CHANGES IN CERRADO LAND USE

Carlos A Klink

University of Brasilia, Brazil

RR AP

AMPA

AC ROMT TO

MACE

RN

PB

PE

ALSE

PI

BA

GO

DF

MGES

RJSP

MS

PR

SC

RS

Atlantic Atlantic ForestForest

CaatingCaatingaa

CaatingCaatingaaAmazoniaAmazoniaAmazoniaAmazonia

PantanalPantanal GrasslanGrasslandd

BiomesBiomesBiomesBiomes

CerradoCerradoCerradoCerrado

CERRADO SAVANNAS:

• 2,000,000 Km2 (25% of contiguous USA)

• 10,000 Plant Species

•One of the World’s 25 “hotspots”

•RAINFALLSEASONALITY

•FIRE

•SUBSTRATE•HUMAN ACTION

Most biomass is underground

DETERMINANTS

CERRADO IS A TROPICAL SAVANNA

LANDSAT IMAGE OF BRASILIA AND NATIONAL PARK

N aturalF ire

H um an Activ itiesAgriculture, Pastureland,

M ining , C harcoa l,D am ns, R oads

D IR EC T C AUSES

Public Po liciesR egional

andN ationa l Leve ls

Econom ic IncentivesSubsidies

Externa l M arkets

Science & T echnologySoil science

P lant geneticsM ach inery

G overnanceLand tenureIm m igration

O thersC lim ate change

IN DIR EC T CAUSES

D R IV IN G FO R C ES O F C ER R AD O LAN D U SE

CONSEQUENCES:

EXTENSION OF CHANGE (x 1,000 km2)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1970 1985 1995 2000

Planted Pastures

Cash Crops

Bare Soil

0

10

20

30

40

50

1970 1975 1985 1996 2000

Are

a T

rans

form

ed (%

) Cerrado Savanna

Amazon Forest

CONSEQUENCES: RATE OF CHANGE

Woody Savanna Natural Grassland

ET: 2.8-4.8 mm/d

8m

ET: 1.2-1.8 mm/d

4m

PAWPAW

WET: 721 mm

DRY: 229 mm

70% of total water used in DRY season comes from below 2 m

WET: 402 mm

DRY: 71 mm

MODELLING Planted Pastures:

• 10% reduction PP

• 9% reduction ET

• Dry spells during growth season

50% of total water used in

DRY

ALTERATION OF WATER

CYCLE

Planted Pastures African grasses

Pasture Degradation

New Planted Pastures

FIRE

Biological Invasion

African Grasses modify water cycle, fire regime & reduce

biodiversity

Carbon Imbalances

•Large C Stock & Sink

•Becomes Source when Degraded

ECOLOGICAL FEEDBACKS

ECONOMICAL FEEDBACK

REGIONAL SCALE

ECONOMICAL FEEDBACK

GLOBAL SCALE

“AGRONEGÓCIOS: O BRASIL QUE

ASSUSTA BUSH”

( Primeira Leitura, April/2002)

0

100

200

MT ARG EUA

Production Costs (US$/ha)

• NEW ECOSYSTEMS (“Emerging Ecosystems”) that have been formed brought both positive (economical) and negative (environmental) effects;

• KNOWLEDGE: Economical benefits are well documented, while Environmental impacts are poorly understood;

• THIS IMBALANCE POSES GREAT DIFFICULTIES TO INFLUENCE LAND-USE & CONSERVATION POLICIES

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