Agricultural expansion is a primary driver of global environmental change, contributing to deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and altered water cycles. Effective monitoring is crucial for sustainable land-use planning and policy formulation. This study demonstrates the efficacy of integrating Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for comprehensive, spatial-temporal assessment of the environmental impacts of agricultural expansion. We focused on a rapidly transforming frontier in the Cerrado biome of Brazil, utilizing a time-series of multi-sensor satellite imagery (Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI) from 2013 to 2023. Supervised classification algorithms, specifically Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest, were employed to map land use/land cover (LULC) changes. The derived LULC maps, with an overall accuracy exceeding 90%, were then integrated within a GIS environment with ancillary datasets, including soil maps, precipitation data, and protected area boundaries. Our analysis quantified a 45% increase in agricultural land, predominantly at the expense of native Cerrado vegetation. This conversion was strongly associated with a 30% increase in soil erosion risk (modelled using RUSLE), a significant fragmentation of wildlife habitats (measured by a 25% decrease in Mean Patch Size), and altered surface water dynamics evidenced by a 15% reduction in dry season normalized difference water index (NDWI) in adjacent watersheds. Spatial analysis further revealed that 18% of the expansion occurred on legally protected lands and steep slopes, highlighting governance challenges. The study concludes that the RS-GIS framework provides a powerful, cost-effective, and transparent tool for near-real-time environmental monitoring. It enables policymakers and land managers to pinpoint critical areas of impact, enforce environmental regulations, and design targeted conservation strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of agricultural frontier advancement, thereby promoting a more sustainable and accountable agricultural sector.

GIS, remote sensing, environment, impact, agriculture

geodesy engineering

Presentation: poster