Restoration of vegetation cover in the eastern Amazon

Development activities in Altamira, Para, Brazil began with the construction of the Transamazon Highway in 1970. In the early years land use emphasized annual crops, followed by pasture development. During the second decade of settlement, land cover in the region shifted from 'degraded pastures' or early stages of secondary successional vegetation to increased dominance of intermediate and late secondary succession. This finding is a result of recent research using Landsat TM satellite data and detailed field studies of vegetation stand structure. Close to 40% of the forest had been removed by 1985, but between 1985 and 1991 there is clear evidence for twice as much regrowth as there is new deforestation. Land use has a significant effect on the vegetation's total height, stem height, and basal area. The use of satellite data in combination witt! detailed studies of vegetation stand structure and land use histories gathered from households provide a multilevel approach that allows integration of local, regional, and global patterns of secondary succession in agricultural areas, and informs restoration strategies for Amazonia.