Protecting the Amazon forest and reducing global warming via agricultural intensification

Fabio R. Marin, Alencar J. Zanon, Juan P. Monzon, José F. Andrade, Evandro H. F. M. Silva, Gean L. Richter, Luis A. S. Antolin, Bruna S. M. R. Ribeiro, Giovana G. Ribas, Rafael Battisti, Alexandre B. Heinemann and Patricio Grassini ()
Additional contact information
Fabio R. Marin: University of São Paulo
Alencar J. Zanon: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Juan P. Monzon: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
José F. Andrade: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Evandro H. F. M. Silva: University of São Paulo
Gean L. Richter: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Luis A. S. Antolin: University of São Paulo
Bruna S. M. R. Ribeiro: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Giovana G. Ribas: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Rafael Battisti: Federal University of Goias
Alexandre B. Heinemann: EMBRAPA Arroz e Feijão
Patricio Grassini: University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Nature Sustainability, 2022, vol. 5, issue 12, 1018-1026

Abstract: Abstract The Amazon basin includes 550 Mha covered with rainforests, and 60% of this area is in Brazil. The conversion of rainforest for soybean production raises concerns about how Brazil can reconcile production and environmental goals. Here we investigated the degree to which intensification could help Brazil produce more soybean without further encroachment on the Amazon forest. Our analysis shows that the continuation of current trends in soybean yield and area would lead to the conversion of an additional 5.7 Mha of forests and savannahs during the next 15 years, with an associated 1,955 Mt of CO2e released into the atmosphere. In contrast, the acceleration of yield improvement, coupled with the expansion of soybean area only in areas currently used for livestock production, would allow Brazil to produce 162 Mt of soybean without deforestation and with 58% lower global climate warming relative to that derived from the continuation of current trends.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00968-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natsus:v:5:y:2022:i:12:d:10.1038_s41893-022-00968-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/natsustain/

DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00968-8

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Sustainability is currently edited by Monica Contestabile

More articles in Nature Sustainability from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().