A expansão das florestas plantadas no Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba

Abstract

The insertion of planted forests for commercial purposes in the state of Minas Gerais occurred in the late 1940s, however, the expansion of eucalyptus and pine plantations in the state began in the 1960s, following a sequence of tax incentive laws created to contain the national economic crisis. The laws made it possible to search for improvements in the forestry sector, aiming at greater productivity, in addition to new plantings in regions previously used only for agriculture, such as Triângulo Mineiro and later Alto Paranaíba, traditionally occupied until then by annual crops and pastures. The good natural conditions of the Triângulo Mineiro / Alto Paranaíba mesoregion, with little dissected relief and favorable soil, hydrography and climate conditions were also factors that contributed to the insertion of planted forests, where agricultural aptitude surveys indicated the region as promising for species of eucalyptus and pine in the 1970s. The systemic and multidisciplinary character practiced in geographic studies collaborate to understand the synchronicity of these factors, together with the political and economic context fundamental to the consolidation of planted forests in the Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba region, which currently is responsible for approximately 20% of the silvicultural production in the state of Minas Gerais. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation was to elucidate which geographical and political-economic factors stimulated the diffusion of planted forests, based on the analysis of statistical data and mapping with historical and current information.