Agricultural Expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado: Increased Soil and Nutrient Losses and Decreased Agricultural Productivity

Luciene Gomes, Silvio J. C. Simões, Eloi Lennon Dalla Nora, Eráclito Rodrigues de Sousa-Neto, Maria Cristina Forti and Jean Pierre H. B. Ometto
Additional contact information
Luciene Gomes: School of Geography, Faculty of Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Silvio J. C. Simões: Department of Environmental Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José dos Campos 12245-000, Brazil
Eloi Lennon Dalla Nora: Earth System Science Centre (CCST), National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos 12227, Brazil
Eráclito Rodrigues de Sousa-Neto: Earth System Science Centre (CCST), National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos 12227, Brazil
Maria Cristina Forti: Earth System Science Centre (CCST), National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos 12227, Brazil
Jean Pierre H. B. Ometto: Earth System Science Centre (CCST), National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos 12227, Brazil

Land, 2019, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: While food and nutrition security are issues that national and international organizations are tackling, one of the central problems often overlooked is the essential role of soils in providing nutritious food. Soils are the base for food production and food security. However, the majority of soils are in fair and poor conditions, with the most significant threats being erosion and loss of nutrients. In this study, we estimate the potential of soil loss, agricultural productivity loss, and nutrient loss for Brazil’s most important agricultural region, the Brazilian Cerrado, for the years 2000 and 2012. For this, we applied the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with a geographical information system (GIS) to estimate annual soil loss rate and agricultural productivity loss, and used total nitrogen and total phosphorus in soil to estimate the annual nutrient loss rate caused by soil loss. All model factors and data were obtained from the literature. The results show that agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado is increasing the area of severe erosion, occasioning agricultural productivity decrease and soil nutrient depletion. The annual soil loss rate increased from 10.4 (2000) to 12.0 Mg ha −1 yr −1 (2012). Agricultural productivity loss occurred in more than 3 million hectares of crops and silviculture in 2000 and in more than 5.5 million hectares in 2012. Severely eroded areas lost between 13.1 and 25.9 times more nutrients than areas with low and moderate soil loss rates. These findings show that government policy should be directed to ensure the sustainable use of soils, mainly in agriculturally consolidated regions of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Keywords: soil erosion; land use change; food production; food security; crop productivity; nitrogen; phosphorus; Brazil; RUSLE; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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