The benefits of cutting down tropical forests in order to convert the nutrient-rich soil into farmland are only short-lived, scientists suggest.US researchers studied deforested land in Mexico and found that soil levels of phosphorus, a key nutrient for plants, fell by 44% after three growing cycles.
In the long-term, the land risked becoming so degraded that it would be uneconomic to farm, they added.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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