While food and nutrition security are issues that national and international organizations are tackling, one of the central problems often overlooked is the essential role of soils in providing nutritious food. Soils are the base for food production and food security. However, the majority of soils are in fair and poor conditions, with the most significant threats being erosion and loss of nutrients. In this study, we estimate the potential of soil loss, agricultural productivity loss, and nutrient loss for Brazil’s most important agricultural region, the Brazilian Cerrado, for the years 2000 and 2012. For this, we applied the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with a geographical information system (GIS) to estimate annual soil loss rate and agricultural productivity loss, and used total nitrogen and total phosphorus in soil to estimate the annual nutrient loss rate caused by soil loss. All model factors and data were obtained from the literature. The results show that agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado is increasing the area of severe erosion, occasioning agricultural productivity decrease and soil nutrient depletion. The annual soil loss rate increased from 10.4 (2000) to 12.0 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (2012). Agricultural productivity loss occurred in more than 3 million hectares of crops and silviculture in 2000 and in more than 5.5 million hectares in 2012. Severely eroded areas lost between 13.1 and 25.9 times more nutrients than areas with low and moderate soil loss rates. These findings show that government policy should be directed to ensure the sustainable use of soils, mainly in agriculturally consolidated regions of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Various fractions of particulate matter have been associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The purpose of our study is to analyze the associations between concentrations of PM_2.5, PM_2.5–10, PM₁₀ and their chemical constituents (soluble ions) with hospital admissions due to circulatory and respiratory diseases among the elderly in a medium-sized city in Brazil. A time series study was conducted using Poisson regression with generalized additive models adjusted for confounders. Statistically significant associations were identified between PM₁₀ and PM_2.5–10 and respiratory diseases. Risks of hospitalization increased by 23.5% (95% CI: 13.5; 34.3) and 12.8% (95% CI: 6.0; 20.0) per 10 μg/m³ of PM_2.5-10 and PM₁₀, respectively. PM_2.5 exhibited a significant association with circulatory system diseases, with the risk of hospitalization increasing by 19.6% (95% CI: 6.4; 34.6) per 10 μg/m³. Regarding the chemical species; SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺ and K⁺ exhibited specific patterns of risk, relative to the investigated outcomes. Overall, SO₄²⁻ in PM_2.5–10 and K⁺ in PM_2.5 were associated with increased risk of hospital admissions due to both types of diseases. The results agree with evidence indicating that the risks for different health outcomes vary in relation to the fractions and chemical composition of PM₁₀. Thus, PM₁₀ speciation studies may contribute to the establishment of more selective pollution control policies.

The objective of this work was to characterize and compare the chemical composition of the PM10 soluble fraction in relation to meteorological variables such as wind direction and air masses backward trajectories. The PM10 was collected during winter of 1999 in two contrasting sites: the São Paulo city and the State Park of Serra do Mar (Cunha) inside the Atlantic Forest Reserve. The aqueous extracts of PM10 were analyzed by Ion Chromatography for major ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+, Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-)) and by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for trace elements (Al, Mn, Fe, Pb, Zn, etc.). In São Paulo, the dominant chemical species were SO4(2-), NO3-, NH4+, Zn, Fe, Al, Ba, Cu, Pb, Mn and Ni while in Cunha, Na+, K+, Cl-, SO4(2-), Zn and Ni were dominant. The chemical composition related to the wind direction during sampling reflected short-range influence due to soil occupation and anthropic activities.

In this study, the concentration and morphological characteristics of inhalable particulate material (PM10) were evaluated and associated with climatic conditions. The mean annual concentration was 11.0 µg m−3, varying between 0,647 µg m−3 and 36.8 µg m−3. Wind speed has a higher influence on PM10 dispersion, but direction was associated with particle source. During the wet period, wind speed is the main dispersion factor, while speed and direction both are important during the dry period. Based on the morphological characteristics, it is concluded that biogenic particles prevail during the rainy season and terrigenous particles during the dry period, depending on the wind direction and intensity