The research group in Atmosphere-Biosphere Interactions at the Federal University of Viçosa, led by Professor Marcos Heil Costa, is currently one of the world´s leading scholarly centers for integrated analysis of the climatic, hydrological and ecological consequences of agriculture expansion in Amazonia and central Brazil, with over 80 papers published on the subject. The group´s research began in the late 1990s with core funding from the NASA LBA program. In the last 16 years, the research group has received regular funding from the main funding agencies in Brazil (CNPq, CAPES, FINEP and FAPEMIG), as well as grants and sub-contracts in grants from US institutions, such as NASA, NSF and GBMF, and international organizations as the World Bank.