Geographic Patterns of Land Use and Land Intensity in the Brazilian Amazon

dc.creatorChomitz, Kenneth M.
dc.creatorThomas, Timothy S.
dc.date2014-08-20T18:33:32Z
dc.date2014-08-20T18:33:32Z
dc.date2001-10
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-01T01:08:36Z
dc.descriptionUsing census data from the Censo Agropecuario 1995-96, the authors map indicators of current land use, and agricultural productivity across Brazil's Legal Amazon, These data permit geographical resolution about ten times finer than afforded by "municipio" data, used in previous studies. The authors focus on the extent, and productivity of pasture, the dominant land use in Amazonia today. Simple tabulations suggest that most agricultural land in Amazonia yields little private economic value. Nearly ninety percent of agricultural land is either devoted to pasture, or has been out of use for more than four years. About forty percent of the currently used pastureland, has a stocking ratio of less that 0.5 cattle per hectare. Tabulations also show a skewed distribution of land ownership: almost half of Amazonian farmland is located in the one percent of properties that contain more than two thousand hectares. Multivariate analyses relate forest conversion, and pasture productivity to precipitation, soil quality, infrastructure, and market access, proximity to past conversion, and protection status. The authors find precipitation to have a strong deterrent effect on agriculture. The probability that land is currently claimed, or used for agriculture, or intensively stocked with cattle, declines substantially with increasing precipitation levels, holding other factors (such as road access) constant. Proxies for land abandonment are also higher in high rainfall areas. Together these findings suggest that the wetter Western Amazon is inhospitable to exploitation for pasture, using current technologies. On the other hand, land conversion, and stocking rates are positively correlated with proximity to past clearing. This suggests that in the areas of active deforestation in eastern Amazonia, the frontier is not :hollow:, and land use intensifies over time. But this area remains a mosaic of lands with higher, and lower potential agricultural value.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.formattext/plain
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/10/1614880/geographic-patterns-land-use-land-intensity-brazilian-amazon
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/19506
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2687
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/415559
dc.languageEnglish
dc.languageen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relationPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 2687
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL LAND
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL LAND USE
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL OUTPUT
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
dc.subjectAGRICULTURE
dc.subjectAGROFORESTRY
dc.subjectCLIMATE
dc.subjectCOMMODITIES
dc.subjectCONSERVATION
dc.subjectCROPS
dc.subjectCULTIVATION
dc.subjectDAIRY FARMERS
dc.subjectDEFORESTATION
dc.subjectDEGRADED LAND
dc.subjectDRY SEASON
dc.subjectECONOMIC VALUE
dc.subjectEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectEXPLOITATION
dc.subjectFARMERS
dc.subjectFARMS
dc.subjectFOREST
dc.subjectFOREST AREAS
dc.subjectFOREST CONVERSION
dc.subjectFOREST COVER
dc.subjectFOREST MANAGEMENT
dc.subjectGRASSLANDS
dc.subjectLAND COVER
dc.subjectLAND OWNERSHIP
dc.subjectLAND QUALITY
dc.subjectLAND USE
dc.subjectLAND USES
dc.subjectLAND VALUE
dc.subjectLOGGING
dc.subjectNITROGEN
dc.subjectOVERGRAZING
dc.subjectPARKS
dc.subjectPHOSPHORUS
dc.subjectPLANTATION
dc.subjectPRECIPITATION
dc.subjectPRECIPITATION DATA
dc.subjectPRIVATE PROPERTY
dc.subjectPRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectRAINFALL
dc.subjectREGENERATION
dc.subjectREMOTE SENSING
dc.subjectRIVERS
dc.subjectSILVICULTURE
dc.subjectSOIL
dc.subjectSOIL RESOURCES
dc.subjectSOILS
dc.subjectSPATIAL PATTERNS
dc.subjectSTUDY AREA
dc.subjectSUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT
dc.subjectTEMPERATURE
dc.subjectTIMBER
dc.subjectUPLAND AREAS
dc.subjectVEGETATION LAND USE
dc.subjectGEOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL LAND
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION
dc.subjectAMAZON RIVER REGION
dc.subjectCENSUSES
dc.subjectGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
dc.subjectPASTURE & FORAGE
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectPRIVATE VALUE
dc.subjectECONOMIC VALUATION
dc.subjectLIVESTOCK PRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectLAND OWNERSHIP
dc.subjectFARMLAND VALUATION
dc.subjectFOREST DEGRADATION
dc.subjectRAINFALL MEASUREMENT
dc.subjectSOIL MANAGEMENT
dc.subjectINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectDEFORESTATION
dc.titleGeographic Patterns of Land Use and Land Intensity in the Brazilian Amazon

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