Soy and Amazon forest in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Since 1988 Mato Grosso has lost more forest than any state in Brazil: 133,352 square kilometers, or more than 35 percent of Amazon clearing.
Mato Grosso’s forests have been logged for timber and then primarily converted into cattle pasture — the state has some 26 million head of cattle across 24 million hectares of pasture. Extensive areas have also been planted with mechanized soy farms, as seen in the picture above.
Accumulated deforestation since 1988 [sq km]
| State | 2009 |
| Acre | 11 724 |
| Amazonas | 18 949 |
| Amapá | 1 223 |
| Maranhão | 22 199 |
| Mato Grosso | 133 352 |
| Pará | 123 527 |
| Rondônia | 51 789 |
| Roraima | 6 107 |
| Tocantins | 8 237 |
| Amazônia Legal | 377 108 |
[does not account for forest regeneration]
Comparative land area
More information on deforestation in Brazil
More pictures from Brazil