Wang, Y, Ziv, G orcid.org/0000-0002-6776-0763, Adami, M et al. (6 more authors) (2020) Upturn in secondary forest clearing buffers primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon. Nature Sustainability, 3. pp. 290-295. ISSN 2398-9629
Abstract
Brazil contains two-thirds of remaining Amazonian rainforests and is responsible for the most Amazon forest loss. Primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon has declined considerably since 2004 but secondary forest loss has never been quantified. We use a recently developed high-resolution land use/land cover dataset to track secondary forests in the Brazilian Amazon over 14 yr, providing the first estimates of secondary forest loss for the region. We find that secondary forest loss increased by (187 ± 48)% from 2008 to 2014. Moreover, the proportion of total forest loss accounted for by secondary forests rose from (37 ± 3)% in 2000 to (72 ± 5)% in 2014. The recent acceleration in secondary forests loss occurred across the entire region and was not driven simply by increasing secondary forest area but probably a conscious preferential shift towards clearance of a little-protected forest ecosystem (secondary forests). Our results suggest that secondary forests loss has eased deforestation pressure on primary forests. However, this has been at the expense of a lost carbon sequestration opportunity of 2.59–2.66 Pg C over our study period.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2020. This is an author produced version of an article published in Nature Communications. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 641762 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/N004655/1 Royal Society NAF\R1\180405 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Feb 2020 16:44 |
Last Modified: | 18 Dec 2020 13:59 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41893-019-0470-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:156696 |