Deforestation in Bolivia, infrared satellite images. From left to right, the images were taken in 1975, 1992 and 2000. The forest (red) is being encroached upun by growing settlements. These house people resettled from the Altiplano (high Andean plains). Each settlement is surrounded by fields, which mostly grow soybeans for export. There are concerns that large-scale deforestation may contribute to global warming and the greenhouse effect by removing trees, which absorb carbon dioxide. The images were taken by Landsats 2 (1975), 4 (1992) and 7 (2000), and show the Santa Cruz de la Sierra region.