DINÂMICA ESPAÇO-TEMPORAL DAS ALTERAÇÕES GEOESPACIAS NA REGIÃO DO MATOPIBA, BRASIL

Abstract

Brazil is a world leader in agrobusiness, especially in soybean and meat production. This activity plays a key role on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which represented 21.4% (R$ 1,5 tri) out of R$ 7.3 trillion in 2019. However, this activity is concentrated within the Cerrado domain, which is considered a hotspot to the world’s conservation and which has been suffering significant modifications on its landscape since the 1960-80s. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of soil cover on the landscape of the MATOPIBA agricultural frontier as well as the correlation between remote environmental and climatic variables from the year 2008 to 2018. We evaluated soil cover by using the platform MAPBIOMAS and extracted remote environmental and climatic variables [vegetation index - NDVI, and soil moisture content and temperature (US and LST, respectively)] through the Earth Engine Data Catalog. Afterwards, we conducted a descriptive analysis on our data and applied a crossed correlation test to the remote variables. Based on our results, during the analyzed temporal series the class Agriculture showed increased growth in Piaui, followed by Bahia with 7.2% and 4.8%. In MATOPIBA, Cerrado was reduced around 5.1% while Pasture and Agriculture areas increased, where agricultural areas had a higher expansion rate. We found that the pairs of variables have a significant correlation, where a reduction in NDVI causes an increase in LST, which as a result reduces US, especially in agricultural and ranching zones. A high NDVI favors the protection of soil moisture content, particularly in areas of dense vegetation. The results show that the expansion of the MATOPIBA agriculture frontier is in full growth to the detriment of the Cerrado cover and a strong correlation between the environmental and climatic variables on the frontier.