Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 116, Issue 2, Pages 428-435Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810301115
Keywords
cropland expansion; land cover change; remote sensing; Brazil; area estimation
Categories
Funding
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [5131]
- NASA Land Cover and Land Use Change program Grants [NNX15AK65G, NNX12AC78G]
- NASA [799148, NNX12AC78G, NNX15AK65G, 52424] Funding Source: Federal RePORTER
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Brazil has become a global leader in the production of commodity row crops such as soybean, sugarcane, cotton, and corn. Here, we report an increase in Brazilian cropland extent from 26.0 Mha in 2000 to 46.1 Mha in 2014. The states of Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui, Bahia (collectively MATOPIBA), Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Para all more than doubled in cropland extent. The states of Goias, Minas Gerais, and Sao Paulo each experienced >50% increases. The vast majority of expansion, 79%, occurred on repurposed pasture lands, and 20% was from the conversion of natural vegetation. Area of converted Cerrado savannas was nearly 2.5 times that of Amazon forests, and accounted for more than half of new cropland in MATOPIBA. Spatiotemporal dynamics of cropland expansion reflect market conditions, land use policies, and other factors. Continued extensification of cropland across Brazil is possible and may be likely under current conditions, with attendant benefits for and challenges to development.
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