Spatial Patterns of Farmland Abandonment in Rio de Janeiro State

Abstract

While land use change in Brazil is characterized by strong cropland expansion, the federal state of Rio de Janeiro, located in Southeast Brazil, shows an opposite trend: a significant amount of cropland has been abandoned. The temporal and spatial distribution of farmland abandonment in Rio de Janeiro state was ana- lyzed at the municipal level from 1991 to 2013. Developments differ strongly between the different regions. The Norte Fluminense Region, which holds the high- est share of cropping area in the state, showed the highest cropland abandonment. This decrease was mainly due to a reduction of the areas used for the cultivation of banana, maize, and sugarcane. In the Baixadas and Metropolitan regions, the reduc- tion of areas for orange plantations played an important role, while the reduction of areas for coffee production was important for mountainous areas. Another transition seems to be the substitution of sugarcane cultivation with pineapple cultivation. Areas for coconut crop production increased mainly in the Quissamã municipality. Areas for manioc crop production remained stable throughout the analysis. The pat- terns identified in this paper will provide an important background for the policy- makers in implementing spatially explicit plans for the agricultural sector.