Brazil has been facing a significant challenge with its tree cover loss over the years. The country, with an area of over 850 million hectares, has a tree cover extent of approximately 519 million hectares. However, the trend of deforestation has been alarming, with a net loss of 28 million hectares, which is a 5.93% decrease from the stable tree cover. The main drivers of this loss have been identified as shifting agriculture, forestry, wildfires, and urbanization.
Shifting agriculture alone accounts for a substantial portion of the tree cover loss, with millions of hectares affected annually. Forestry activities and urbanization also contribute significantly to the decline. Wildfires, although responsible for a smaller area of loss, remain a persistent issue, as evidenced by the latest fire incident in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul.
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