What will be the future of Cerrado in the Northern of Minas Gerais?

Abstract

This study is based on the discussion between the guidelines of Economic Development, Infrastructure, and Conservation of the Cerrado biome, through a case study, in order to reflect on a landscape management that better aligns economic growth and environmental sustainability. The objective is to understand changes in land use and their trends in the municipalities of Pirapora/MG and Buritizeiro/MG, in order to build a picture of the economic reality and the main anthropogenic forces that affect not only the cities, but the Cerrado as well. a valuable ecosystem. A Land Use and Cover Change Model (LUCC) was estimated to simulate land use patterns on the landscape's native vegetation until 2030, in case the trends, which are shaping up in the study region, become effective in the long term. The data and projected scenarios have shown the need to think about economic and governance models that prioritize the protection and conservation of the Cerrado. Otherwise, the most likely scenario will be the consolidation of a pessimistic scenario, with the intensification of the Cerrado fragmentation process.