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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.

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Process

How have settlement and population growth added to deforestation in the Amazon?

Key term

What is the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon?

Process

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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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