TY - JOUR AU1 - Ríos, Eustacio AU2 - Zardini, Elsa AB - Conservation Biology Volume 3, No.2, June 1989 covered by a dry, tall forest known as the “Chaco.” Near the Paraguay River is a seasonally inundated palm forest, whereas near the border with Bolivia there are dunes almost devoid of vegetation, except when it rains, at which time desert annuals proliferate. Most of eastern Paraguay (85 percent) was once covered by a warm, temperate, moist forest (Holdridge 1969) or subtropical humid forest (Hueck 1978). Low forests occurred on areas with poor drainage, and grassy “campos” occurred both on good soils and on seasonally or permanently inundated soils. These eastern forests were the source of the valuable tropical hardwoods that have made Paraguay famous, and their exploitation has been and continues to be a major cause of deforestation. Deforestation estimates vary considerably, but it is generally agreed that less than 20 percent of the original continuous forest remains, and these forest patches occur only in the least accessible areas, mostly on mountain slopes. Another major cause o deforestation is colf lection of firewood, which is the only source of energy for most of the country. Agriculture and grazing activities are rapidly expanding, particularly the mechanized farming of soybeans, cotton, and TI - Conservation of Biological Diversity in Paraguay JF - Conservation Biology DO - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.1989.tb00062.x DA - 1989-06-01 UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/wiley/conservation-of-biological-diversity-in-paraguay-NsMJ2iUklw SP - 118 EP - 120 VL - 3 IS - 2 DP - DeepDyve ER -