Socio-spatial Processes of Road-building and Land Cover Change: The Case of Sinop, MT
Stephen
G
Perz, University of Florida, sperz@soc.ufl.edu
(Presenting)
Marcellus
M
Caldas, Michigan State University, caldasma@msu.edu
Robert
T
Walker, Michigan State University, rwalker@msu.edu
Recent work on land cover and regional climate change in the Amazon features the role of roads and large-scale agricultural establishments, but the processes linking these factors have not been systematically investigated. We report initial fieldwork and present preliminary data products from research conducted in Sinop (MT), an agroindustrial frontier in the southern Brazilian Amazon that is characterized by a highly distinctive road network architecture, many large rural establishments, and a different spatial pattern of forest fragmentation than those seen in colonization zones or other commonly-studied parts of the region. In Sinop, private colonization companies bought land from the state and demarcated properties prior to the arrival of federal highways, which allowed for rapid land purchases, avoided land conflicts seen elsewhere, and facilitated the implementation of large-scale timber, ranching and agroindustrial enterprises. The result has been widespread forest clearing, but in large geometric blocks, alongside large blocks of standing forest. Despite the strong presence of state institutions and limited land conflict, a dense and somewhat irregular road network has facilitated widespread access to land, forest clearing, and carbon emissions.