Paper details

Title:

Brazilian Sugarcane Expansion and Deforestation

Author(s):

Leal, M.R.L.V., Duft, D.G., Hernandes, T.A.D., Bordonal, R.O.

Document(s):

Abstract:

In Brazil, the sugarcane ethanol is the most important biofuel and its production increased significantly in the last years. The sugarcane area expanded fast going from 4.3 to 10.1 million hectares (ha) in the 1990-2015 period, with more intense growth in the 2000s. This sugarcane expansion has generated land use changes in Brazilian territory and deforestation needs to be addressed in bioethanol sustainability evaluation. The Forest Code is the main legislation that protects the native vegetation and regulates the use of land, but it is the sugarcane Agroecological Zoning that directs the crop expansion, since 2009, to less sensitive areas. This study aims to quantify, using satellite data and analysis, the deforestation in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, considering a period of intense sugarcane expansion, from 2002 to 2008. The results showed a minor sugarcane expansion over natural vegetation, achieving 80 hectares of deforestation in Atlantic Forest out of the total 274,200 ha. Analysis also allowed to conclude that most of the deforestation in Cerrado and Atlantic Forest occurred before this expansion. Case studies considering mesoscale watersheds with intense sugarcane expansion will be made to better address the expansion dynamics and its direct effect on deforestation, soil carbon budget and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Keywords:

agricultural intensification, GHG emissions, land use change, sugarcane ethanol, forest code, soil carbon

Topic:

Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability

Subtopic:

Environmental impacts of bioenergy

Event:

25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

Session:

4CO.2.4

Pages:

1476 - 1483

ISBN:

978-88-89407-17-2

Paper DOI:

10.5071/25thEUBCE2017-4CO.2.4

Price:

FREE