title: Industrial contributions to desertification in South America.
abstract: Degradation of tropical lands has a grim inevitability. This is true of semi-arid and seasonal ecosystems as it is of the rainforests, whose plight has been the principal focus of attention in recent years. The broad belt of savanna-like vegetation in central South America has suffered an accelerating decline in productivity due to overclearing and overgrazing, a process that can be traced directly to the industrialization of Europe in the 19th century. The remorseless slide towards unproductivity need not be slow: a mere 50-100 years seems more than adequate, even for the more robust landscapes. With careful management however, some of these lands are slowly recovering.
authors.affiliation: Elsevier Publications, 68 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1LA, UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Bucher