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

Júlia Graziela da Silveira, Sílvio Nolasco de Oliveira Neto, Ana Carolina Barbosa do Canto, Fernanda Figueiredo Granja Dorilêo Leite, Fernanda Reis Cordeiro, Luís Tadeu Assad, Gabriela Cristina Costa Silva, Renato de Oliveira Marques, Melissa Silva Leme Dalarme, Isabel Gouvea Maurício Ferreira, Marcela Cardoso Guilles da Conceição and Renato de Aragão Ribeiro Rodrigues
Additional contact information
Júlia Graziela da Silveira: Forest Engineering Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Sílvio Nolasco de Oliveira Neto: Forest Engineering Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Ana Carolina Barbosa do Canto: Sustainable Development Center, University of Brasília, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Asa Norte, Brasília 70904-970, DF, Brazil
Fernanda Figueiredo Granja Dorilêo Leite: Geochemistry Department, Federal Fluminense University, Rua Mario Santos Braga, Niterói 24020-140, RJ, Brazil
Fernanda Reis Cordeiro: Laboratory of Technology and Business Management, School of Engineering, Federal Fluminense University, Rua Passo da Pátria, Niterói 24210-240, RJ, Brazil
Luís Tadeu Assad: Brazilian Institute of Development and Sustainability (IABS), Brasília 71610-015, DF, Brazil
Gabriela Cristina Costa Silva: Forest Engineering Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Renato de Oliveira Marques: Brazilian Institute of Development and Sustainability (IABS), Brasília 71610-015, DF, Brazil
Melissa Silva Leme Dalarme: Embrapa Soils, Rio de Janeiro 22460-000, RJ, Brazil
Isabel Gouvea Maurício Ferreira: ICLF Network, Brasília 70381-520, DF, Brazil
Marcela Cardoso Guilles da Conceição: Climate Network, Brasília 12227-010, DF, Brazil
Renato de Aragão Ribeiro Rodrigues: Geochemistry Department, Federal Fluminense University, Rua Mario Santos Braga, Niterói 24020-140, RJ, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-23

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.

Keywords: deforestation; sustainable development; Agroforestry; integration crop-livestock-forestry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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