Monitoring integrated crop-livestock systems through remote sensing and precision agriculture for more sustainable production: towards low carbon agriculture
Autor
Magalhães, Paulo Sergio Graziano
Amaral, Lucas Rios do
Institución
Resumen
The aim or the proposed study is to provide sustainability-related supports for the Brazilian low carbon agriculture program from an water use efficiency, productivity and soil quality point of view, exploiting the capabilities of satellite remote sensing data and precision agriculture analysis. This program, established in 2010, aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 160 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2020 (CGIAR, 2017). Three main proposed measures include the stimulation of integrated crop-livestock-forestry (lCLF) systems, the recuperation of 15 million degraded pastures into more productive agricultural systems and biological nitrogen fixation (EMBRAPA, 2017; IPAM, 2012). Through remote sensing and precision agriculture data, we aim to compare the water use efficiency, biomass productivity and soil quality of ICLF systems to conventional croplands and pastures. Analysis based on remote sensing data has the unique advantage of acquiring quantitative and qualitative states of (specific for this proposal) agriculture-related processes over large areas and long time series with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Remote sensing data can be analyzed in combination with soil quality parameters. These analyses can be used to outline the sustainability benefits related to the ICLF systems and to estimate the potential for (degraded) pastureland recuperation. Consequently, the Brazilian authorities can use this information to re-evaluate the success and potential of the program and stimulate the use of resources offered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) by farmers to adopt the program's measures through the dissemination of our scientifically acquired results and case studies. (AU)