If railways and plantations expanded in the same area, why could deforestation intensify?

Correct answer: Railways needed timber and routes while plantations needed large areas of land

Answer: A, railways needed timber and routes while plantations needed large areas of land. The key is to combine two separate pressures. Railway expansion required land for tracks and routes and timber for sleepers, bridges and construction. Plantation expansion required clearing sizeable forest areas and changing them into spaces for commercial crops. If both expanded in the same region, forests faced pressure from infrastructure as well as agricultural-commercial conversion. B is wrong because both activities could alter forests. C is wrong because railways often helped move plantation goods rather than closing plantations. D is wrong because plantations did not remove the wider demand for timber. Memory cue: two projects, two pressures—railway timber and routes plus plantation land.