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Patterns of land use, extensification, and intensification of Brazilian agriculture
Author(s) -
Dias Lívia C. P.,
Pimenta Fernando M.,
Santos Ana B.,
Costa Marcos H.,
Ladle Richard J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.13314
Subject(s) - agriculture , productivity , food security , land use , geography , vegetation (pathology) , shifting cultivation , natural resource economics , sustainable agriculture , deforestation (computer science) , agroforestry , business , agricultural economics , economics , economic growth , environmental science , ecology , medicine , archaeology , pathology , biology , computer science , programming language
Sustainable intensification of agriculture is one of the main strategies to provide global food security. However, its implementation raises enormous political, technological, and social challenges. Meeting these challenges will require, among other things, accurate information on the spatial and temporal patterns of agricultural land use and yield. Here, we investigate historical patterns of agricultural land use (1940–2012) and productivity (1990–2012) in Brazil using a new high‐resolution (approximately 1 km 2 ) spatially explicit reconstruction. Although Brazilian agriculture has been historically known for its extensification over natural vegetation (Amazon and Cerrado), data from recent years indicate that extensification has slowed down and was replaced by a strong trend of intensification. Our results provide the first comprehensive historical overview of agricultural land use and productivity in Brazil, providing clear insights to guide future territorial planning, sustainable agriculture, policy, and decision‐making.