Tropical forest degradation remains an overlooked driver of global warming

11 de January de 2024

Jan 11, 2024

Celso H. L. Silva Junior, Ane Alencar, Camila Silva, Ana C. M. Pessôa, Nathália S. Carvalho, João B. C. Reis, Aline Pontes, Leticia Gomes, Jéssica Schüler, Fernando Elias, Viola Heinrich, Bárbara Zimbres, Edriano Souza, Julia Shimbo, Wallace Silva, Ludmila Rattis, Patricia Pinho, Paulo Artaxo, Polyanna da C. Bispo, Thais M. Rosan, Stephen Sitch, Sonaira Silva, Ricardo Dalagnol, Fabien H. Wagner, Le Bienfaiteur Sagang, Sassan Saatchi, David M. Lapola, Dolors Armentera, Erika Berenguer, Izaya Numata, Jos Barlow, Luciana Gatti, Philip M. Fearnside, Celso von Randow, Talita O. Assis, Carlos A. Silva, Douglas C. Morton, Liana O. Anderson, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão

Researchers from IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) and other organizations presented during COP28, held in Dubai, a policy brief for decision makers with data and recommendations for combating forest degradation. The document highlights the impact of degraded forests on Brazilian emissions, explains the causes of degradation and suggests paths for protection and recovery.

According to the guide, mechanisms to combat the climate crisis have left aside the recovery of degraded areas, despite the impact that these places have on climate regulation. Researchers warn that if emissions from forest degradation are ignored, agreed mitigation policies will be insufficient to control global warming.

 

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This project is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Find out more at un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals.

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Fire, fragmentation, and windstorms: A recipe for tropical forest degradation

Fire, fragmentation, and windstorms: A recipe for tropical forest degradation

Widespread degradation of tropical forests is caused by a variety of disturbances that interact in ways that are not well understood. To explore potential synergies between edge effects, fire and windstorm damage as causes of Amazonian forest degradation, we quantified vegetation responses to a 30‐min, high‐intensity windstorm that in 2012, swept through a large‐scale fire experiment that borders an agricultural field. Our pre‐ and postwindstorm measurements include tree mortality rates and modes of death, above‐ground biomass, and airborne LiDAR‐based estimates of tree heights and canopy disturbance (i.e., number and size of gaps). The experimental area in the southeastern Amazonia includes three 50‐ha plots established in 2004 that were unburned (Control), burned annually (B1yr), or burned at 3‐year intervals (B3yr).