Limited rainfall and high evaporation due to deforestation is threatening soybean production in the Matopiba region, Brazil’s last soy frontier, according a study published Oct. 2 by Climate Advisers consulting firm.
Soy planting in the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna, resulted in 6.9 million acres of deforestation between 2000 and 2017. But just in Matopiba, a region consisting of the states Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui, and Bahia, 4.69 million acres were deforested in during the same time period.
Grain areas replacing native vegetation in the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna, have contributed to increased droughts, posing the ...