Multi-scale methods for monitoring mixed cropping systems in support of low carbon agriculture program: no-tillage and crop livestock and forest integration

Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: Agricultural powers have launched ambitious programs, such as GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) guidelines or the Low Carbon Agriculture Program (Program ABC). Those programs give a special role to multifunctional landscapes in the process to establish a sustainable agriculture. The purpose of this work is to present the Geo-ABC Project, an innovative project aiming at developing methods to monitoring, at local scale, sustainable cropping system (practices), such as: crop-livestock-forest integration and, at regional scale, cropland sustainable system (landscape patterns) in order to provide spatial indicators to support the ABC Program. Material and Methods: A mixed of different methodological approaches will be applied to study how the local variables are scaled-up to the regional scale, and what spatial, temporal and textural indicators derived from coarse-resolution satellite images can be used to represent cropland system at landscape level. Crop specific distribution modelling, traditional up-scaling and new methods approaches based on indirect satellite-derived variables (temporal, spectral, spatial indicators) will be applied and tested in study cases at Tocantins state (Matopiba Region) and at crop-livestock-forest integration sites. Results and Conclusions: The complete set of methodological approach constitutes one of results of this work, establishing methodological protocols to obtain systematic spatial indicators, at multi-scale level providing metrics to the ABC Program. At the political context, GeoABc will provide spatial-temporal metrics that can be used as inputs for: the monitoring the ABC Program goals (How much?); the survey of information about the adoption of the ABC Program (Where?); the planning of monitoring GHGs within the Sectoral Plan of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (Where to go?); the processes of political decision-making in the assessment of ABC Program (What to do?). At the scientific context, those methods will provide inputs for scientific studies: on the dynamics of land use related with the adoption of low carbon agricultural production systems, for assessment of trends and establishment of future scenarios (land use dynamics); on the dynamics of land use, based on the expansion of low-carbon agriculture production related to the mitigation of environmental impacts (environmental impacts); on the dynamics of land use, based on the expansion of low-carbon agriculture production related to the mitigation of the greenhouse effect: (a) carbon stocks in soil and biomass; (b) reduction of GHGS; (c) water balance-ecosystem services; (iv) on the dynamics of land use, based on the expansion of low-carbon agriculture production and the relation with Climate Change (climate change).