Land use change from the sugar cane expansion in the western region of São Paulo state, Brazil

A demanda por alternativas energéticas tem aumentando a produção mundial de biocombustíveis e, consequentemente, o cultivo das culturas agrícolas. No Brasil, o lançamento dos veículos bicombustíveis propiciou a retomada da importância da produção de etanol e, consequentemente, numa nova fase de expansão do cultivo de cana-de-açúcar. Diversas questões relacionadas à sustentabilidade da produção de biocombustíveis têm sido discutidas na literatura, tais como o efeito na produção de alimentos e na segurança alimentar, o impacto ambiental da mudança do uso da terra e os efeitos sociais no campo. Este trabalho pretende analisar as mudanças no uso da terra na região Oeste Paulista, provocadas pela expansão do cultivo da cana-de-açúcar. Na última década (2003 a 2012), a região Oeste Paulista representou mais da metade da expansão dessa cultura no estado de São Paulo, maior estado produtor brasileiro. O método utilizado foi o Modelo Shift-Share, que, por meio da decomposição da variação das áreas, possibilitou calcular os efeitos escala e substituição das principais atividades em análise. Este trabalho revela que a expansão da cultura da cana-de-açúcar na região estudada ocorreu predominantemente pela substituição de áreas de pastagem e, consequentemente, da atividade pecuária. [The demand for energy alternatives to oil are increasing global biofuel production and, consequently, the biofuel crops cultivation. In Brazil, the emergence of flex-fuel vehicles resumed the importance of ethanol production, resulting in a new phase of Brazilian sugar cane crop expansion. Several issues related to the sustainability of biofuel production have been discussed in the literature, such as the effect on food production and food security, the environmental impact of land use change and social effects in the field. This study aims to analyze the land use change in the Oeste Paulista region, caused by the expansion of sugar cane cultivation. Between 2003 and 2012, the Oeste Paulista region represented more than half of the expansion of this crop in São Paulo state, the largest producer in Brazil. This paper used the Shift-Share model to decompose the agricultural areas variation and to calculate the replacement of the main activities analyzed. The results revealed that, in the analyzed region, the expansion of sugar cane area has occurred predominantly by replacing pasture and, consequently, by cattle activity.

Testing Luminescence Dating Methods for Small Samples from Very Young Fluvial Deposits

The impetus behind this study is to understand the sedimentological dynamics of very young fluvial systems in the Amazon River catchment and relate these to land use change and modern analogue studies of tidal rhythmites in the geologic record. Initial quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating feasibility studies have concentrated on spit and bar deposits in the Rio Tapajós. Many of these features have an appearance of freshly deposited pristine sand, and these observations and information from anecdotal evidence and LandSat imagery suggest an apparent decadal stability. The characteristics of OSL from small (~5 cm) sub-samples from ~65 cm by ~2 cm diameter vertical cores are quite remarkable. Signals from medium-sized aliquots (5 mm diameter) exhibit very high specific luminescence sensitivity, have excellent dose recovery and recycling, essentially independent of preheat, and show minimal heat transfer even at the highest preheats. These characteristics enable measurement of very small signals with reasonable precision and, using modified single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) approaches, equivalent doses as low as ~4 mGy can be obtained. Significant recuperation is observed for samples from two of the study sites and, in these instances, either the acceptance threshold was increased or growth curves were forced through the origin; recuperation is considered most likely to be a measurement artefact given the very small size of natural signals. Dose rates calculated from combined inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry/inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-MS/ICP-OES) and high-resolution gamma spectrometry range from ~0.3 to 0.5 mGya−1 , and OSL ages for features so far investigated range from 13 to 34 years to several 100 years. Sampled sands are rich in quartz and yields of 212–250 µm or 250–310 µm grains indicate high-resolution sampling at 1–2 cm intervals is possible. Despite the use of medium-sized aliquots to ensure the recovery of very dim natural OSL signals, these results demonstrate the potential of OSL for studying very young active fluvial processes in these settings

Examining the relationship between vertical coordination strategies and technical efficiency: Evidence from the Brazilian ethanol industry

The sugarcane industry in Brazil, one of the world's leading producers of ethanol and sugar, is undergoing significant changes driven by geographic expansion and technological innovations. These changes are forcing sugarcane producers and processors, to re-evaluate their vertical coordination and growth strategies. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between the vertical coordination strategies at the production-processing interface of the Brazilian ethanol supply chain and the technical efficiency of the mills. It utilizes data envelopment analysis and a Tobit censored model in combination with unique data on 204 mills that account for around half of Brazil's sugar and ethanol production. Results indicate that vertical integration and the location of the mill have a statistically significant impact on efficiency. The findings show that the technical efficiency is not the main driver of vertical integration implying that such decisions are primarily motivated by strategic considerations. The mills are likely to forgo gains in technical efficiency in exchange for improving their strategic position through vertical integration. These findings shed light on the underlying motivation for the observed level of vertical integration that accompanies the expansion of the Brazilian sugarcane industry. [EconLit citations: L22, Q12, Q16]

Determinantes do desmatamento em pequenas propriedades na Amazônia: um estudo de caso em Uruará - PA

The main objective of this paper was to analyse the factors that influence deforestation in small rural farms of a colonization area in Brazil’s Amazon Region. It was used data from 138 small farms distribuited over the transamazonic road in the municipality of Uruará, PA. The data was collected during july and august of 2002. A Tobit model with sample selectivity with etimation in two stages (Heckman) was used. In the first stage, the probability of deforestation was explained mainly by the presence of cattle in the farm. In the second stage, the deforestation area was modeled as a function of various factors. The results showed that the main determinants of deforestation are the amount paid for lired labor, the distance from the main road, the number of cattle heads and the number of people that live in the lot of land.Brasilian Amazon, Deforestation, Colonization, Tobit model, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Factors affecting farmers’ willingness to grow alternative biofuel feedstocks across Kansas

Energy conservation has emerged as one of the biggest challenges of the world in the XXI century, and not different from many countries, the US has created plans and policies to stimulate renewable energy alternative. Among the important alternatives for energy conservation is the use of biomass energy. Despite these stimuli production predictions are not confident that production would achieve the planned target for the U.S. Consequently, the predictions raise questions about farmer's willingness to grow bioenergy crops or produce alternative cellulosic feedstocks. In other words, farmers and landholders may not be willing to grow bioenergy crops. With this concerns in mind, the study advances previous research about bioenergy production by evaluating farmer's and landholder's willingness to produce different varieties of biofuel feedstocks. To achieve our goals, we used a mail survey of Kansas farmers conducted from January to April of 2011. The survey contained questions related to how farmers make their land-use decisions covering a wide array of topics. Through this survey, we evaluate the effect of farm characteristics, farm management practices, farmer perceptions (such as risk aversion), physical variables (such as soil, weather, and the availability of water for irrigation) on farmers' willingness to produce value-added feedstocks (e.g., corn stover), dedicated annual bioenergy crops (e.g., energy sorghum), and dedicated perennial bioenergy crops (e.g., switchgrass) for biofuel production in Kansas, though the use of logistic regressions and marginal effects

Roads & SDGs, tradeoffs and synergies: learning from Brazil's Amazon in distinguishing frontiers

To inform the search for SDG synergies in infrastructure provision, and to reduce SDG tradeoffs, the authors show that road impacts on Brazilian Amazon forests have varied significantly across settings. Forest loss varied predictably with prior development – both prior roads and prior deforestation – and in a spatial pattern suggesting a synergy between forests and urban growth in such frontiers. Examining multiple roads investments, the authors estimate impact for settings of high, medium and low prior roads and deforestation. Census-tract observations are numerous for each setting and reveal a pattern, not consistent with endogeneity, that confirms our predictions for this kind of frontier. Impacts are: low after relatively high prior development; larger for medium prior development, at the forest margin; then low again for low prior development. For the latter setting, the authors note that in such isolated areas, interactions with conservation policies influence forest impacts over time. These Amazonian results suggest 'SDG strategic' locations of infrastructure, an idea they suggest for other frontiers while highlighting differences in those frontiers and their SDG opportunities

Bowel symptoms associated with coronavirus disease 19 in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe illness

Bowel symptoms, such as diarrhea, have higher prevalence during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The correlation between the severity of these symptoms and their prognosis has not been defined yet. Furthermore, higher prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 has been reported. This study aimed to analyze the correlation of potential factors with the severity of diarrhea during COVID-19 and to assess the progression of post-COVID-19 bowel symptoms. This prospective longitudinal cohort included 109 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms who were hospitalized from May to July 2021. Patients were interviewed to assess the presence and intensity of bowel symptoms during COVID-19 and 3–6 months after hospital discharge using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale questionnaire. Demographic and clinical data were obtained and their correlations with the intensity of bowel symptoms were examined. The presence of severe diarrhea was correlated with the need for ventilatory support and the use of anticoagulants but not with the use of antibiotics. In addition, bowel symptoms, such as loose stools and incomplete evacuation but not diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain, persisted for at least 3–6 months after hospital discharge. These results suggest that the severity of diarrhea during COVID-19 may be associated with worsening of the disease and that only loose stools and incomplete evacuation are present after COVID-19. The chronicity of these bowel symptoms should be evaluated to improve the treatment of patients with COVID-19

Road building, land use and climate change: prospects for environmental governance in the Amazon

Some coupled land–climate models predict a dieback of Amazon forest during the twenty-first century due to climate change, but human land use in the region has already reduced the forest cover. The causation behind land use is complex, and includes economic, institutional, political and demographic factors. Pre-eminent among these factors is road building, which facilitates human access to natural resources that beget forest fragmentation. While official government road projects have received considerable attention, unofficial road building by interest groups is expanding more rapidly, especially where official roads are being paved, yielding highly fragmented forest mosaics. Effective governance of natural resources in the Amazon requires a combination of state oversight and community participation in a ‘hybrid’ model of governance. The MAP Initiative in the southwestern Amazon provides an example of an innovative hybrid approach to environmental governance. It embodies a polycentric structure that includes government agencies, NGOs, universities and communities in a planning process that links scientific data to public deliberations in order to mitigate the effects of new infrastructure and climate change

Deforestation in the Amazon: an analysis of special autocorrelation using remote sensing information and primary data

Este estudo analisa a questão do desmatamento ocorrido em áreas de colonização na Amazônia. A discussão aqui estabelecida apresenta a ideia de que as relações entre os fatores sociodemográficos, institucionais e de mercado com o desmatamento podem ser mais complexas do que se imagina. Esta pesquisa busca ainda preencher um espaço ainda pouco explorado na literatura que é o uso de modelos que combinam informações de sensoriamento remoto com dados primários. Além disso, considerando o tipo de dados utilizados, faz-se uma analise de autocorrelação espacial. Os dados primários foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas diretas com pequenos produtores. Os questionários aplicados forneceram as informações sobre a estrutura e composição da família, uso da terra, fatores institucionais, etc. Em adição, utilizou-se imagens de satélite LandSat (TM) para o ano de 1997 com o intuito de se estimar a magnitude do desmatamento em cada propriedade. O estudo mostra que fatores institucionais e de mercado são apenas uma parte do complexo mecanismo que explicam o processo de desmatamento. Os resultados do modelo empírico utilizado indicam que variáveis sociodemográficas que refletem estágios do ciclo de vida da família também afetam significamente a decisão de uso de terra. Esses resultados permitem concluir ainda que, apesar de não serem ainda muito populares entre os cientistas sociais brasileiros, os dados obtidos através das imagens de satélite podem ser muito úteis neste tipo de estudo. Além disso, a presente pesquisa apresenta forte indicação de que os modelos de desmatamento que omitem dados de mercado e sociodemográficos da família, e que não incorporem análise espacial, podem estar mal-especificadosThis study analyses the deforestation in settlement areas of the Brazilian Amazon. We discuss that the relationships among social, demographic, institutional and market factors upon the deforestation process might be more complex than previously predicted. This research aims to fill in a gap that has not been weIl explored in the literature which is the use of models that combine remote sensing information with primary data. Moreover, considering the kind of data used, an analysis of spatial autocorrelation was carried out. The primary data were obtained through the interview of small settlers. The questionnaires used provided information about household structure and composition, land use, institutional factors, etc. In addition, LandSat (TM) satellite images for the year of 1997 were used in order to estimate the deforestation magnitude in each property. This study shows that the institutional and market factors are only part of the complex mechanism that explain the deforestation process. The results from the empirical modeI indicate that social and demographic variables that reflect household life cycle stages also significantly affect land use decision. Although the remotely sensed data are not yet very popular among the Brazilian social scientists, these results confirm that they can be very useful for this kind of study. Furthermore, this research strongly indicates that family social and demographic data as well as market data may result in misspecification problems. The same applies for models that do no incorporate spatial analysi