Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest declined, but soil degradation increased

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil was reduced by 54% in two years, but soil degradation, as a result of fires and droughts, advanced 163% in the same period, says a study released on Wednesday by the State Research Support Foundation of the State of Sao Paulo (FAPESP). The study was published in the journal "Global Change Biology" by scientists of the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), in collaboration with the Universit…