AVHRR-LAC thermal data and Landsat MSS and TM spectral data were used to estimate the rate of forest clearing in Mato Grosso, Brazil, between 1981 and 1984. The Brazilian state was stratified into forest and non-forest. A list sampling procedure was used in the forest stratum to select Landsat MSS scenes for processing based on estimates of fire activity in the scenes. Fire activity in 1984 was estimated using AVHRR-LAC thermal data. Slate-wide estimates of forest conversion indicate that between 1981 and 1984, 353966 ha ±77 000 ha (0·4 percent of the state area) were converted per year. No evidence of reforestation was found in this digital sample. The relationship between forest clearing rate (based on MSS-TM analysis)and fire activity (estimated using AVHRR data)was noisy (R2= 0·41). The results suggest that AVHRR data may be put to better use as a stratification tool rather than as a subsidiary variable in list sampling.