Resumo:

Agribusiness land management is in the current agenda. All scientific, social, economic, and environmental matters related to expanding ethanol production in the São Paulo state border on land issues. For Brazilian society and abroad, such issues linked to the agricultural use of the land dominate the debate on the expansion of agro-energy and the production of biofuels. Scientific knowledge is yet insufficient due to the considerable time-space dynamics of sugarcane in the São Paulo state, and the diversity of existing agro-environmental situations. Among the issues connected to the sugarcane territorial expansion, there are the following: • What are the impacts of the sugarcane space-time dynamics on the overall agricultural production in the São Paulo state? • Does sugarcane expansion induce a reduction in food (grain or meat) producing areas? • What are the impacts of this sugarcane dynamics on areas with natural vegetation? Does it favor or reduce them? • Could change in the sugarcane production systems technology profile (elimination of burning, innovative waste management, electric power co-generation etc.) lead to a retraction in sugarcane areas in certain territorial circumstances?