Studies on soil ecosystem services have been advancing in Matopiba, an area in agricultural expansion formed by the state of Tocantins and parts of Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia. For almost two weeks, researcher Lauro Rodrigues Nogueira Junior, from Embrapa Territorial, was in charge of collecting samples to determine carbon contents. Alongside colleagues from the Balsas Research Implementation Unit (UEP), he collected soil samples at 25 points, in areas with soybean, corn and cotton production, as well as pastures, integrated crop-livestock system, forest, and cerrado. In total, 256 samples were obtained from four soil layers. Nogueira explained that the results will be used to calibrate and validate the model to measure carbon stocks in the region, which was built using the software Invest (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs). The fieldwork took place in the Verde river basin, within the town limits of Balsas, and in the Marcelino river basin, in Tasso Fragoso. In addition to determining carbon, the samples will also be used to evaluate assess soil physical and chemical properties. The activity, which took place between March 3 and 16, is part of the research stages under Embrapa Territorial's responsibility in the project “Soil ecosystem services under sustainable intensification of agriculture: towards innovative mapping and monitoring at multiple scales (SOIL-ES) ”. Approved in a call from a European Union platform aimed at articulating international cooperation in the scientific field, EJP Soil, the research will be simultaneously carried out in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. In Brazil, the actions are led by Embrapa Soils (Rio de Janeiro, RJ) and also have the participation of Embrapa Cocais (São Luís, MA). The project focuses on intensification of agriculture and animal farming and thus, in Brazil, the object of study is Matopiba, an area of agricultural expansion that covers parts of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia. Learn more about the initiative.