Climate risks to Amazon agriculture suggest a rationale to conserve local ecosystems

In southern Amazonia, more than half of all cropland is devoted to the production of two rainfed crops per year, an agricultural practice known as “double cropping” ( DC ). Climate change, including feedbacks between changes in land use and the local climate, is shortening the extent of the historical rainy season in southern Amazonia, increasing the risk of future detrimental environmental conditions, and posing a threat to the intensive DC agriculture that is currently practiced in that region, with potential negative consequences at regional, national, and even global scales. We argue that the conservation of undeveloped forests and savannas in southern Amazonia is supported by socioeconomic justifications and is in the best interests of agribusiness, local governments, and the public.