Overview

The exploitation of forests and natural resources to expand agricultural activities, while promoting economic development and meeting the demand for human food, causes environmental impacts that must be quantified, discussed and mitigated. The use of pesticides to increase productivity and combat pests and pathogens can cause environmental changes to the environment in which they are used. The soil is the ecosystem that retains the most contaminants; over time, pesticides weaken it and reduce its fertility. They can also lead to the death of mycorrhizae, reduce soil biodiversity, cause acidity, run off into watercourses, streams and rivers, among other problems reported and discussed here with a view to using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools as suggestions for solutions and guidance for public policy attitudes in Brazil, aimed at the rational use of soil, conservation and preservation of natural resources. Therefore, based on geotechnologies, this work aims to address the management of land use and occupation through map algebra in the mapping of areas in the Brazilian cerrado.