Over the past three decades, tropical forest clearing and burning have greatly altered the Amazonian landscape by increasing the cover of pastures and secondary forests. The alteration of biogeochemical processes on these lands is of particular interest on highly weathered Oxisols that cover large areas in the region because of concerns regarding possible nutrient limitation in agricultural land uses and during forest regrowth. The objectives of this study were to quantify (1) the reaccumulation of nutrients in biomass of secondary land uses, (2) changes in soil nutrient contents, (3) internal nutrient cycles, and (4) input–output budgets for the landscape mosaic.
Amazon wildfires: Scenes from a foreseeable disaster
Amazon wildfires: Scenes from a foreseeable disaster
The Amazon forest’s main protection against fire is its capacity to create a moist understory microclimate. Roads, deforestation, droughts, and climate change have made this natural firebreak less effective. The southern Amazon, in particular, has become more...