The conflict between agricultural expansion and priority conservation areas: Making the right decisions before it is too late

► We calculated priority conservation areas in different land-use scenarios. ► We used amphibians and reptiles as surrogates in a heavily deforested region. ► Optimal conservation areas become increasingly inadequate as agriculture expands. ► Physical proprieties of conservation areas worsen to reach the same objective. ► As policies are delayed, the possibility to conserve biodiversity adequately is lost.