Deforestation In The Brazilian Amazon

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(about 4500 acres) every hour! (Dwyer 39) Deforestation started
hundreds of years ago, but only became a major problem in the second half
of this century, when it increased dramatically. It was enhanced by the
Brazilian government which started cutting down the forest to construct a
vast network of highways in an effort to establish a good transportation
system and improve Brazil's economy. The government wanted to encourage
the country's development by transporting poor families from overpopulated
areas of the country to Amazonia. Many poor people saw emigration into the
Amazon as an opportunity to attain a higher standard of living. This
finally offered them a chance to own their own land, and take advantage of
jobs offered by multinational corporations, petroleum corporations and
logging companies. An example of this happened in the late 60's, when a
2160 kilometer road was constructed to join the capital Brasilia with the
Amazonian port of Belem. Just a decade ...

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about year four they are barely worth the effort. The earth hardens and
is washed away by rain, it becomes impossible to cultivate. So the farmers
have to move to an other parcel of forest and so on... (Larson)

Under normal conditions, very few demands are made of the soil. It's
protected from the sun by trees, and from rain by a thick carpet of leaves,
branches and trunks. The litter is quickly decomposed into inorganic
nutrients, which are soon absorbed by the roots of plants. This is very
efficient, there is virtually no soil erosion or loss of nutrients. But
when the forest is cut, the whole ecosystem collapses. There is no leaf
carpet to cover the ground, so rain leaches ...

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