Is domestic agricultural production sufficient to meet national food nutrient needs in Brazil?

Acknowledgements: We are grateful for the valuable comments and suggestions made by Dr. James Gerber, as well as by the anonymous reviewers, which enhanced significantly the manuscript. Data Availability: All relevant data are uploaded to the PANGAEA database and publicly accessible via the following URL: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.911574. Funding: J. P. received his doctorate scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). J. P., J. G. and J. O. were funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), in the scope of the Belmont Forum FACCE-JPI 2013 (process 2014/50627-2). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Climate change-related risks and adaptation potential in Central and South America during the 21st century

Climate-related risks in Central and South America have received increased attention and concern in science and policy, but an up-to-date comprehensive review and synthesis of risks and adaptation potential is currently missing. For this paper we evaluated over 200 peer-reviewed articles and grey literature documents published since 2012. We found that climate change in Central and South America during the 21st century may increase the risk to severe levels for the following topical risk clusters: (a) Food insecurity; (b) Floods and landslides; (c) Water scarcity; (d) Epidemics of vector-borne diseases; (e) Amazon Forest biome shift; (f). Coral bleaching; (g) Coastal risks of sea level rise, storm surges and erosion; (h) Systemic failure due to cascading impacts of hazards and epidemics. Our synthesis also identified feasible adaptation measures for each risk. The impacts of the risks will be heterogeneous throughout the region, with rural communities, Indigenous peoples, Afro-Latin Americans, women, disabled people, and migrants identified as being the most severely affected. We refer to a number of adaptation options for each risk. However, unabated climate change together with low adaptive capacity will strictly limit adaptation options. Immediate strengthening of policies for building adaptive capacity and increase of research on the risk-adaptation nexus in Central and South America are paramount. Our findings might contribute to guide the adjustment and emphasis of adaptation policies and climate risk management strategies from local to national level

Microalgae-mediated bioremediation and valorization of cattle wastewater previously digested in a hybrid anaerobic reactor using a photobioreactor: Comparison between batch and continuous operation

ABSTRACT: Scenedesmus obliquus (ACOI 204/07) microalgae were cultivated in cattle wastewater in vertical alveolar flat panel photobioreactors, operated in batch and continuous mode, after previous digestion in a hybrid anaerobic reactor. In batch operation, removal efficiencies ranges of 65 to 70% of COD, 98 to 99% of NH4+ and 69 to 77.5% of PO4-3 after 12 days were recorded. The corresponding figures for continuous flow were from 57 to 61% of COD, 94 to 96% of NH4+ and 65 to 70% of PO4-3 with mean hidraulic retention time of 12 days. Higher rates of CO2 fixation (327-547 mg L-1 d(-1)) and higher biomass volumetric productivity (213-358 mg L-1 d(-1)) were obtained in batch mode. This microalgae-mediated process can be considered promising for bioremediation and valorization of effluents produced by cattle breeding yielding a protein-rich microalgal biomass that could be eventually used as cattle feed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Segurança Alimentar e Mudanças Ambientais Globais:: uma análise crítica no contexto da sociedade brasileira

Agriculture is closely related to global environment change, being part of both its causes and consequences. Global environmental change can increase the vulnerability of society’s food security. From a holistic point of view of the food system, this texts seeks to contextualize the link between food security and global environmental change by means of a literature review. The study points out the risks posed to Brazil’s food security and its vulnerability, along with the mitigation and adaptation measures needed to overcome the problem. The authors highlight challenges for policy making and scientific research on global environmental change and food security in Brazil.A agricultura está profundamente relacionada com as mudanças ambientais globais, participando tanto das causas como das suas consequências, podendo acentuar a vulnerabilidade da sociedade em relação à segurança alimentar. Fazendo uma revisão crítica da literatura, este trabalho tem por objetivo contextualizar as relações entre a segurança alimentar e as mudanças ambientais globais. Aponta os riscos aos quais está sujeita a segurança alimentar da sociedade brasileira contemporânea, os aspectos de sua vulnerabilidade e as ações mitigatórias e adaptativas necessárias para sua garantia, e destaca os desafios para a política e pesquisa científica sobre o tema. Prioriza-se o debate sobre a fração da segurança alimentar relativa ao universo dos produtos agrícolas, deixando-se de lado os produtos provindos da pesca e produção animal

Can land use changes alter carbon, nitrogen and major ion transport in subtropical brazilian streams?

Diversos estudos têm sido desenvolvidos em bacias de drenagem tropicais no intuito de avaliar o impacto da urbanização e das práticas agrícolas na qualidade dos corpos d'água. No Brasil, as savanas (conhecidas regionalmente como Cerrado) representam 23% do território brasileiro, sendo uma região importante no crescimento nacional, especialmente devido às intensas atividades agrícolas. A finalidade deste trabalho é apresentar uma avaliação dos fluxos de carbono, nitrogênio e principais íons em córregos com diferentes usos do solo (vegetação, cana de açúcar e eucalipto) em uma região de Cerrado, SE Brasil. A cana de açúcar e o eucalipto alteram o transporte dos elementos investigados nessas pequenas bacias de drenagem. As concentrações mais elevadas de todos os parâmetros analisados (parâmetros abióticos, íons, carbono orgânico dissolvido e carbono inorgânico dissolvido) foram encontradas na bacia de cana de açúcar (SCW). As concentrações observadas para os cátions na bacia do eucalipto (EW) (Mg, Ca, K, Na), assim como Carbono Inorgânico Dissolvido (CID) e Carbono Orgânico Dissolvido (COD), apresentaram valores intermediários entre as bacias do Cerrado e da cana de açúcar, sugerindo um impacto moderado dessa plantação aos corpos d'água. Mesma tendência foi observada para os fluxos de íons e nutrientes, sendo, novamente, os maiores valores encontrados na bacia de cana-de-açúcar. Os autores sugerem que o cultivo da cana de açúcar representa um importante fator na modificação da química de pequenas bacias de drenagem.Several studies in tropical watersheds have evaluated the impact of urbanization and agricultural practices on water quality. In Brazil, savannas (known regionally as Cerrados) represent 23% of the country's surface, representing an important share to the national primary growth product, especially due to intense agriculture. The purpose of this study is to present a comprehensive evaluation, on a yearly basis, of carbon, nitrogen and major ion fluxes in streams crossing areas under different land use (natural vegetation, sugar cane and eucalyptus) in a savanna region of SE Brazil. Eucalyptus and sugar cane alter the transport of the investigated elements in small watersheds. The highest concentration of all parameters (abiotic parameters, ions, dissolved organic carbon DOC - and dissolved inorganic carbon - DIC) were found in Sugar Cane Watersheds (SCW). The observed concentrations of major cations in Eucalyptus Watersheds (EW) (Mg, Ca, K, Na), as well as DIN and DOC, were found frequently to be intermediate values between those of Savanna Watersheds (SW) and SCW, suggesting a moderate impact of eucalyptus plantations on the streamwater. Same trends were found in relation to ion and nutrient fluxes, where the higher values corresponded to SCW. It is suggested that sugar cane plantations might be playing an important role in altering the chemistry of water bodies

Distance estimations for municipal solid waste disposal in the São Paulo state

Os resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) representam uma das grandes preocupações ambientais, sociais e econômicas contemporâneas. No Brasil, 78,3 milhões de toneladas de RSU foram gerados no ano de 2016. Apenas no estado de São Paulo, neste mesmo ano, foram gerados cerca de 14,6 milhões de toneladas, cerca de19% do que foi gerado no país. No gerenciamento dos RSU a coleta e o transporte são as etapas que mais impactam o orçamento financeiro, em média são gastos de 40 a 70%dos recursos nessas etapas. Além disso, o transporte dos RSU também impacta o meio ambiente através das emissões de gases de efeito estufa provenientes dos caminhões. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar e analisar espacialmente utilizando Sistemas de Informação Geográficas (SIG) as distâncias percorridas pelos caminhões de coleta de RSU desde os centros urbanos até os locais de disposição final dos RSU em escala regional para os municípios do estado de São Paulo. Os resultados demonstraram que para transportar os RSU dos municípios paulistas, durante o ano de 2016, foram percorridos aproximadamente 91 milhões de quilômetros. Este valor é suficiente para dar mais de 2.293 voltas no planeta Terra, e consequentemente contribui para os altos custos ambientais e econômicos desta etapa do gerenciamento dos RSU.Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the major environmental, social and economic concerns. In Brazil, 78.3 MSW million tons were generated in the year 2016. In the São Paulo state, about 14.6 million tons were generated, around 19% of what was generated in the whole country. In the MSW management, collection and transport are the stages that most affect the financial budget, on average 40 to 70% of the economic resources are spent in these phases. In addition, this also influences the environment through greenhouse gas emissions caused by MSW trucks. This study objective was to estimate and spatially analyze using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) the distances traveled by MSW collection trucks from urban centers to final MSW disposal sites on a regional scale for all municipalities in the state of São Paulo during the year of 2016. The results showed that to transport MSW inthe São Paulo state the trucks had traveled approximately 91 million kilometers. This distance is sufficient to give more than 2,293 laps on planet Earth and consequently contributes to the high environmental and economic costs of this MSW management stage

Forest disturbance and growth processes are reflected in the geographical distribution of large canopy gaps across the Brazilian Amazon

Canopy gaps are openings in the forest canopy resulting from branch fall and tree mortality events. The geographical distribution of large canopy gaps may reflect underlying variation in mortality and growth processes. However, a lack of data at the appropriate scale has limited our ability to study this relationship until now. We detected canopy gaps using a unique LiDAR dataset consisting of 650 transects randomly distributed across 2500 km(2) of the Brazilian Amazon. We characterized the size distribution of canopy gaps using a power law and we explore the variation in the exponent, alpha. We evaluated how the alpha varies across the Amazon, in response to disturbance by humans and natural environmental processes that influence tree mortality rates. We observed that South-eastern forests contained a higher proportion of large gaps than North-western, which is consistent with recent work showing greater tree mortality rates in the Southeast than the Northwest. Regions characterized by strong wind gust speeds, frequent lightning and greater water shortage also had a high proportion of large gaps, indicating that geographical variation in alpha is a reflection of underlying disturbance processes. Forests on fertile soils were also found to contain a high proportion of large gaps, in part because trees grow tall on these sites and create large gaps when they fall; thus, canopy gap analysis picked up differences in growth as well as mortality processes. Finally, we found that human-modified forests had a higher proportion of large gaps than intact forests, as we would expect given that these forests have been disturbed. Synthesis. The proportion of large gaps in the forest canopy varied substantially over the Brazilian Amazon. We have shown that the trends can be explained by geographical variation in disturbance and growth. The frequency of extreme weather events is predicted to increase under climate change, and changes could lead to greater forest disturbance, which should be detectable as an increased proportion of large gaps in intact forests.Peer reviewe

Current and future interactions between nature and society

One hundred per cent of the natural units of analysis will continue to be negatively affected, with a concomitant decrease in natures contributions to people, given current trends (business as usual), though the magnitude and exact mechanism of the individual drivers will vary by driver and unit of analysis (established but incomplete){5.4}. For example, tropical moist and dry forest and coastal mangroves will continue to exhibit a decline due to land use change regardless of the scenarios considered, but different local factors (agriculturalization and urbanization, respectively) will be involved (well established) {5.4.1, 5.4.11}. Additionally, some drivers will affect units of analysis differently. Empirical evidence indicates differential effects of climate change: boreal forest is extending northward {5.4.2}, while tundra is diminishing in land area (established but incomplete) {5.4.3}. Thus, some drivers, and their relative roles, will need to be further refined on a local scale and with respect to their proximate factors.2. Multiple drivers will act in synergy and further produce biodiversity loss and impact nature?s contributions to people in most of the units of analysis for the Americas (established but incomplete){5.4}. Climate change, combined with other drivers, is predicted to account for an increasingly larger proportion of biodiversity loss in the future, in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems {5.3}. Forest fragmentation, climate change and industrial development increase risk of biodiversity and nature?s contributions to people loss i.e. dry forest unit of analysis {5.4.1.2}. Predictions on invasive species and climate change indicates an increase in habitable areas and their potential impacts on different units of analysis {5.3}.3. Changes in temperature, precipitation regime and extreme climate events are predicted to impact all units of analysis in the Americas (well established) {5.4}. Climate change and the potential impacts on tropical dry forests by changing the frequency of wildfires; change in forest structure and functional composition in the Amazon tropical moist forest; extreme drought events changing nature?s contributions to people in the Amazon region; insect outbreaks and changes in albedo are predicted to significantly impact temperate, boreal and tundra units of analysis, affecting society and indigenous communities and well-being {5.4}.4. Thresholds, or tipping points (conditions resulting in rapid and potentially irreversible changes) may have already been exceeded for some ecosystems and are likely for others (established but incomplete). For instance, it is considered more likely than not that such a threshold has already been passed in the cryosphere with respect to summer sea ice (established but incomplete) {5.4.12}. Model simulations indicate changes in forest structure and species distribution in the Amazon forest in response to global warming and change in precipitation patterns (forest die-back) (established but incomplete) {5.4.1}. So too, a 4oC increase in global temperatures is predicted to likely cause widespread die off of boreal forest due to greater susceptibility to disease {5.4.2} and global temperature increases may have already started persistent thawing of the permafrost {5.4.3}. Under 4°C warming, widespread coral reef mortality is expected with significant impacts on coral reef ecosystems {5.4.11}. Sea surface water temperature increase will cause a reduction of sea grass climatic niche: those populations under seawater surface temperature thresholds higher than the temperature ranges required by the species could become extinct by 2100 with concomitant loss of ecosystem services.IPBES/6/INF/4/Rev.15415. Changes in nature and nature?s contributions to people in most units of analysis are increasingly driven by causal interactions between distant places (i.e. telecouplings) (well established) {5.6.3}, thus scenarios and models that incorporate telecouplings will better inform future policy decisions. Nature and nature?s contributions to people in telecoupled systems can be affected negatively or positively by distant causal interactions. Provision of food and medicine from wild organisms in temperate and tropical grasslands, savannas and forests of South America is being dramatically reduced due to land-use changes driven by the demand of agricultural commodities (e.g. soybeans) mainly from Europe and China. Conservation of insectivorous migratory bats in Mexico benefits pest control in agroecosystems of North America, resulting in increased yields and reduced pesticide costs. Trade policies and international agreements will thus have an increasingly strong effect on environmental outcomes in telecoupled systems.6. Policy interventions have resulted in significant land use changes at the local and regional scales and will continue to do so through 2050. These policies have affected nature?s contributions to people both positively and negatively, and provide an opportunity to manage trade-offs among nature?s contributions to people (well established) {5.4}. Land use changes are now mainly driven by high crop demand, big hydropower plans, rapid urban growth and result in a continued loss of grasslands {5.4.4, 5.4.5}. However, strategies for establishing conservation units have helped in reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from the period of 2004 to 2011 (well established) {5.4.1}. Similarly, wetland protection policies and regulation have helped reduce the conversion of wetlands in North America {5.4.7}. Policies based on command and control measures may be limited in providing effective reduction in ecosystem loss and should be complemented with policies acknowledging multiple values {5.6.3}.7. Policy interventions at vastly differing scales (from national to local) lead to successful outcomes in mitigating impacts to biodiversity (established but incomplete){5.4}. For instance, long-established governmental protections of wetlands in North America have significantly slowed and may have stopped wetland loss based on acreage {5.4.7}. In South America, where mangrove loss continues at a rate of one to two per cent, different stakeholders such as local communities and/or governments have been successful in protecting mangroves based on empowerment and shared interests in their preservation {5.4.11}.8. Pressures to nature are projected to increase by 2050, negatively affecting biodiversity as indicated by a potential reduction of the mean species abundance index. However, the magnitude of the pressures by 2050 are expected to be less under transition pathways to sustainability in comparison to the business as usual scenario (established but incomplete), {5.5}. The Global Biodiversity model projected that under the business as usual scenario mean species abundance had decreased in the Americas by approximately 30 per cent by 2010 compared to its values prior to European settlement of the New World, with historical losses primarily attributed to land transformation to agricultural uses. Using the Global Biodiversity model, there is an additional projected loss of 9.6 per cent by 2050, primarily attributed to some additional land use changes , and especially to climate change, which will steadily increase relative to other drivers considered in the model. However, under the transition pathways to sustainability of global technologies, decentralised solutions, and consumption change pathways, the projected losses are 6 per cent, 5 per cent, and 5 per cent, respectively,IPBES/6/INF/4/Rev.1542achieving a relative improvement of approximately 30 per cent to 50 per cent compared to the business as usual scenario. Under these pathways, climate change mitigation, the expansion of protected areas and the recovery of abandoned lands would significantly contribute to reducing biodiversity loss.9. Participative scenarios have proven to be a successful tool for envisioning potential futures and pathways and to embrace and integrate multiple and sometime conflicting values and their role in promoting bottom-up decision making in the face of futures uncertainties (well established) {5.3}. The use of participative approaches to develop scenarios has increased during recent years in the Americas. The inclusion of different stakeholders and their knowledges in the process of constructing potential futures has promoted a better understanding of the complexity of the social-ecological systems in which they are embedded. This has enhanced co-learning processes between all actors involved, even those normally under-represented in decision-making activities. As a result, several participative scenario exercises have motivated community-based solutions and local governance initiatives all pointing towards the development of adaptive management strategies {5.3}.10. Pathways that consider changes in societal options will lead to less pressure to nature (established but incomplete) {5.6.3}. An example is the indirect impact that shifts in urban dietary preferences have on agricultural production and expansion, and food options that are expected to continue growing into the future. Therefore, not only is there a strong connection between urbanization and economic growth, but also between affluence (and urban preferences) and the global displacement of land use particularly from high-income to low-income countries.11. Available local studies informing regional futures of nature and natures benefit to people do not allow scalability as of yet (well established) {5.3}. The challenge in expanding the findings from local studies resides in the fact that a number of comparable local studies are still not available. Information is scattered throughout the region by the use of different units, methods and scales, which prevents a local-to-regional generalization. The list of nature indicators used in studies at local scales is large and heterogeneous (well established). Even for the same indicator (e.g. biodiversity), different metrics are used (e.g. species-area curve, mean species abundance) {5.5}. In other cases, multiple indicators are used to describe different aspects of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this latter case, synergies and trade-offs are explicitly mentioned with a clear pattern in which increasing the provision of some indicators result in the detriment of others {5.3}. For example, agriculture expansion leading to loss in biodiversity illustrates a common trend from local studies expected to continue into the future.12. There is a significant research gap in the development of models and scenarios that integrate drivers, nature, natures contributions to people and good quality of life (well established){5.3}. Models and scenarios can be powerful tools to integrate and synthesize the complex dynamics of coupled human and nature systems, and to project their plausible behaviors into the future. Most existing models and scenarios focus on the link between drivers and its impacts on nature. Few cases exist in which models or scenarios integrate the relationships between changes in nature and changes in natures contributions to people and good quality of life {5.3}. Inter-and trans-disciplinary modeling efforts will be required to address this research gap {5.3}.Fil: Klatt, Brian. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Ometto, Jean Pierre. National Institute For Space Research; BrasilFil: García Marquez, Jaime. Universität zu Berlin; AlemaniaFil: Baptiste, María Piedad. Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt; ColombiaFil: Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. Independent Consultant; CanadáFil: Acebey, Sandra Verónica. No especifíca;Fil: Guezala, María Claudia. Inter-american Institute For Global Change Research; PerúFil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pengue, Walter Alberto. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento; ArgentinaFil: Blanco, Mariela Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Laborales; ArgentinaFil: Gadda, Tatiana. Universidade Tecnológica Federal Do Paraná; BrasilFil: Ramírez, Wilson. Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt; ColombiaFil: Agard, John. University Of West Indies; Trinidad y TobagoFil: Valle, Mireia. Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí; Ecuado