Identification of hotspots of traditional agricultural systems using multisensor data and participatory mapping

• Grant number: 25/03890-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal Investigator: Édson Luis Bolfe
• Grantee: Abner Matheus de Souza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/09319-9 - Center of Science for Development in Digital Agriculture - CCD-AD/SemeAr, AP.CCD

Abstract

The hotspots of traditional agricultural systems (SATs) are highly vulnerable to drastic losses of their cultural and agro-environmental values. The principles and practices that define them align with current strategies to address environmental, economic, and social challenges in agricultural production. However, accurately characterizing and mapping these systems at a scale relevant to territorial planning presents epistemological and methodological challenges in the fields of Cartography and Remote Sensing (RS). On one hand, the capacity for generating orbital data has grown exponentially; on the other, there is an increasing demand for classification and analysis methods applied to SATs. The São Paulo regions of Alto Paraíba and Ribeira Valley have favorable conditions for addressing this gap. Both regions are known for their preserved traditional communities, which are linked to the traditional cultural of São Paulo. They include the municipalities of Lagoinha and Jacupiranga, which have been incorporated into the Agro-Technological Districts (DATs) under the Science Centre for Development in Digital Agriculture (CCD-AD Semear). The landscape mosaic approach, in turn, is a promising methodology for analyzing SATs. It analyzes land cover types based on their spatial composition, treating the correlation between cover and use as a contextual step that occurs a posteriori, considering social, historical, and economic factors and their impact on the overall landscape. One of the aims of using this method is to avoid distortions caused by regional mapping that disregards local socio-environmental interactions, which can create inconsistencies in the planning and implementation of development projects. Accordingly, this proposal is guided by a theoretical framework of Critical Cartography, employing a multi-method and multi-scale approach. It integrates multi-sensor orbital data with participatory mapping to identify and characterize landscape mosaics associated with SATs in the areas covered by the designated DATs