ABOUT US

The Centre for Remote Sensing at the Institute of Geosciences is an Institutional Research Laboratory of UFMG that conducts research in analysis and modeling of environmental systems, including their applications in the design and evaluation of public policies.

ABOUT OUR WORK

Our research consists of environmental modeling, in particular the development of models to simulate changes in land use and cover, agricultural and forest rents, urban dynamics, forest fire, fluvial regime and carbon balance. The applications of these models involve the valuation of ecosystem services, development of sustainable supply chains, territorial planning and the design of public policies, as well as ex-ante evaluation of the impact of these policies (see publications). Other important products of our research are the software DINAMICA EGO, a platform for environmental modeling, and mappia.earth, a set of tools for building interactive map servers.

Access the summary of activities developed at the Centre for Remote Sensing:

LATEST NEWS

New study: Occurrence-based models reveal greater spatial details in tropical species richness

Researchers at CSR have developed a machine-learning method to isolate the actual effect of the environment on biodiversity from the effect of insufficient data collected in certain areas. The computational model is capable of estimating species richness as if all locations had been surveyed with the same intensity. The Amazon emerges as the most biodiverse region on the planet in nearly all the groups analyzed, while Brazil’s Cerrado stands out as the richest tropical savanna among all those studied. The study’s findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

Identificação de propriedades pecuárias a partir da integração de dados sanitários e ambientais em Minas Gerais

The Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária (IMA), in partnership with CSR and the Centro Institucional de Tecnologia e Inovação Modelagem Ambiental (CT-Modelagem), has published a technical note demonstrating how the integration of data from the SeloVerde MG platform enhances the official veterinary service’s response capacity by transforming cadastral, animal health, and environmental records into geospatial information that can be applied to emergency management. Read here.

Distribution of Tropical Vegetation From the Pliocene to the Anthropocene

A study published by CSR researchers in the Journal of Biogeography reconstructs tropical vegetation over the past 3.3 million years and shows that projected changes by 2050 are comparable in magnitude to the most dramatic period of the Pliocene—but compressed into just a few decades. Using machine learning algorithms and paleoclimatic data, the research team emulated how forests, savannas, deserts, and wetlands were redistributed across the tropics over eleven time intervals, covering all tropical regions of the world. Read the article here.

SeloVerde–MG: Guide to Verifying Legality for Due Diligence Using Official Brazilian Data

A new report explains how operators and authorities can use the SeloVerde MG platform to support and independently verify the due diligence required under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Read the full report here.

Restoration Contexts and Trends in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Evidence from Science and Practice

CSR researchers published a study analyzing scientific evidence and Atlantic Forest restoration initiatives. Published in Environmental Management, the article shows that some restoration areas have achieved important advances, although they have not yet reached the levels observed in mature forests. The study also highlights social benefits associated with ecosystem recovery, including income generation, job creation, and capacity building. At the same time, it points to the need for more standardized indicators and long-term monitoring to better assess these impacts. Read the full article here.

AI Summit MG 2026

The Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in partnership with Perfil Global, NVIDIA, and Intel, will host the AI Summit MG 2026 on June 25. The event will focus on Artificial Intelligence and Supercomputing in the state of Minas Gerais. The program features lectures on innovative AI applications across a wide range of fields and disciplines. Confirmed speakers include Alex Castellano, NVIDIA’s Channel Director; Nando Lemes, international business specialist and Director of Perfil Global; Sônia Carvalho, professor at UFMG’s Institute of Geosciences; as well as a representative from Intel. Participation is free of charge, and registration can be completed through this link.

LATEST VIDEOS

CSR YouTube video highlights the importance of academic cooperation between China and Brazil, according to Professor Liu Jinlong of Renmin University of China (RUC).
Watch it here.
A CSR researcher presents, in a video, the results of a study on bird distribution in the Amazon.
Watch here.
Video presents the results of the BIOMINAS Project on the traceability of the pequi and buriti sociobiodiversity value chains.
Watch here.
Video presents the results of the BIOMINAS Project on the traceability of the pinhão and palmito juçara sociobiodiversity value chains.
Watch here.