The laboratory of ecosystem seeks to study the effects of environmental changes in the Cerrado and Brazil, and has partnerships with national and international institutions.
The Brazilian Cerrado is the most important region for Brazilian agricultural production and the expansion of agribusiness has resulted in a marked deforestation of the biome in the last 50 years. Land use changes contribute significantly to the emission of greenhouse gases in Brazil. Additionally, the role of Cerrado vegetation as a sink and carbon stock is strongly influenced by climatic seasonality. Changes in the precipitation regime with reduced water availability may determine less carbon removal by the remaining vegetation.
The large-scale changes in the native vegetation cover in the Cerrado are also associated with changes in the conservation of water resources that supply different regions as well as to flood events due to the association of more intense rains with less water retention capacity. In addition to deforestation, the use of agricultural inputs may result in increased availability of nutrients for systems adapted to low concentrations of nutrients.
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