摘要
近来巴西大豆生产的增长引发了环境保护团体以及一些学者对于亚马孙盆地的热带自然环境正在向大豆种植地转换的关注。大豆生产的支持者则认为大豆是区域的一种可行性农产品;对于环境的关注是没有根据的,因为新的大豆种植地正在替代已经被砍伐的林地或者是转换了的土地。两种观点虽被提出却都没有对大豆生产扩充区的土地利用与土地覆被(LULC)状况进行过综合研究与估量。本案例研究是在巴西的朗多尼亚州,亚马孙盆地西南部的维列纳市(Vilhena),通过遥感手段对1996～2001年以来该市大豆种植面积的大幅度增加所伴随的土地利用与土地覆被变化状况进行评估。结果表明虽然森林变成了大豆生产基地,但是大部分的大豆生产的增长归功于对已有土地的微量扩充、已伐林地的转换以及更高的单位产量。
The recent rise in Brazilian soybean production has generated concern among the environmental community and some authors that natural tropical environments of the Amazon Basin are being converted to soybean fields.Proponents of soybean production counter that soybeans represent a viable agricultural commodity for the region; environmental concern is unwarranted,because new soybean fields are replacing already deforested or otherwise transformed lands.Both arguments have been made without comprehensive study and measure of land-use/land-cover (LULC) in areas undergoing expansion of soybean production.This case study,conducted in the municipality of Vilhena, Rondo^ nia,Brazil,in the southwestern Amazon Basin,uses remote sensing to evaluate the LULC accompanying this municipality's large growth in soybean production from 1996 to 2001.Forests are being converted for soybean production,but most of the production increase appears attributable to slight expansion of already existing fields,conversion of already deforested land,and higher yields.
