Soy water footprint and socioeconomic development: An analysis in the new agricultural expansion areas of the Brazilian cerrado (Brazilian savanna)

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.

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Tibouchina papyrus (Pohl) Toledo, 1952 (Melastomataceae): distribution extension to the northern part of Brazilian Cerrado

Check List ◽

10.15560/8.4.765 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 765 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leandro Maracahipes ◽

Marcus Vinicius Cianciaruso ◽

Eddie Lenza ◽

José Roberto Rodrigues Pinto ◽

Beatriz Schwantes Marimon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Records ◽

Brazilian Savanna ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Mato Grosso

New records of Tibouchina papyrus for Mato Grosso State extend its distribution in the northern part of the Brazilian Savanna, contributing to the conservation of this species and the areas in which it occur.

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Spatial and temporal dynamics of water footprint for soybean production in areas of recent agricultural expansion of the Brazilian savannah (Cerrado)

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119482 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 251 ◽

pp. 119482 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

João Francisco Severo Santos ◽

Liliana Pena Naval

Keyword(s):

Water Footprint ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Agricultural Expansion ◽

Soybean Production ◽

Brazilian Savannah ◽

Spatial And Temporal Dynamics

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Description vs deforestation: Couepia brevistaminea (Chrysobalanaceae), a new species on the frontier of agricultural expansion in the Brazilian savanna

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.471.1.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 471 (1) ◽

pp. 38-46

Author(s):

RAFAEL GOMES BARBOSA-SILVA ◽

GUILHERME MEDEIROS ANTAR

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Brazilian Savanna ◽

Agricultural Expansion ◽

Plant Biodiversity ◽

Distribution Map ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Status Assessment ◽

A New Species

The Brazilian savanna (Cerrado domain), although without significant richness of Chrysobalanaceae, has widely distributed species of this family, and some endemic to this domain. Couepia, a Neotropical genus, includes 62 species distributed mainly in lowland tropical forests with three species recognized for the Brazilian savanna. Here we report a new species of Couepia endemic to Brazilian savanna in the region with the greatest agricultural advance in Brazil, from the states of Tocantins and Goiás. We provide a description, a distribution map, photographs, a preliminary conservation status assessment and comparisons with other species of the genus that occur in this domain. With this addition we help to contribute to the knowledge of plant biodiversity, which is an urgent and fundamental step towards planning and carrying out conservation actions.

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Structure Dynamics and Risk Assessment of Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Water Footprint Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11041187 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1187 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Peng Zhang ◽

Zihan Xu ◽

Weiguo Fan ◽

Jiahui Ren ◽

Ranran Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Socioeconomic Development ◽

Food System ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Green Water ◽

Arid Areas ◽

External Energy ◽

Important Indicator

The “Water-Energy-Food Nexus” is one of the present research hotspots in the field of sustainable development. Water resources are the key factors that limit local human survival and socioeconomic development in arid areas, and the water footprint is an important indicator for measuring sustainable development. In this study, the structural dynamics and complex relationships of the water-energy-food system in arid areas were analyzed from the perspective of the water footprint, and the risk characteristics were evaluated. The results show that: (1) Agriculture products and livestock products account for the largest water footprints (>90%), which is much higher than the water footprints of energy consumption (<5%). From the water footprint type, the blue water footprint (>50%) > the grey water footprint (20%–30%) > the green water footprint (<20%). (2) Since 2000, especially after 2005, while energy consumption drove rapid economic growth, it also led to the rapid expansion of the water footprint in the Manas River Basin. By 2015, the water deficit was relatively serious, with the surface water resource deficit reaching 16.21 × 108 m3. (3) The water-energy risk coupling degree of the water-energy-food system in this basin is comparatively significant, which means that it is facing the dual pressures of internal water shortage and external energy dependence, and it is vulnerable to global warming and fluctuations in the international and domestic energy markets. Thus, it is necessary to adjust the industrial structure through macroeconomic regulation and control, developing new energy sources, reducing the coupling degree of system risks, and achieving sustainable development.

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Diversity of thalloid liverworts in Brazilian Savanna of Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas, Maranhão, Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/17.1.45 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 45-58

Author(s):

Rozijane Santos Fernandes ◽

José Augusto dos Santos Silva ◽

Felipe Polivanov Ottoni ◽

Denise Pinheiro Costa

Keyword(s):

Identification Key ◽

Brazilian Savanna ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Northeast Region ◽

Geographic Distributions ◽

Brazilian Northeast ◽

First Time

We investigate the diversity of thalloid liverworts in Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas (PNCM). Illustrations, descriptions, taxonomic characters, and notes on the geographic distributions of species, as well as an identification key, are provided. We collected specimens during the rainy seasons between 2017 and 2020. Six families, six genera, and seven species were recorded, of which five species are recorded for the first time from Maranhão state, two species are recorded for the first time from the Brazilian Northeast Region, and two are newly recorded from the Brazilian Cerrado. Our results increase in the number of thallose liverwort species in Maranhão by 57%. Our data add to what is known about PNCM, Maranhão, and Brazilian Cerrado liverworts, and reinforce the importance of PNCM for conservation.

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The production of development expectations and the pace of agricultural expansion: analysis of land-use practices by small farmers in northern Mato Grosso State – Brazil

Caderno de Geografia ◽

10.5752/p.2318-2962.2020v30nesp3p418 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 418

Author(s):

DESCONSI, C

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Expansion ◽

Food Crops ◽

Small Farmers ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Agricultural Enterprises ◽

Family Expectations ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Land Use Practices ◽

Agricultural Food

In recent decades, soybean has become one of the most important agricultural food crops worldwide. Brazil has been expanding its share in this market, especially since the 2000s when the soybean became its largest export in volume and occupied most of the farming land in the country. That occurred not only due gains in productivity but also through the expansion of mechanized farming into “new land” of the Brazilian Cerrado and Amazon biomes incentivized by countless public policies. The mid-north portion of the state of Mato Grosso greatly contributed to soybean reaching such position, particularly after the 1990s, when the crop experienced a boom in its expansion. As reported in several studies, the crop is predominantly developed in large agricultural enterprises. However, the areas where expansion is ongoing feature various agents – small farmers, squatters, workers, and agrarian reform settlers – who move to these “new lands” and take part in the process of social-ecological transformation motivated by personal and family expectations of achieving better living conditions and who, therefore, actively contribute to the “movement for land.”

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