Intensively-managed croplands and nitrogen (N) fertilizer use are expanding rapidly in tropical regions. We quantified fertilizer responses of maize yield, N2O emissions, and N leaching in an Amazon soybeanmaize double-cropping system on deep, highly-weathered soils in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

After 40 years of government induced settlement of the Brazilian Amazon, the core of this region has experienced surprisingly little deforestation. The agriculture and ranching that cause deforestation depend upon reliable roads, which are concentrated along the...