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Agriculture

University of Richmond

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Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Evaluation Of Agricultural Land Cover Representations On Regional Climate Model Simulations In The Brazilian Cerrado, Stephanie A. Spera, Jonathan M. Winter, Jonathan W. Chipman May 2018

Evaluation Of Agricultural Land Cover Representations On Regional Climate Model Simulations In The Brazilian Cerrado, Stephanie A. Spera, Jonathan M. Winter, Jonathan W. Chipman

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Examining interactions between large-scale land cover and land use change and regional climate in areas undergoing dynamic land transformations, like the Brazilian Cerrado, is crucial for understanding tradeoffs between human needs and ecosystem services. Yet regional climate models often do not include accurate land cover data of these complex landscapes. We use National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled to the Noah-Multiparameterization (Noah-MP) land surface model to run 10-year climate simulations across Brazil to assess (1) whether an accurate, regionally validated land cover data set with two, new agricultural land cover classifications improves model simulation …

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Agricultural Intensification Can Preserve The Brazilian Cerrado: Applying Lessons From Mato Grosso And Goia's To Brazil’S Last Agricultural Frontier, Stephanie A. Spera Aug 2017

Agricultural Intensification Can Preserve The Brazilian Cerrado: Applying Lessons From Mato Grosso And Goia's To Brazil’S Last Agricultural Frontier, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Food security and climate change are two pressing issues shaping the future of tropical land use. Brazil, home to abundant land that is rich in carbon, water, and biodiversity and often cleared for agropastoral and renewable energy purposes, is the ideal location for studying socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs of land use dynamics. Here, I use recent (2000–2016) land-use land-cover change dynamics in the established agricultural states of Mato Grosso and Goia's to demonstrate how incentivizing intensive agricultural practices and improving degraded pastures may be a means by which Brazil can increase agricultural production while conserving the remainder of the Cerrado. …

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Precipitation Drivers Of Cropping Frequency In The Brazilian Cerrado: Evidence And Implications For Decision-Making, Keith R. Spangler, Amanda H. Lynch, Stephanie A. Spera Apr 2017

Precipitation Drivers Of Cropping Frequency In The Brazilian Cerrado: Evidence And Implications For Decision-Making, Keith R. Spangler, Amanda H. Lynch, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The Amazon basin has been subjected to unprecedented rates of land-use change over the past several decades, primarily as a result of the expansion of agriculture. Enhanced rain forest conservation efforts toward the end of the twentieth century slowed deforestation of the Amazon but, in turn, increased demand for land repurposing in the adjacent Cerrado (savanna) region, where conservation regulations are less strict. To maintain or increase yields while minimizing the need for additional land, agricultural producers adopted a form of intensification in which two rain-fed crops are planted within a single growing season (double cropping). Using 10 years (August …

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Soybean Development: The Impact Of A Decade Of Agricultural Change On Urban And Economic Growth In Mato Grosso, Brazil, Peter Richards, Heitor Pellegrina, Leah Vanwey, Stephanie A. Spera Apr 2015

Soybean Development: The Impact Of A Decade Of Agricultural Change On Urban And Economic Growth In Mato Grosso, Brazil, Peter Richards, Heitor Pellegrina, Leah Vanwey, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

In this research we consider the impact of export-driven, soybean agriculture in Mato Grosso on regional economic growth. Here we argue that the soybean sector has served as a motor to the state’s economy by increasing the demand for services, housing, and goods, and by providing a source of investment capital to the non-agricultural sector. Specifically, we show that each square kilometer of soybean production supports 2.5 formal sector jobs outside of agriculture, and the equivalent of approximately 150,000 US in annual, non-agricultural GDP. We also show that annual gains in non-agricultural employment and GDP are closely tied to soybean …

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Recent Cropping Frequency, Expansion, And Abandonment In Mato Grosso, Brazil Had Selective Land Characteristics, Stephanie A. Spera, Avery S. Cohn, Leah K. Vanwey, Jack F. Mustard, Bernardo F.T. Rudorff, Marcos Adami Jun 2014

Recent Cropping Frequency, Expansion, And Abandonment In Mato Grosso, Brazil Had Selective Land Characteristics, Stephanie A. Spera, Avery S. Cohn, Leah K. Vanwey, Jack F. Mustard, Bernardo F.T. Rudorff, Marcos Adami

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

This letter uses satellite remote sensing to examine patterns of cropland expansion, cropland abandonment, and changing cropping frequency in Mato Grosso, Brazil from 2001 to 2011. During this period, Mato Grosso emerged as a globally important center of agricultural production. In 2001, 3.3 million hectares of mechanized agriculture were cultivated in Mato Grosso, of which 500 000 hectares had two commercial crops per growing season (double cropping). By 2011, Mato Grosso had 5.8 million hectares of mechanized agriculture, of which 2.9 million hectares were double cropped. We found these agricultural changes to be selective with respect to land attributes —significant …

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