EVOLUTION OF LAND COVER AND USE IN A REGION OF AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION IN BRAZIL

Agricultural expansion has been a major driver of land-use and land-cover change in tropical regions, particularly in Brazil’s agricultural frontier. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC in the municipality of Currais, located in the MATOPIBA region, between 1985 and 2021. The analysis was based on MapBiomas datasets derived from Landsat time series, processed within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Changes in land-use classes were quantified across five temporal snapshots to identify long-term trends and landscape transformations. The results reveal a progressive transition from a predominantly natural landscape, largely composed of savanna formations, to a more anthropogenically modified configuration. Although savanna remains the dominant class, its relative extent declined continuously over the study period. In contrast, agricultural classes particularly soybean cultivation, pasture, and land-use mosaics expanded significantly. These changes followed a cumulative and spatially structured pattern, intensifying over time. The expansion of land-use mosaics indicates increasing landscape heterogeneity and fragmentation, with potential impacts on carbon storage, hydrological regulation, and biodiversity conservation. The apparent increase in forest formation should be interpreted cautiously, as it may reflect localized regeneration or classification uncertainties rather than broad ecological recovery. Overall, these patterns are consistent with the consolidation of the MATOPIBA agricultural frontier and highlight the importance of remote sensing for environmental monitoring and sustainable land-use planning.