Dynamics of land use and land cover in the agricultural frontier of Brazilian Amazon: driving forces of changes and future scenarios

Abstract

The growing awareness on issues related to natural resources world wide, decision-making processes of environmental issues have received increasing attention. Ensuring that these processes are based on solid scientific information is crucial to guarantee their effectiveness in meeting environmental challenges. In this context, this project, intitule "Dynamics of land use and land cover in the agricultural frontier of Brazilian Amazon: driving forces of changes and future scenarios", aims to analyse land cover and land use change (LCLUC) in the Upper Xingu Basin (State of Mato Grosso, Brazil). This region is located in the Amazonian arc of deforestation, presenting intense and rapidly changing landscapes. LCLUC includes the expansion or contraction of native forests, agriculture and pasture land, as well as degradation processes. Trends and drivers will be analysed based on changing matrix at different scales and future scenarios will be designed. Generating this information accurately is a scientific challenge due to the heterogeneous characteristics of the region and, consequently, the range of physical and socio-economic drivers this region faces. In addition to theoretical advances, the results of this research will be valid for the development of natural resource governance plan and may serve as a model for other areas. The Project presented here is part of the Belmont Forum international colaboration reseacrh initiative on fresh water security, funded by FAPESP Thematic Proc. No 2013/50180-5, intitule "XINGU Project - Integrating land use planning and water governance in Amazonia: towards improved freshwater security in the agricultural frontier of Mato Grosso". (AU)