The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Soybean and Cattle Production in Brazil

Abstract

The expansion of agricultural frontiers in Brazil has caused substantial changes in land use and land cover. This research aims to analyze the space-time dynamics of soybeans and cattle production in the Brazilian territory during the period 1991–2015. The spatial analysis adopted the following procedures: (a) The change vector from the annual calculation of the midpoint of production; (b) mapping of the growth and acceleration rates of the two productions, and (c) mapping of the correlation between the time series of soybean and cattle. The results showed high rates of growth and acceleration for soy production in the South, Central-West and Matopiba regions. The growth acceleration rate identified the long-term deviations that characterized the effective soybean and cattle expansion areas. The results demonstrated the effects of Brazil’s soy moratorium contained soybean expansion into the Amazon region. However, as a side effect, the soybean production replaced cattle production in the savanna region, which in turn, migrated to the Amazon rainforest. Therefore, the present study highlights the importance of public policies that comprehensively understand the spatial-temporal dynamics of Brazilian agriculture to promote sustainable land-use practices.

Could cattle ranching and soybean cultivation be sustainable? A systematic review and a meta-analysis for the Amazon

“…Furthermore, a reported factor of sustainability in soybean cultivation in the Amazon region is its establishment on previously cleared and/or abandoned pastures, addressing the potential restoration of degraded land. However, a strong side effect is the consequent displacement of cattle ranching to the forest frontier (Barona et al 2010, Domingues & Bermann 2012, Gollnow & Lakes 2014, Maranhão et al 2019, Picoli et al 2020. In conclusion, as evidenced from the reviewed papers, it appears that the actual sustainability of soy refers essentially to public policies and supply chain initiatives that are supposed to reduce deforestation and mitigate soy negative impacts.…”

“…Nevertheless, the reduction of direct pressure of soybean on the Amazon forest indirectly displaced other activities, mainly cattle ranching, impacting again on the forest frontier (Maranhão et al 2019, Nepstad et al 2019, Picoli et al 2020. Furthermore, such reduction in the Amazon determined a displacement of soybean environmental pressure to other biomes, such as the Brazilian Cerrado (the current major soybean expansion frontier), concretely limiting the effectiveness of the moratorium (Dou et al 2018, Gollnow et al 2018, Rausch et al 2019, zu Ermgassen et al 2020.…”

Relationship between Land Property Security and Brazilian Amazon Deforestation in the Mato Grosso State during the Period 2013–2018

“…11.952/2009. Cattle ranching, followed by soybean planting, was the main deforestation factor in Mato Grosso [36,37]. However, the public and private policies have reduced large-scale deforestation in the major soy-and-cattle frontiers of South America [38,39].…”

Clustering Analysis of Soybean Production to Understand its Spatiotemporal Dynamics in the North China Plain

“…Presently, some studies analyzed the spatial distribution of soybean production in provinces of Jiangsu and Henan [21,22] and identified the spatial distribution patterns in the Northeast China [23], but no study gives specific analysis on soybean production in the North China plain (NCP). To well understand the spatiotemporal variation and clustering characteristics is helpful for the appropriate arrangement of soybean production and efficient use of agricultural resources, and thus to ensure the sustainability of resources and food security [24][25][26][27]. Identification of clustering patterns can help recognize the priority areas for specific crop production, and thus support agricultural planning.…”