A expansão da soja na Amazônia Setentrional: mudanças ambientais em Roraima

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, soybeans have been the primary grain to expand in agricultural areas in Brazil and around the world. This study identifies a new paradigm in soybean production in Brazil, highlighting the advancement of the agricultural frontier in Northern Amazonia. The main objective of the dissertation is to analyze the environmental transformations resulting from the expansion of soybean cultivation in Roraima, aiming to explain the changes in land use and land cover from a temporalspatial perspective and to assess the environmental vulnerability of the study area. Divided into three chapters, the research begins by discussing the theoretical foundations of Critical Physical Geography, exploring the relationship between society and nature, and the concepts of environment and territory. Next, the study area, located in the south-central part of Roraima, is characterized, addressing the geoeconomics and geopolitics of soybeans in the region, and analyzing the history of soybean expansion and the main actors involved in this process. The third chapter focuses on analyzing environmental changes and conflicts in Roraima, using land use and land cover data, environmental vulnerability, and field reports to illustrate and assess these transformations. The results are drawn from a systematic literature review, fieldwork, and mapping of land use and land cover in Roraima. The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) was crucial for a more in-depth analysis of the factors and consequences associated with soybean expansion in the region. The results highlight an 8,750% increase in soybean production in Roraima over 12 years, reflecting the advancement of the pioneer front and the integration of the study area into global marketing circuits. This positions soybeans and their derivatives as key components of the state’s economy, representing 59% of the total products exported in 2023. However, it is observed that the increase in production is associated with the conversion of natural areas into agricultural land, accompanied by the degradation of pastures and deforestation in recent years, which contributes to the rising environmental vulnerability in the study area. Although the low vulnerability class predominates, covering 73.85% of the total area, the medium vulnerability class (32.27%) and the high vulnerability class (0.58%) already show significant environmental impacts, particularly in critical areas subject to degradation and greater environmental pressure, which calls for attention to mitigate these impacts.