Cerrado biome. This is a challenge that Brazilians actors will have to tackle to ensure the sustainability of ethanol production.

A falsa dicotomia entre a preservação da vegetação natural e a produção agropecuária

Este artigo mostra através da análise de dados censitários sobre uso da terra no Brasil que a possível dicotomia entre a preservação da vegetação natural e a produção de alimentos na realidade não existe. Demonstramos que o Brasil já tem uma área desprovida de vegetação natural suficientemente grande para acomodar a expansão da produção agrícola. Demonstramos também que a maior expansão se dá nas áreas ocupadas pelas chamadas culturas de exportação - soja e cana-de-açúcar - e não propriamente nas áreas ocupadas por arroz, feijão e mandioca, que são consumidos de forma direta pelo mercado nacional. Pelo contrário, a área colhida de arroz e feijão tem inclusive decrescido nas últimas décadas, enquanto a área colhida de mandioca encontra-se praticamente constante há quatro décadas. Os maiores entraves para a produção de alimentos no Brasil não se devem a restrições supostamente impostas pelo Código Florestal, mas, sim, à enorme desigualdade na distribuição de terras, a restrição de crédito agrícola ao agricultor que produz alimentos de consumo direto, a falta de assistência técnica que o ajude a aumentar a sua produtividade, a falta de investimentos em infraestrutura para armazenamento e escoamento da produção agrícola, a restrições de financiamento e priorização do desenvolvimento e tecnologia que permita um aumento expressivo na lotação de nossas pastagens,

Energy in Brazil: Towards a Renewable Energy Dominated System

Preface 1. Historical Overview of the 20th Century 2. Energy and Economic Growth: A Statistical Abstract 3. Hydro Power and Electricity 4. Fossil Fuels 5. The Nuclear Issue 6. The Role of Biomass and Land Use in Brazil 7. New Energies, Small Hydro and Biomass-Fired 8. Energy Efficiency and Environment 9. Brazil's Energy Prospects Within the World Context Looking Forward Appendix 1 - Brazil in Maps Appendix 2 - List of Figures Appendix 3 - List of Tables Appendix 4 - List of Brazilian Acronyms Appendix 5 - List of Main Sources of Information in Brazil Appendix 6 - Brazilian Exchange Rate - Real (R$)/US$ 1995-2007