INCREASED FIRE ACTIVITY IN THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST

Abstract

The Amazon rain forest is the largest condensed forest area in the tropics. It extends over an area of 3.5 million square kilometers, which is approximately the size of Europe. The majority or almost 2/3 of the forest lies in Brazil, where it has been subjected to constant loads in the last two decades due to cutting, mining and extensive construction and industrial projects, but above all as the result of acquiring new agricultural areas - usually by means of arson. According to official estimates, these activities consume from 15,000 to 20,000 km2 of forest each year. However, official statistics do not register the losses caused by natural fires, which additionally destroy 30,000 km² of forest per year. Since natural fires have been increasing in recent years both by size and number, and because they are, so to speak, practically impossible to control, they are nowadays the major and most worrisome cause of deforestation. The article analyses the causes of natural fires in Brazilian Amazonia and exposes two issues: the effects of climatic changes and the contribution of anthropogenic activities to increased fire activity in the region.