Agricultural Impacts on Hydrobiogeochemical Cycling in the Amazon: Is There Any Solution?
1
Embrapa Environment Embrapa Environment, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply, Jaguariuna 13918-110, Brazil
2
Environmental Sciences Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, New York, NY 10031 USA
3
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2020, 12(3), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030763
Received: 19 December 2019
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Revised: 26 February 2020
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Accepted: 6 March 2020
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Published: 10 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tradeoffs among Food Production, Forests, and Water Resources in Tropical Agricultural Frontiers)
Expansion of agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon has been driven not just by demands from traditional, rural producers, but also large agriculture and cattle producers, both of whom have put considerable pressure on remaining forests and their watersheds. Monitoring of these watersheds has been a focus of intensive study for the past 20 years and although this work has greatly increased our understanding, considerable gaps still remain in our ability to provide adequate recommendations for land management and associated public policies. In this study we present a summary of findings from these previous results. For small properties, the use of fire to prepare land for cultivation remains controversial, while in large properties, forest conversion to pasture and/or crop production has had a meaningful and adverse effect on water quality. Riparian forest conservation can make a significant difference in reducing impacts of land-use change. Secondary vegetation can also play an important role in mitigating these impacts. New types of sustainable agricultural production systems, together with incentives such as payments for ecosystem service can also contribute. Continued monitoring of these changes, together with robust sustainable development plans, can help to preserve forest while still addressing the social and economic needs of Amazonian riverine inhabitants.
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Keywords:
biogeochemistry; deforestation; land management; land-use change; public policies; water resources; watersheds
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MDPI and ACS Style
Figueiredo, R.d.O.; Cak, A.; Markewitz, D. Agricultural Impacts on Hydrobiogeochemical Cycling in the Amazon: Is There Any Solution? Water 2020, 12, 763. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030763
AMA Style
Figueiredo RdO, Cak A, Markewitz D. Agricultural Impacts on Hydrobiogeochemical Cycling in the Amazon: Is There Any Solution? Water. 2020; 12(3):763. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030763
Chicago/Turabian StyleFigueiredo, Ricardo d.O., Anthony Cak, and Daniel Markewitz. 2020. "Agricultural Impacts on Hydrobiogeochemical Cycling in the Amazon: Is There Any Solution?" Water 12, no. 3: 763. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030763
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