Overview: The total extension of pastures in Brazil is not precisely quantified yet, much less the degraded pastures area, for the whole system is very dynamic. The low accuracy of this data is an obstacle to planning and putting in practice public policies aimed at increasing livestock productivity, which also restrains the insertion of the country's agricultural production in international markets. The demand for technologies that succeed in mapping and monitoring pasture areas and their degradation level quickly, precisely and with low costs is growing. This research investigates the correlation potential of data extracted from satellite images and pasture degradation data obtained from field surveys. The selected study area has 11 thousand hectares and encloses rural properties in the city of Guararapes, SP, Brazil. The information obtained will be used to establish strategies aiming at preserving, managing and increasing the productivity of Brazilian pastures.

Objectives: To map the pastures in the study area and identify their degradation levels; to survey field data related to the pastures' ecology and to the soils; to develop a method for spectral identification of the pastures' degradation level; to characterize environmental impacts; to develop erosion risk maps; to prepare, implement and make dynamic maps available in a WebGIS platform at the project's website.

Expected results: To obtain technical information on the study area and on the pastures' degradation levels and related agricultural activities; also, to obtain agricultural, socioeconomic and agroenvironmental indicators of the study areas by means of field survey and correlation to the satellite image's spectral data. Further expected results are connected to a detailed mapping of the soils and the erosion risk of the pastures located within the study area, thus supporting the elaboration of public policies on that region, and to stimulating not only the recovery, but also the preservation of the pastures.

TEAM

Leader: Cristina Rodrigues – Researcher – Embrapa Satellite Monitoring

Institutions involved: Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos, Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, Casa de Agricultura de Guararapes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Universidade Federal do Ceará.