Identification of Spatio-temporal Changes in Brazilian Biomes through Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

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Letícia Figueiredo Sartorio
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6936-9939
Éder Leandro Bayer Maier

Abstract

This article explores a spatio-temporal analysis of changes in land use and cover in Brazilian Biomes using data from the MapBiomas project and Principal Component Analysis. Making it possible to group spatial patterns that represent the main environmental changes and a temporal analysis of the replacement of natural environmental systems in agricultural or urban systems. The data is MapBiomas, collection 4.1, for the period between 1985 and 2018, processed in the Google Earth Engine platform and represented in thematic maps prepared in QGIS. The Principal Component Analysis enabled the reduction of the dataset from 34 images to two Principal Components, which represent 84.28% of the variance. The results indicated that the first principal component is associated with the structures of the environmental systems of Brazilian biomes and the second component is related to the processes of change in land use and land cover, with the change being called: 1) Water Surface Loss; 2) Dams or flooded areas; 3) Natural Processes and Planted Forestry and 4) Conversion of Natural Areas into Urban or Agricultural Areas correspond to 0.081%, 0.12%, 1.45%, and 13.17% of the Brazilian territory, respectively. In this context, the southern Amazon and the Cerrado are the biomes with the largest and fastest spatial-temporal changes, predominantly between 1990 and 2005. Finally, it emphasizes the potential of the Principal Component Analysis technique as a tool for identifying spatio-temporal patterns of changes in Brazilian Biomes.

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SARTORIO, Letícia Figueiredo; MAIER, Éder Leandro Bayer. Identification of Spatio-temporal Changes in Brazilian Biomes through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Brazilian Journal of Cartography, [S. l.], v. 74, n. 2, p. 228–247, 2022. DOI: 10.14393/rbcv74n2-63991. Disponível em: https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/revistabrasileiracartografia/article/view/63991. Acesso em: 27 dec. 2025.

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