AQA GCSE Geography 8035
Climate Change
Coastal Landscapes in the UKUK landscape option
Cold EnvironmentsLiving world option
Ecosystems
EnergyResource option
FoodResource option
Geographical Applications: Fieldwork Enquiry
Geographical Skills
Glacial Landscapes in the UKUK landscape option
Hot DesertsLiving world option
Resource Management
River Landscapes in the UKUK landscape option
Tectonic Hazards
The Changing Economic World
Tropical Rainforests
UK Physical Landscapes
Urban Issues and Challenges
WaterResource option
Weather Hazards
Tropical Rainforests
Deforestation in the Amazon
- 3 things to know
- Paper 1
Overview
Changing deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon, cattle ranching, soya, logging, the Trans-Amazonian Highway, the Carajás mine and the Belo Monte dam as causes, and the economic gains, soil erosion and carbon release that follow.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What is the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon?
Why has the rate of Amazon deforestation risen and fallen under different Brazilian governments?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Where is the Amazon rainforest, and how much of it lies in Brazil?
Model answer
It covers most of the Amazon basin in northern South America, the largest rainforest on Earth, and about 60% of it lies in Brazil.
- 2
How has the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon changed since 2004?
Model answer
It peaked at about 27,800 km² in 2004, fell to about 4,600 km² by 2012 as protection was enforced, rose above 10,000 km² a year between 2019 and 2022, and fell again to about 6,300 km² in 2024.
- 3
Why has the rate of Amazon deforestation risen and fallen under different Brazilian governments?
Model answer
It falls when satellite monitoring and fines are strictly enforced and rises when environmental agencies are cut back and farmers expect clearance to go unpunished.
- 4
What is the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon?
Model answer
Cattle ranching, which occupies around four-fifths of the land cleared, because Brazil is one of the world's largest beef exporters.
- 5
How does commercial soya farming contribute to Amazon deforestation?
Model answer
Soya is grown for animal feed and export on huge mechanised farms, often on land first cleared for cattle, which pushes ranchers deeper into the forest.
- 6
How has road building led to deforestation in the Amazon?
Model answer
The Trans-Amazonian Highway, begun in 1970 and about 4,000 km long, opened the forest to loggers, farmers and settlers, and clearance spread outwards from the road and the side tracks built from it.
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