Most of the Brazil Fires are Controlled Slash and Burn Farming Fires

Most of the fires in Brazil were likely set by farmers preparing the land for next year’s planting. This is common farming method said the scientists from the University of Maryland. The fires are burning on agricultural land where the forest had already been cleared. Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research calculated that there were 35 percent more fires so far this year than in the average of the last eight years. There were far fewer fires than the average in 2003-2010. Three are satellite grid of maps that show the month-by-month pattern of fires across the Amazon rain forest