Land Use Expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

The main focus of this chapter is the presentation and discussion of land useLand use, in Cerradoexpansion based on the two latest mappings of land use in the Brazilian Cerrado (2002 and 2013); both maps were produced by interpreting Landsat satellite images. The results show a 3% increase in land occupation in the Cerrado between 2002 and 2013, which is much higher than the 1.23% increase seen in the Legal Amazônia. The area and spatial distribution of different types of land useLand use, in Cerradoin 2013 are shown below. A comparison of the 2002 and 2013 results is then shown. Here the emphasis is placed on the new agricultural frontier located in the northern part of the Cerrado, known as MATOPIBAMATOPIBA, an abbreviation made up of the first two letters of the names of the states of Maranhão, TocantinsTocantins(TO), Piauí, and Bahia. The final section considers the potential for a crop-livestock-forest integration system in the Cerrado. The chapter concludes with a discussion on one of the most important challenges facing environmentally sustainable agriculture in the Cerrado in the near future, namely precision agriculture.