Land Use, Land Cover Change and Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture and Livestock in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest in Brazil

Abstract

The Amazon and the Atlantic Forest are Brazilian biomes that suffered an intense land use and land cover change, marked by the loss of native forest and expansion of agriculture and livestock. This article aims to analyze land use and land cover change history and to propose a sustainable alternative for agriculture and livestock as an opportunity for rural development in these biomes. The statistics of the platform from the Annual Mapping Project for Land Use and Land Cover in Brazil (MapBiomas) were used in an annual historical series from 1985 to 2020. The analysis of land use and land cover changes indicates that the Amazon native forest was reduced by 44.53 million hectares (Mha), while pasture, agriculture and planted forest increased by 38.10, 6.06 and 0.26 Mha, respectively, over the 35 years (1985 to 2020). In the Atlantic Forest, for the same period, forest and pasture reduced by 0.99 and 11.53 Mha, respectively, while agriculture expanded by 8.06 Mha and planted forest by 2.99 Mha. Sustainable land use strategies, such as the Integration Crop-Livestock-Forest (ICLF), can support the increase in agricultural production while recovering and preserving the environment. Policies and programs should consider regional particularities and barriers for more significant adoption of this strategy.

The Stability of Aggregates in Different Amazonian Agroecosystems Is Influenced by the Texture, Acidity, and Availability of Ca and Mg in the Soil

“…Land use and land cover change data revealed that in the last 33 years, Brazil lost 71 Mha of natural vegetation mostly to cattle ranching and agricultural activities [1]. In this setting, recent studies on land use cover changes have shown that the Amazon native forest was reduced by 44.53 Mha, while pasture, agriculture, and planted forest areas increased over the 35 years (1985 to 2020) [2]. The Amazon tropical forest is the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity [3] and has an important and complex role governing the climate [4].…”

Secondary forest buffers the effects of fragmentation on aerial insectivorous bat species following 30 years of passive forest restoration

“…The Amazon is a deforestation hotspot and while scientific efforts continue to advocate for the significant and permanent reduction of forest clearance, regenerating secondary forests have been identified as the most effective method of passive restoration of the Amazon (Crouzeilles et al 2017). The majority of Amazonian land use change resulted from the conversion of native forest into pasture for cattle and agricultural expansion (Silveira et al 2022). However crop fields and pastures are often abandoned, allowing reforestation via successional processes (Chazdon 2014).…”

The impact of meteorological changes on the quality of life regarding thermal comfort in the Amazon region

“…High demand from the international market for Brazilian agriculture and livestock products has led to an increase in this sector, which is commonly accompanied by the expansion of the agricultural frontier and the simultaneous clearing of forest along with burning for pasture clearing in areas of the Cerrado and the Brazilian Amazon (Morton et al, 2006(Morton et al, , 2016Nepstad et al, 2014;Silveira et al, 2022).…”