Treesearch
Recent deforestation drove the spike in Amazonian forests
| Authors: | Adrian Cardil, Sergio de-Miguel, Carlos A. Silva, Peter B. Reich, Dave E. Calkin, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Alexander C. Vibrans, Javier G. P. Gamarra, M. Zhou, Bryan C. Pijanowski, Cang Hui, Thomas W. Crowther, Bruno Herault, Daniel Piotto, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Eben North Broadbent, Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano, Nicolas Picard, Luiz E. O. C. Aragao, Jean-Francois Bastin, Devin Routh, Johan van den Hoogen, Pablo L. Peri, Jingjing Liang |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Rocky Mountain Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abcac7 |
| Source: | Environmental Research Letters. 15(12): 121003. |
Download (PDF 869 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/62117.pdf
Abstract
Tropical forests are of global importance even though they only cover around 10% of the Earth’s land surface. They store large amounts of carbon and host between one-half and two-thirds of the world’s species (Lewis 2006). Small changes in the tropical moist forest - the most biodiverse biome within the tropical forests - may lead to global impacts on climate dynamics and warming, water cycles, and the loss of biodiversity. If the current rates of deforestation and clearing patterns continue, many tropical moist forests could face an imminent regime shift towards an alternative tropical scrubland ecosystem state (Lovejoy and Nobre 2018).