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Remote sensing is valuable for estimating aboveground biomass (AGB) stocks. However, its application in agricultural and pasture areas is limited compared with forest areas. This study quantifies AGB in agriculture–pasture mosaics within Brazil's Campo Maior Complex (CMC). The methodology employs remote sensing cloud processing and utilizes an estimator to incorporate vegetation indices. The results reveal significant changes in biomass values among land use and land cover classes over the past ten years, with notable variations observed in forest plantation, pasture, sugar cane, and soybean areas. The estimated AGB values range from 0 to 20 Mg.ha−1 (minimum), 53 to 419 Mg.ha−1 (maximum), and 19 to 57 Mg.ha−1 (mean). In Forest formation areas, AGB values range from approximately 0 to 278 Mg.ha−1, with an average annual value of 56.44 Mg.ha−1. This study provides valuable insights for rural landowners and government officials in managing the semiarid territory and environment. It aids in decision making regarding agricultural management, irrigation and fertilization practices, agricultural productivity, land use and land cover changes, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, conservation strategies, the identification of priority areas for environmental restoration, and the optimization of resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cashew crops are of great importance to small landholders in many tropical countries and grow in harsh semiarid climatic and soil conditions. Cashew crops have been economically and socially relevant in the Brazilian semiarid region since the 1960s, when governmental policies oriented to exportation began to encourage cashew nut production in large monoculture fields. Since then, cashew cultivation has been expanded by the nut industry and, recently, small settlement farmers have started to cultivate dwarf cashew tree clones. The focus of cashew cultivation also moved from the nut extraction in standard trees to the removal of the peduncle in dwarf species. In the present study, we undertook a historical review of governmental policies oriented to the establishment of cashew crops in Pio IX, Piauí, and the resulting patterns of land use within the landscape, obtained from high-resolution image classification. We noted that dwarf cashew cultivation was significant in government settlement projects, as was secondary vegetation recovery in largely abandoned areas. This vegetation recovery enhances the protection of Caatinga fragments and the restoration of relevant ecosystem services. Based on the land use patterns, we proposed an initial characterization of cashew farmers to suggest possible pathways for restoration of the Caatinga biome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]