The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Soybean and Cattle Production in Brazil

Rebecca Lima Albuquerque Maranhão, Osmar Abílio de Carvalho Júnior, Potira Meirelles Hermuche, Roberto Arnaldo Trancoso Gomes, Concepta Margaret McManus Pimentel and Renato Fontes Guimarães
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Rebecca Lima Albuquerque Maranhão: Departament of Geography, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil
Osmar Abílio de Carvalho Júnior: Departament of Geography, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil
Potira Meirelles Hermuche: Departament of Geography, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil
Roberto Arnaldo Trancoso Gomes: Departament of Geography, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil
Concepta Margaret McManus Pimentel: Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil
Renato Fontes Guimarães: Departament of Geography, University of Brasília, Brasília 73345-010, Brazil

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-13

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.

Keywords: soybeans; cattle; growth rate; growth acceleration; correlation; agricultural production; land use change; agribusiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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