Tractor-trailer truckslin e up along a red and muddy earthen road. Large vinyl tarpaulins secured by ropes cover the open-topped hoppers of each one. Truck drivers hang out and prepare simple meals using stoves and kitchen utensils contained in a compact box built into the side of the truck cab. It’s early March, still the middle of a lush and highly predictable rainy season. Th e trucks wait for their turn and then enter a large modern compound with a football fi eld–sized building where they are loaded with recently harvested and dried soybeans and weighed.
Decoupling of deforestation and soy production in the southern Amazon during the late 2000s
Decoupling of deforestation and soy production in the southern Amazon during the late 2000s
From 2006 to 2010, deforestation in the Amazon frontier state of Mato Grosso decreased to 30% of its historical average (1996–2005) whereas agricultural production reached an all-time high. This study combines satellite data with government deforestation and...