title: Patterns of land use, extensification, and intensification of Brazilian agriculture.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lívia C P
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Pimenta
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota, s/n Tabuleiro do Martins, Maceió, AL, 57072-900, Brazil.|School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ladle
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000639:trends; D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005523:Food Supply; D057766:Policy
keywords: Brazilian agriculture; extensification; intensification; land use change; sustainable agriculture