Data from: Understanding patterns of land-cover change in the Brazilian Cerrado from 2000 to 2015

Clearing tropical vegetation impacts biodiversity, the provision of ecosystem services, and thus ultimately human welfare. We quantified changes in land cover from 2000 to 2015 across the Cerrado biome of northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. We assessed the potential biophysical and social-economic drivers of the loss of Cerrado, natural regeneration and net cover change at the municipality level. Further, we evaluated correlations between these land change variables and indicators of human welfare. We detected extensive land cover changes in the study area, with the conversion of 23,446 km2 and the natural regeneration of 13,926 km2, resulting in a net loss of 9,520 km2. The annual net loss (-1.2% per year) of the cover of Cerrado is higher than that reported for the whole biome in similar periods. We argue that environmental and economic variables interact to underpin rates of conversion of Cerrado, most severely affecting more humid Cerrado lowlands. While rates of Cerrado regeneration are important for conservation strategies of the remaining biome, their integrity must be investigated given the likelihood of encroachment. Given the high frequency of land abandonment in tropical regions, secondary vegetation is fundamental to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services. Finally, the impacts of Cerrado conversion on human welfare likely vary from local to regional scales, making it difficult to elaborate land use policies based solely on social-economic indicators.

热带植被清除行为会对生物多样性、生态系统服务供给能力产生影响，并最终波及人类福祉。本研究对巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州北部塞拉多（Cerrado）生物群区2000年至2015年的土地覆被变化进行了量化分析。我们以市镇为分析单元，评估了塞拉多植被丧失、自然恢复以及土地覆被净变化的潜在生物物理与社会经济驱动因素。此外，本研究还分析了上述土地变化变量与人类福祉指标之间的相关性。研究区发生了大规模土地覆被变化：累计完成23446平方千米的植被转换，自然恢复面积达13926平方千米，最终导致净损失9520平方千米。塞拉多植被覆被的年净损失率达1.2%/年，高于同期整个生物群区的相关报道数据。本研究认为，环境与经济变量共同作用决定了塞拉多植被的转换速率，其中湿润程度更高的塞拉多低地受影响最为严重。尽管塞拉多自然恢复速率对剩余生物群区的保护策略至关重要，但考虑到存在被侵占的可能性，需对其完整性展开进一步调查。鉴于热带地区土地撂荒现象频发，次生植被对维持生物多样性与生态系统服务具有核心意义。最后，塞拉多植被转换对人类福祉的影响可能随尺度从局部到区域发生变化，因此仅依靠社会经济指标难以制定完善的土地利用政策。