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Chen S, Stark SC, Nobre AD, Cuartas LA, de Jesus Amore D, Restrepo-Coupe N, Smith MN, Chitra-Tarak R, Ko H, Nelson BW, Saleska SR. Amazon forest biogeography predicts resilience and vulnerability to drought. Nature 2024:10.1038/s41586-024-07568-w. [PMID: 38898277 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07568-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Amazonia contains the most extensive tropical forests on Earth, but Amazon carbon sinks of atmospheric CO2 are declining, as deforestation and climate-change-associated droughts1-4 threaten to push these forests past a tipping point towards collapse5-8. Forests exhibit complex drought responses, indicating both resilience (photosynthetic greening) and vulnerability (browning and tree mortality), that are difficult to explain by climate variation alone9-17. Here we combine remotely sensed photosynthetic indices with ground-measured tree demography to identify mechanisms underlying drought resilience/vulnerability in different intact forest ecotopes18,19 (defined by water-table depth, soil fertility and texture, and vegetation characteristics). In higher-fertility southern Amazonia, drought response was structured by water-table depth, with resilient greening in shallow-water-table forests (where greater water availability heightened response to excess sunlight), contrasting with vulnerability (browning and excess tree mortality) over deeper water tables. Notably, the resilience of shallow-water-table forest weakened as drought lengthened. By contrast, lower-fertility northern Amazonia, with slower-growing but hardier trees (or, alternatively, tall forests, with deep-rooted water access), supported more-drought-resilient forests independent of water-table depth. This functional biogeography of drought response provides a framework for conservation decisions and improved predictions of heterogeneous forest responses to future climate changes, warning that Amazonia's most productive forests are also at greatest risk, and that longer/more frequent droughts are undermining multiple ecohydrological strategies and capacities for Amazon forest resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuli Chen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| | - Scott C Stark
- Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Luz Adriana Cuartas
- National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São José dos Campos, Brazil
| | - Diogo de Jesus Amore
- National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São José dos Campos, Brazil
| | - Natalia Restrepo-Coupe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Cupoazu LLC, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marielle N Smith
- Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Rutuja Chitra-Tarak
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - Hongseok Ko
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Bruce W Nelson
- Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Scott R Saleska
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
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2
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Debus A, Beauchamp E, Acworth J, Ewolo A, Kamga J, Verhegghen A, Zébazé C, Lines ER. A labelled dataset to classify direct deforestation drivers from Earth Observation imagery in Cameroon. Sci Data 2024; 11:564. [PMID: 38821976 PMCID: PMC11143300 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03384-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding direct deforestation drivers at a fine spatial and temporal scale is needed to design appropriate measures for forest management and monitoring. To achieve this, reference datasets with which to design Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches to classify direct deforestation drivers within areas experiencing forest loss in a detailed, comprehensive and locally-adapted way are needed. This is the case for Cameroon, in the Congo Basin, which has known increasing deforestation rates in recent years. Here, we created an Earth Observation dataset with associated labels to classify detailed direct deforestation drivers in Cameroon, which includes satellite imagery (Landsat and PlanetScope) and auxiliary data on infrastructure and biophysical properties. The dataset provides the following fifteen labels: oil palm, timber, fruit, rubber and other-large scale plantations; grassland/shrubland; small-scale oil palm or maize plantations and other small-scale agriculture; mining; selective logging; infrastructure; wildfires; hunting; and other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandine Debus
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, United Kingdom.
| | - Emilie Beauchamp
- International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 0T4, Canada
| | - James Acworth
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nouvelle route Bastos B.P. 836, Yaoundé, Cameroun
| | - Achille Ewolo
- Centre for Environment and Development (CED), Etoa-Meki, Yaoundé, P.O Box 3430, Cameroon
| | - Justin Kamga
- Forêts et Développement Rural (FODER), Derrière Usine Bastos, Rue 228, 11417, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Astrid Verhegghen
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
- ARHS Developments Italia S.R.L., Via Gabba Frattelli 1/A, 20121, Milan, Italy
| | - Christiane Zébazé
- Forêts et Développement Rural (FODER), Derrière Usine Bastos, Rue 228, 11417, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Emily R Lines
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, United Kingdom
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3
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Engert JE, Campbell MJ, Cinner JE, Ishida Y, Sloan S, Supriatna J, Alamgir M, Cislowski J, Laurance WF. Ghost roads and the destruction of Asia-Pacific tropical forests. Nature 2024; 629:370-375. [PMID: 38600390 PMCID: PMC11078755 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07303-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Roads are expanding at the fastest pace in human history. This is the case especially in biodiversity-rich tropical nations, where roads can result in forest loss and fragmentation, wildfires, illicit land invasions and negative societal effects1-5. Many roads are being constructed illegally or informally and do not appear on any existing road map6-10; the toll of such 'ghost roads' on ecosystems is poorly understood. Here we use around 7,000 h of effort by trained volunteers to map ghost roads across the tropical Asia-Pacific region, sampling 1.42 million plots, each 1 km2 in area. Our intensive sampling revealed a total of 1.37 million km of roads in our plots-from 3.0 to 6.6 times more roads than were found in leading datasets of roads globally. Across our study area, road building almost always preceded local forest loss, and road density was by far the strongest correlate11 of deforestation out of 38 potential biophysical and socioeconomic covariates. The relationship between road density and forest loss was nonlinear, with deforestation peaking soon after roads penetrate a landscape and then declining as roads multiply and remaining accessible forests largely disappear. Notably, after controlling for lower road density inside protected areas, we found that protected areas had only modest additional effects on preventing forest loss, implying that their most vital conservation function is limiting roads and road-related environmental disruption. Collectively, our findings suggest that burgeoning, poorly studied ghost roads are among the gravest of all direct threats to tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayden E Engert
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Mason J Campbell
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Joshua E Cinner
- College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Thriving Oceans Research Hub, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Yoko Ishida
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sean Sloan
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Geography, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jatna Supriatna
- Research Center for Climate Change, and Department of Biology, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia
| | - Mohammed Alamgir
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jaime Cislowski
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
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4
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Holler S, Kübler D, Conrad O, Schmitz O, Bonannella C, Hengl T, Böhner J, Günter S, Lippe M. Quo vadis, smallholder forest landscape? An introduction to the LPB-RAP model. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297439. [PMID: 38306349 PMCID: PMC10836681 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The impacts of the Anthropocene on climate and biodiversity pose societal and ecological problems that may only be solved by ecosystem restoration. Local to regional actions are required, which need to consider the prevailing present and future conditions of a certain landscape extent. Modeling approaches can be of help to support management efforts and to provide advice to policy making. We present stage one of the LaForeT-PLUC-BE model (Landscape Forestry in the Tropics-PCRaster Land Use Change-Biogeographic & Economic model; in short: LPB) and its thematic expansion module RAP (Restoration Areas Potentials). LPB-RAP is a high-resolution pixel-based scenario tool that relies on a range of explicit land use types (LUTs) to describe various forest types and the environment. It simulates and analyzes future landscape configurations under consideration of climate, population and land use change long-term. Simulated Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) builds on dynamic, probabilistic modeling incorporating climatic and anthropogenic determinants as well as restriction parameters to depict a sub-national regional smallholder-dominated forest landscape. The model delivers results for contrasting scenario settings by simulating without and with potential Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) measures. FLR potentials are depicted by up to five RAP-LUTs. The model builds on user-defined scenario inputs, such as the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP). Model application is here exemplified for the SSP2-RCP4.5 scenario in the time frame 2018-2100 on the hectare scale in annual resolution using Esmeraldas province, Ecuador, as a case study area. The LPB-RAP model is a novel, heuristic Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) tool for smallholder-dominated forest landscapes, supporting near-time top-down planning measures with long-term bottom-up modeling. Its application should be followed up by FLR on-site investigations and stakeholder participation across all involved scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Holler
- Thünen Institute of Forestry, Hamburg, Germany
- Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Olaf Conrad
- Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Schmitz
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Carmelo Bonannella
- OpenGeoHub, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Jürgen Böhner
- Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sven Günter
- Thünen Institute of Forestry, Hamburg, Germany
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5
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Marcus MS, Hergoualc'h K, Honorio Coronado EN, Gutiérrez-Vélez VH. Spatial distribution of degradation and deforestation of palm swamp peatlands and associated carbon emissions in the Peruvian Amazon. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 351:119665. [PMID: 38086114 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
The vast peat deposits in the Peruvian Amazon are crucial to the global climate. Palm swamp, the most extensive regional peatland ecosystem faces different threats, including deforestation and degradation due to felling of the dominant palm Mauritia flexuosa for fruit harvesting. While these activities convert this natural C sink into a source, the distribution of degradation and deforestation in this ecosystem and related C emissions remain unstudied. We used remote sensing data from Landsat, ALOS-PALSAR, and NASA's GEDI spaceborne LiDAR-derived products to map palm swamp degradation and deforestation within a 28 Mha area of the lowland Peruvian Amazon in 1990-2007 and 2007-2018. We combined this information with a regional peat map, C stock density data and peat emission factors to determine (1) peatland C stocks of peat-forming ecosystems (palm swamp, herbaceous swamp, pole forest), and (2) areas of palm swamp peatland degradation and deforestation and associated C emissions. In the 6.9 ± 0.1 Mha of predicted peat-forming ecosystems within the larger 28 Mha study area, 73% overlaid peat (5.1 ± 0.9 Mha) and stored 3.88 ± 0.12 Pg C. Degradation and deforestation in palm swamp peatlands totaled 535,423 ± 8,419 ha over 1990-2018, with a pronounced dominance for degradation (85%). The degradation rate increased 15% from 15,400 ha y-1 (1990-2007) to 17,650 ha y-1 (2007-2018) and the deforestation rate more than doubled from 1,900 ha y-1 to 4,200 ha y-1. Over 1990-2018, emissions from degradation amounted to 26.3 ± 3.5 Tg C and emissions from deforestation were 12.9 ± 0.5 Tg C. The 2007-2018 emission rate from both biomass and peat loss of 1.9 Tg C yr-1 is four times the average biomass loss rate due to gross deforestation in 2010-2019 reported for the hydromorphic Peruvian Amazon. The magnitude of emissions calls for the country to account for deforestation and degradation of peatlands in national reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew S Marcus
- Temple University, Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Philadelphia, PA, USA; University of Arizona, School of Geography, Development and Environment, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| | - Kristell Hergoualc'h
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Lima, Peru; Centre de coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), UMR Eco&Sols, Montpellier, France
| | - Eurídice N Honorio Coronado
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, United Kingdom
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6
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Sze JS, Childs DZ, Carrasco LR, Fernández-Llamazares Á, Garnett ST, Edwards DP. Indigenous Peoples' Lands are critical for safeguarding vertebrate diversity across the tropics. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e16981. [PMID: 37888836 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Indigenous Peoples are long-term custodians of their lands, but only recently are their contributions to conservation starting to be recognized in biodiversity policy and practice. Tropical forest loss and degradation are lower in Indigenous lands than unprotected areas, yet the role of Indigenous Peoples' Lands (IPL) in biodiversity conservation has not been properly assessed from regional to global scales. Using species distribution ranges of 11,872 tropical forest-dependent vertebrates to create area of habitat maps, we identified the overlap of these species ranges with IPL and then compared values inside and outside of IPL for species richness, extinction vulnerability, and range-size rarity. Of assessed vertebrates, at least 76.8% had range overlaps with IPL, on average overlapping ~25% of their ranges; at least 120 species were found only within IPL. Species richness within IPL was highest in South America, while IPL in Southeast Asia had highest extinction vulnerability, and IPL in Dominica and New Caledonia were important for range-size rarity. Most countries in the Americas had higher species richness within IPL than outside, whereas most countries in Asia had lower extinction vulnerability scores inside IPL and more countries in Africa and Asia had slightly higher range-size rarity in IPL. Our findings suggest that IPL provide critical support for tropical forest-dependent vertebrates, highlighting the need for greater inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in conservation target-setting and program implementation, and stronger upholding of Indigenous Peoples' rights in conservation policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyne S Sze
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - L Roman Carrasco
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
- Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology (BABVE-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Stephen T Garnett
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - David P Edwards
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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7
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Charoud H, Costedoat S, Izquierdo-Tort S, Moros L, Villamayor-Tomás S, Castillo-Santiago MÁ, Wunder S, Corbera E. Sustained participation in a Payments for Ecosystem Services program reduces deforestation in a Mexican agricultural frontier. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22314. [PMID: 38102237 PMCID: PMC10724165 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49725-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) provide conditional incentives for forest conservation. PES short-term effects on deforestation are well-documented, but we know less about program effectiveness when participation is sustained over time. Here, we assess the impact of consecutive renewals of PES contracts on deforestation and forest degradation in three municipalities of the Selva Lacandona (Chiapas, Mexico). PES reduced deforestation both after a single 5-year contract and after two consecutive contracts, but the impacts are only detectable in higher deforestation-risk parcels. Enrollment duration increases PES impact in these parcels, which suggests a positive cumulative effect over time. These findings suggest that improved spatial targeting and longer-term enrollment are key enabling factors to improve forest conservation outcomes in agricultural frontiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Charoud
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain
| | | | - Santiago Izquierdo-Tort
- Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Mario de La Cueva Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Lina Moros
- Universidad de los Andes, School of Management, Calle 21 # 1-20, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Sergio Villamayor-Tomás
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain
- Ostrom Workshop, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47408, USA
| | - Miguel Ángel Castillo-Santiago
- Departamento de Observación y Estudio de la Tierra, la Atmósfera y el Océano, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, 29290, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico
| | - Sven Wunder
- European Forest Institute, St. Antoni M. Claret 167, 08025, Barcelona, Spain
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), La Molina, Lima 12, Peru
| | - Esteve Corbera
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Psg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain.
- Department of Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.
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8
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Egenolf V, Schüngel J, Bringezu S, Schaldach R. The impact of the German timber footprint on potential species loss in supply regions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 901:165897. [PMID: 37527712 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Previous own assessments have shown that a) Germany has a wood consumption above global average, b) is strongly dependent on imports and c) has a domestic roundwood production that is at the limit of the sustainable harvest potential. Thereby Germany further increases the pressures on global forests which are already stressed by climate-change related impacts and a continuously growing global demand for wood. This leads to negative impacts on the biodiversity in the areas where wood is harvested. This paper aims to show the connection between Germany's timber consumption footprint and the impact on the biodiversity in the regions where the roundwood is sourced. A two-step process is used. In the first step, high-resolution land cover and land use maps are used as a basis for the countryside species-area relationship model, assessing the projected loss of the four taxa amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles in relation to undisturbed natural ecosystems due to forests occupied for roundwood production. In the second step, roundwood equivalents consumed in Germany in 2015 are traced back to the region of origin using an environmentally-extended input-output analysis and the thereby induced potential species loss is calculated. We show that the highest impact on projected species richness loss caused by roundwood logging is taking place in Oceania (3.34E-03 species/m3), Carribean (1.56E-04 species/m3), and East Asia (1.43E-04 species/m3). German roundwood consumption has the highest projected species loss in the United States (7.4 species), followed by China (7.3 species) and Brazil (4.8 species). From a biodiversity impact perspective, Germany could theoretically reduce its impact by relocating imports to European countries. In view of the planetary boundary of sustainable roundwood consumption, which has already been exceeded, reducing consumption appears to be the only viable long-term option for high-consumption countries such as Germany to reduce negative impacts on global biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Egenolf
- Sustainable Resource Futures Group (SURF), Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany.
| | - Jan Schüngel
- Global and Regional Integrated Dynamics Group (GRID), Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany
| | - Stefan Bringezu
- Sustainable Resource Futures Group (SURF), Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Schaldach
- Global and Regional Integrated Dynamics Group (GRID), Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany
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Heinrich V, House J, Gibbs DA, Harris N, Herold M, Grassi G, Cantinho R, Rosan TM, Zimbres B, Shimbo JZ, Melo J, Hales T, Sitch S, Aragão LEOC. Mind the gap: reconciling tropical forest carbon flux estimates from earth observation and national reporting requires transparency. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2023; 18:22. [PMID: 37982938 PMCID: PMC10662451 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-023-00240-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The application of different approaches calculating the anthropogenic carbon net flux from land, leads to estimates that vary considerably. One reason for these variations is the extent to which approaches consider forest land to be "managed" by humans, and thus contributing to the net anthropogenic flux. Global Earth Observation (EO) datasets characterising spatio-temporal changes in land cover and carbon stocks provide an independent and consistent approach to estimate forest carbon fluxes. These can be compared against results reported in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs) to support accurate and timely measuring, reporting and verification (MRV). Using Brazil as a primary case study, with additional analysis in Indonesia and Malaysia, we compare a Global EO-based dataset of forest carbon fluxes to results reported in NGHGIs. RESULTS Between 2001 and 2020, the EO-derived estimates of all forest-related emissions and removals indicate that Brazil was a net sink of carbon (- 0.2 GtCO2yr-1), while Brazil's NGHGI reported a net carbon source (+ 0.8 GtCO2yr-1). After adjusting the EO estimate to use the Brazilian NGHGI definition of managed forest and other assumptions used in the inventory's methodology, the EO net flux became a source of + 0.6 GtCO2yr-1, comparable to the NGHGI. Remaining discrepancies are due largely to differing carbon removal factors and forest types applied in the two datasets. In Indonesia, the EO and NGHGI net flux estimates were similar (+ 0.6 GtCO2 yr-1), but in Malaysia, they differed in both magnitude and sign (NGHGI: -0.2 GtCO2 yr-1; Global EO: + 0.2 GtCO2 yr-1). Spatially explicit datasets on forest types were not publicly available for analysis from either NGHGI, limiting the possibility of detailed adjustments. CONCLUSIONS By adjusting the EO dataset to improve comparability with carbon fluxes estimated for managed forests in the Brazilian NGHGI, initially diverging estimates were largely reconciled and remaining differences can be explained. Despite limited spatial data available for Indonesia and Malaysia, our comparison indicated specific aspects where differing approaches may explain divergence, including uncertainties and inaccuracies. Our study highlights the importance of enhanced transparency, as set out by the Paris Agreement, to enable alignment between different approaches for independent measuring and verification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola Heinrich
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
- Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Helmholtz GFZ German Research Centre of Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Jo House
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Martin Herold
- Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Helmholtz GFZ German Research Centre of Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Giacomo Grassi
- Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Italy
| | - Roberta Cantinho
- Centre for Sustainable Development (CDS), University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Brazil
| | - Thais M Rosan
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Barbara Zimbres
- Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Brasília, Brazil
| | - Julia Z Shimbo
- Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Brasília, Brazil
| | - Joana Melo
- Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Italy
| | - Tristram Hales
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José Dos Campos, Brazil
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10
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Butt EW, Baker JCA, Bezerra FGS, von Randow C, Aguiar APD, Spracklen DV. Amazon deforestation causes strong regional warming. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2309123120. [PMID: 37903256 PMCID: PMC10636322 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309123120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical deforestation impacts the climate through complex land-atmosphere interactions causing local and regional warming. However, whilst the impacts of deforestation on local temperature are well understood, the regional (nonlocal) response is poorly quantified. Here, we used remote-sensed observations of forest loss and dry season land-surface temperature during the period 2001 to 2020 to demonstrate that deforestation of the Amazon caused strong warming at distances up to 100 km away from the forest loss. We apply a machine learning approach to show nonlocal warming due to forest loss at 2-100 km length scales increases the warming due to deforestation by more than a factor 4, from 0.16 K to 0.71 K for each 10-percentage points of forest loss. We estimate that rapid future deforestation under a strong inequality scenario could cause dry season warming of 0.96 K across Mato Grosso state in southern Brazil over the period 2020 to 2050. Reducing deforestation could reduce future warming caused by forest loss to 0.4 K. Our results demonstrate the contribution of tropical deforestation to regional climate warming and the potential for reduced deforestation to deliver regional climate adaptation and resilience with important implications for sustainable management of the Amazon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward W. Butt
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica C. A. Baker
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | | | - Celso von Randow
- INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos12227-010, Brazil
| | - Ana P. D. Aguiar
- INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos12227-010, Brazil
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm106 91, Sweden
| | - Dominick V. Spracklen
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
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11
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Zeng Y, Hao D, Park T, Zhu P, Huete A, Myneni R, Knyazikhin Y, Qi J, Nemani RR, Li F, Huang J, Gao Y, Li B, Ji F, Köhler P, Frankenberg C, Berry JA, Chen M. Structural complexity biases vegetation greenness measures. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1790-1798. [PMID: 37710041 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02187-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Vegetation 'greenness' characterized by spectral vegetation indices (VIs) is an integrative measure of vegetation leaf abundance, biochemical properties and pigment composition. Surprisingly, satellite observations reveal that several major VIs over the US Corn Belt are higher than those over the Amazon rainforest, despite the forests having a greater leaf area. This contradicting pattern underscores the pressing need to understand the underlying drivers and their impacts to prevent misinterpretations. Here we show that macroscale shadows cast by complex forest structures result in lower greenness measures compared with those cast by structurally simple and homogeneous crops. The shadow-induced contradictory pattern of VIs is inevitable because most Earth-observing satellites do not view the Earth in the solar direction and thus view shadows due to the sun-sensor geometry. The shadow impacts have important implications for the interpretation of VIs and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence as measures of global vegetation changes. For instance, a land-conversion process from forests to crops over the Amazon shows notable increases in VIs despite a decrease in leaf area. Our findings highlight the importance of considering shadow impacts to accurately interpret remotely sensed VIs and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence for assessing global vegetation and its changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yelu Zeng
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Dalei Hao
- Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
| | - Taejin Park
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | - Peng Zhu
- Department of Geography and Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Alfredo Huete
- Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ranga Myneni
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yuri Knyazikhin
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jianbo Qi
- Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphere, Toulouse, France
| | - Ramakrishna R Nemani
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | - Fa Li
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jianxi Huang
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Yongyuan Gao
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Baoguo Li
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Fujiang Ji
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | | | - Joseph A Berry
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Min Chen
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
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12
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Ferraris S, Meo R, Pinardi S, Salis M, Sartor G. Machine Learning as a Strategic Tool for Helping Cocoa Farmers in Côte D'Ivoire. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:7632. [PMID: 37688090 PMCID: PMC10490821 DOI: 10.3390/s23177632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Machine learning can be used for social good. The employment of artificial intelligence in smart agriculture has many benefits for the environment: it helps small farmers (at a local scale) and policymakers and cooperatives (at regional scale) to take valid and coordinated countermeasures to combat climate change. This article discusses how artificial intelligence in agriculture can help to reduce costs, especially in developing countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, employing only low-cost or open-source tools, from hardware to software and open data. We developed machine learning models for two tasks: the first is improving agricultural farming cultivation, and the second is water management. For the first task, we used deep neural networks (YOLOv5m) to detect healthy plants and pods of cocoa and damaged ones only using mobile phone images. The results confirm it is possible to distinguish well the healthy from damaged ones. For actions at a larger scale, the second task proposes the analysis of remote sensors, coming from the GRACE NASA Mission and ERA5, produced by the Copernicus climate change service. A new deep neural network architecture (CIWA-net) is proposed with a U-Net-like architecture, aiming to forecast the total water storage anomalies. The model quality is compared to a vanilla convolutional neural network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Ferraris
- Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Politecnico di Torino and University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy;
| | - Rosa Meo
- Department of Computer Science, University of Turin, 10149 Turin, Italy; (M.S.); (G.S.)
| | - Stefano Pinardi
- Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy;
| | - Matteo Salis
- Department of Computer Science, University of Turin, 10149 Turin, Italy; (M.S.); (G.S.)
| | - Gabriele Sartor
- Department of Computer Science, University of Turin, 10149 Turin, Italy; (M.S.); (G.S.)
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13
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Roebroek CTJ, Duveiller G, Seneviratne SI, Davin EL, Cescatti A. Releasing global forests from human management: How much more carbon could be stored? Science 2023; 380:749-753. [PMID: 37200428 DOI: 10.1126/science.add5878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Carbon storage in forests is a cornerstone of policy-making to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5°C. However, the global impact of management (for example, harvesting) on the carbon budget of forests remains poorly quantified. We integrated global maps of forest biomass and management with machine learning to show that by removing human intervention, under current climatic conditions and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, existing global forests could increase their aboveground biomass by up to 44.1 (error range: 21.0 to 63.0) petagrams of carbon. This is an increase of 15 to 16% over current levels, equating to about 4 years of current anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Therefore, without strong reductions in emissions, this strategy holds low mitigation potential, and the forest sink should be preserved to offset residual carbon emissions rather than to compensate for present emissions levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caspar T J Roebroek
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Sonia I Seneviratne
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Edouard L Davin
- Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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14
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Silva-Junior CHL, Silva FB, Arisi BM, Mataveli G, Pessôa ACM, Carvalho NS, Reis JBC, Silva Júnior AR, Motta NACS, E Silva PVM, Ribeiro FD, Siqueira-Gay J, Alencar A, Saatchi S, Aragão LEOC, Anderson LO, Melo M. Brazilian Amazon indigenous territories under deforestation pressure. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5851. [PMID: 37037850 PMCID: PMC10085996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32746-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies showed that Brazilian Amazon indigenous territories (ITs) are efficient models for preserving forests by reducing deforestation, fires, and related carbon emissions. Considering the importance of ITs for conserving socio-environmental and cultural diversity and the recent climb in the Brazilian Amazon deforestation, we used official remote sensing datasets to analyze deforestation inside and outside indigenous territories within Brazil's Amazon biome during the 2013-2021 period. Deforestation has increased by 129% inside ITs since 2013, followed by an increase in illegal mining areas. In 2019-2021, deforestation was 195% higher and 30% farther from the borders towards the interior of indigenous territories than in previous years (2013-2018). Furthermore, about 59% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within ITs in 2013-2021 (96 million tons) occurred in the last three years of analyzed years, revealing the magnitude of increasing deforestation to climate impacts. Therefore, curbing deforestation in indigenous territories must be a priority for the Brazilian government to secure these peoples' land rights, ensure the forests' protection and regulate the global climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celso H L Silva-Junior
- Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles - UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory - JPL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Maranhão - UFMA, São Luís, Brazil.
| | - Fabrício B Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Meio Ambiente, Universidade Ceuma - UNICEUMA, São Luís, MA, Brazil
| | | | - Guilherme Mataveli
- National Institute for Space Research - INPE, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana C M Pessôa
- National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters - Cemaden, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | | | - João B C Reis
- National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters - Cemaden, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | - Admo R Silva Júnior
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Maranhão - UFMA, São Luís, Brazil
| | - Nathalia A C S Motta
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Meio Ambiente, Universidade Ceuma - UNICEUMA, São Luís, MA, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Ane Alencar
- Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia - IPAM, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Sassan Saatchi
- Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles - UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory - JPL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- National Institute for Space Research - INPE, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
- University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Liana O Anderson
- National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters - Cemaden, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | - Maycon Melo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Meio Ambiente, Universidade Ceuma - UNICEUMA, São Luís, MA, Brazil
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15
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Ochiai O, Poulter B, Seifert FM, Ward S, Jarvis I, Whitcraft A, Sahajpal R, Gilliams S, Herold M, Carter S, Duncanson LI, Kay H, Lucas R, Wilson SN, Melo J, Post J, Briggs S, Quegan S, Dowell M, Cescatti A, Crisp D, Saatchi S, Tadono T, Steventon M, Rosenqvist A. Toward a roadmap for space-based observations of the land sector for the UNFCCC global stocktake. iScience 2023; 26:106489. [PMID: 37096039 PMCID: PMC10121458 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Space-based remote sensing can make an important contribution toward monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and removals from the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector, and to understanding and addressing human-caused climate change through the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. Space agencies have begun to coordinate their efforts to identify needs, collect and harmonize available data and efforts, and plan and maintain a long-term roadmap for observations. International cooperation is crucial in developing and realizing the roadmap, and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) is a key coordinating driver of this effort. Here, we first identify the data and information that will be useful to support the global stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement. Then, the paper explains how existing and planned space-based capabilities and products can be used and combined, particularly in the land use sector, and provides a workflow for their harmonization and contribution to greenhouse gas inventories and assessments at the national and global level.
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16
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Fonteyn D, Vermeulen C, Gorel A, Silva de Miranda PL, Lhoest S, Fayolle A. Biogeography of central African forests: Determinants, ongoing threats and conservation priorities of mammal assemblages. DIVERS DISTRIB 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
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17
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Heinrich VHA, Vancutsem C, Dalagnol R, Rosan TM, Fawcett D, Silva-Junior CHL, Cassol HLG, Achard F, Jucker T, Silva CA, House J, Sitch S, Hales TC, Aragão LEOC. The carbon sink of secondary and degraded humid tropical forests. Nature 2023; 615:436-442. [PMID: 36922608 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05679-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
The globally important carbon sink of intact, old-growth tropical humid forests is declining because of climate change, deforestation and degradation from fire and logging1-3. Recovering tropical secondary and degraded forests now cover about 10% of the tropical forest area4, but how much carbon they accumulate remains uncertain. Here we quantify the aboveground carbon (AGC) sink of recovering forests across three main continuous tropical humid regions: the Amazon, Borneo and Central Africa5,6. On the basis of satellite data products4,7, our analysis encompasses the heterogeneous spatial and temporal patterns of growth in degraded and secondary forests, influenced by key environmental and anthropogenic drivers. In the first 20 years of recovery, regrowth rates in Borneo were up to 45% and 58% higher than in Central Africa and the Amazon, respectively. This is due to variables such as temperature, water deficit and disturbance regimes. We find that regrowing degraded and secondary forests accumulated 107 Tg C year-1 (90-130 Tg C year-1) between 1984 and 2018, counterbalancing 26% (21-34%) of carbon emissions from humid tropical forest loss during the same period. Protecting old-growth forests is therefore a priority. Furthermore, we estimate that conserving recovering degraded and secondary forests can have a feasible future carbon sink potential of 53 Tg C year-1 (44-62 Tg C year-1) across the main tropical regions studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola H A Heinrich
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | - Christelle Vancutsem
- Fincons Group, Milan, Italy
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Ricardo Dalagnol
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Thais M Rosan
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Dominic Fawcett
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Celso H L Silva-Junior
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luís, Brazil
| | - Henrique L G Cassol
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Carlos A Silva
- Forest Biometrics and Remote Sensing Lab (Silva Lab), School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Jo House
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Tristram C Hales
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
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18
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Regrowing tropical forests absorb megatonnes of carbon. Nature 2023; 615:398-399. [PMID: 36922606 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-00706-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
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19
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Ferrer Velasco R, Lippe M, Fischer R, Torres B, Tamayo F, Kalaba FK, Kaoma H, Bugayong L, Günter S. Reconciling policy instruments with drivers of deforestation and forest degradation: cross-scale analysis of stakeholder perceptions in tropical countries. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2180. [PMID: 36750712 PMCID: PMC9905477 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29417-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cross-scale studies combining information on policy instruments and on drivers of deforestation and forest degradation are key to design and implement effective forest protection measures. We investigated the scale and country dependency of stakeholder perceptions about future threats to tropical forests (e.g. agriculture, logging, woodfuel) and preferred policy instruments (e.g. reforestation, protected areas, combat illegal logging), by interviewing 224 representatives of forest-related institutions. We conducted analysis of variance and principal component analysis for eighteen variables across three countries (Zambia, Ecuador and the Philippines) and four spatial levels (from international to local). We found that the overall alertness about commercial drivers and the confidence in policy instruments are significantly lower at subnational levels and also in Zambia. Stakeholder expectations about the most important drivers and the most effective policies in the coming decade follow regional narratives, suggesting that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions in international forest policy. However, we found an unexpected consensus across scales, indicating potential for collaboration between institutions operating at different geographical levels. Overall, agriculture remains the driver with the highest expected influence (43%), while a strong favoritism for reforestation and forest restoration (38%) suggests a paradigm shift from protected areas to a stronger focus on integrative approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubén Ferrer Velasco
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 85354, Freising, Germany. .,Institute of Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, 21031, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Melvin Lippe
- Institute of Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, 21031, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Richard Fischer
- Institute of Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, 21031, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bolier Torres
- Life Sciences Department, Universidad Estatal Amazónica (UEA), 160101, Puyo, Ecuador
| | - Fabián Tamayo
- Life Sciences Department, Universidad Estatal Amazónica (UEA), 160101, Puyo, Ecuador
| | | | - Humphrey Kaoma
- School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, 21692, Kitwe, Zambia
| | - Leonida Bugayong
- Forestry Development Center, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, 4031, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Sven Günter
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 85354, Freising, Germany.,Institute of Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, 21031, Hamburg, Germany
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20
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Fawcett D, Sitch S, Ciais P, Wigneron JP, Silva‐Junior CHL, Heinrich V, Vancutsem C, Achard F, Bastos A, Yang H, Li X, Albergel C, Friedlingstein P, Aragão LEOC. Declining Amazon biomass due to deforestation and subsequent degradation losses exceeding gains. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:1106-1118. [PMID: 36415966 PMCID: PMC10100003 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In the Amazon, deforestation and climate change lead to increased vulnerability to forest degradation, threatening its existing carbon stocks and its capacity as a carbon sink. We use satellite L-Band Vegetation Optical Depth (L-VOD) data that provide an integrated (top-down) estimate of biomass carbon to track changes over 2011-2019. Because the spatial resolution of L-VOD is coarse (0.25°), it allows limited attribution of the observed changes. We therefore combined high-resolution annual maps of forest cover and disturbances with biomass maps to model carbon losses (bottom-up) from deforestation and degradation, and gains from regrowing secondary forests. We show an increase of deforestation and associated degradation losses since 2012 which greatly outweigh secondary forest gains. Degradation accounted for 40% of gross losses. After an increase in 2011, old-growth forests show a net loss of above-ground carbon between 2012 and 2019. The sum of component carbon fluxes in our model is consistent with the total biomass change from L-VOD of 1.3 Pg C over 2012-2019. Across nine Amazon countries, we found that while Brazil contains the majority of biomass stocks (64%), its losses from disturbances were disproportionately high (79% of gross losses). Our multi-source analysis provides a pessimistic assessment of the Amazon carbon balance and highlights the urgent need to stop the recent rise of deforestation and degradation, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Fawcett
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement LSCECEA CNRS UVSQ, Centre d'Etudes Orme de MerisiersGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | | | - Celso H. L. Silva‐Junior
- Institute of Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCaliforniaUSA
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biodiversidade e ConservaçãoUniversidade Federal do MaranhãoSão LuísBrazil
| | - Viola Heinrich
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Christelle Vancutsem
- FINCONs GroupMilanItaly
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)BogorIndonesia
| | | | - Ana Bastos
- Department of Biogeochemical IntegrationMax Planck Institute for BiogeochemistryJenaGermany
| | - Hui Yang
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement LSCECEA CNRS UVSQ, Centre d'Etudes Orme de MerisiersGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
- Department of Biogeochemical IntegrationMax Planck Institute for BiogeochemistryJenaGermany
| | - Xiaojun Li
- INRAE, UMR ISPAUniversité de BordeauxVillenave d'OrnonFrance
| | - Clément Albergel
- European Space Agency Climate OfficeECSAT, Harwell CampusDidcotOxfordshireUK
| | - Pierre Friedlingstein
- Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- LMD/IPSL, ENS PSL Université, Ècole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de ParisSorbonne Université, CNRSParisFrance
| | - Luiz E. O. C. Aragão
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- Tropical Ecosystems and Environmental Sciences LaboratorySão José dos CamposBrazil
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics DivisionNational Institute for Space ResearchSão José dos CamposBrazil
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21
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Latthachack P, Llopis JC, Heinimann A, Thongmanivong S, Vongvisouk T, Messerli P, Zaehringer JG. Agricultural commercialization in borderlands: Capturing the transformation of a tropical forest frontier through participatory mapping. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.1048470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Forest-frontier landscapes in the humid tropics display distinct land use change dynamics compared to other world regions, providing useful examples of current global environmental and development challenges. In northwestern Laos, part of the former Golden Triangle region, investments in value chains for commercial crops—mainly to fulfill Chinese market demands—have triggered various land use changes and put increasing pressure on remaining biodiverse forest areas. Capturing the existing land use change trajectories is a key initial step toward further studies assessing land use change impacts. However, methodological challenges arise when conducting spatially-explicit change assessments in these regions, given the high temporal variability of land use at the plot level, compounded by the paucity of good quality satellite imagery. Thus, we applied a novel approach combining analysis of very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery with participatory mapping. This enabled joint collection of annual land use information for the last 17 years together with local land users, shedding light on temporally dense land system dynamics. For decades, the government of Laos has sought to halt shifting cultivation, labeling it environmentally degrading, and to reduce poverty through promotion of permanent commodity-oriented commercial agriculture. Among other things, this gave rise to a boom in banana and rubber investments in Luang Namtha province in order to satisfy growing Chinese demand for these commodities. The present paper investigates the impact of these cash crop booms on land use transitions and whether they reduced pressure on forest-frontier areas, as ostensibly desired by government authorities. Our study is among the first to demonstrate in a spatially-explicit manner that subsistence agriculture—in less than two decades—has virtually disappeared in northern Laos due to diverse cash-crop production and agricultural commercialization initiatives linked to Chinese investments. As subsistence-focused cultivation systems are being replaced by land uses solely aimed at commercial production for export, a telecoupled land system is being developed in northwestern Laos with potentially manifold impacts for sustainable development.
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Mugabowindekwe M, Brandt M, Chave J, Reiner F, Skole DL, Kariryaa A, Igel C, Hiernaux P, Ciais P, Mertz O, Tong X, Li S, Rwanyiziri G, Dushimiyimana T, Ndoli A, Uwizeyimana V, Lillesø JPB, Gieseke F, Tucker CJ, Saatchi S, Fensholt R. Nation-wide mapping of tree-level aboveground carbon stocks in Rwanda. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE 2022; 13:91-97. [PMID: 36684409 PMCID: PMC9845119 DOI: 10.1038/s41558-022-01544-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Trees sustain livelihoods and mitigate climate change but a predominance of trees outside forests and limited resources make it difficult for many tropical countries to conduct automated nation-wide inventories. Here, we propose an approach to map the carbon stock of each individual overstory tree at the national scale of Rwanda using aerial imagery from 2008 and deep learning. We show that 72% of the mapped trees are located in farmlands and savannas and 17% in plantations, accounting for 48.6% of the national aboveground carbon stocks. Natural forests cover 11% of the total tree count and 51.4% of the national carbon stocks, with an overall carbon stock uncertainty of 16.9%. The mapping of all trees allows partitioning to any landscapes classification and is urgently needed for effective planning and monitoring of restoration activities as well as for optimization of carbon sequestration, biodiversity and economic benefits of trees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurice Mugabowindekwe
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Centre for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jérôme Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, UPS, IRD, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Florian Reiner
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - David L. Skole
- Global Observatory for Ecosystem Services, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI USA
| | - Ankit Kariryaa
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Igel
- Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/CNRS/UVSQ/Université Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Ole Mertz
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Xiaoye Tong
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sizhuo Li
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Université Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Gaspard Rwanyiziri
- Centre for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
- Department of Geography and Urban Planning, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Thaulin Dushimiyimana
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Alain Ndoli
- International Union for Conservation of Nature—Eastern and Southern Africa Region, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Valens Uwizeyimana
- General Directorate of Land, Water, and Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Kigali, Rwanda
- Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Fabian Gieseke
- Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Information Systems, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Compton J. Tucker
- Earth Sciences Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
| | - Sassan Saatchi
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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23
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Ranarilalatiana T, Razafindraleva HA, Granath G, Bukontaite Malm R, Rakotonirina JC, Razafindranaivo V, Ravaomanarivo LHR, Johansson F, Bergsten J. Remaining forests on the Central Highlands of Madagascar—Endemic and endangered aquatic beetle fauna uncovered. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9580. [PMCID: PMC9745264 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Madagascar is known for its high endemism and as many as 90% of this unique diversity are forest‐dwellers. Unfortunately, the forest cover of Madagascar is decreasing at an alarming rate. This decrease can also affect aquatic insects, but our knowledge on aquatic insect diversity and distribution on Madagascar are limited. Although the eastern rainforests are considered the most diverse, the Central Highlands of Madagascar also harbors unique microendemic fauna but has been less studied. Here, we analyze the aquatic Adephaga beetle fauna of three remaining protected forests of the Central Highlands. Diversity, abundance, and uniqueness are compared between and within natural forests and surrounding grasslands. At least 15 undescribed species were found, highlighting the Central Highlands as an important area for endemism. The natural forests and the surrounding grasslands differed significantly in species assemblages. Interestingly, the three remaining forests differed in their assemblages with the geographically more distant Manjakatompo Ankaratra having the most unique fauna but also the highest altitude span. By contrast, the species composition was similar between the peripheral zones of each of the three remaining forests. The similarity of the fauna in the peripheral open habitats illustrates how some local forest endemics are replaced with widespread generalists in degraded habitats. Our study shows that the remaining forests of the Central Highlands of Madagascar are important refuges of unique fauna at high risk of extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gustaf Granath
- Department of Ecology and GeneticsUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Rasa Bukontaite Malm
- Department of Bioinformatics and GeneticsSwedish Museum of Natural HistoryStockholmSweden
| | | | - Victor Razafindranaivo
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of SciencesAntananarivo UniversityAntananarivoMadagascar
| | | | - Frank Johansson
- Department of Ecology and GeneticsUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Johannes Bergsten
- Department of ZoologySwedish Museum of Natural HistoryStockholmSweden
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24
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Guizar-Coutiño A, Jones JPG, Balmford A, Carmenta R, Coomes DA. A global evaluation of the effectiveness of voluntary REDD+ projects at reducing deforestation and degradation in the moist tropics. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13970. [PMID: 35713105 PMCID: PMC10086997 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects aim to contribute to climate change mitigation by protecting and enhancing carbon stocks in tropical forests, but there have been no systematic global evaluations of their impact. We used a new data set for tropical humid forests and a standardized evaluation approach (based on pixel matching) to quantify the performance of a representative sample of 40 voluntary REDD+ projects in 9 countries certified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). In the first 5 years of implementation, deforestation within project areas was reduced by 47% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24-68) compared with matched counterfactual pixels, and degradation rates were 58% lower (95% CI: 49-63). Reductions were small in absolute terms but greater in sites located in high-deforestation settings and did not appear to be substantially undermined by leakage activities in forested areas within 10 km of project boundaries. At the 26th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community renewed its commitment to tackling tropical deforestation as a nature-based solution to climate change. Our results indicate that incentivizing forest conservation through voluntary site-based projects can slow tropical deforestation and highlight the particular importance of prioritizing financing for areas at greater risk of deforestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Guizar-Coutiño
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia P G Jones
- School of Natural Sciences, College of Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Department of Zoology and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rachel Carmenta
- Tyndall Centre and School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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25
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Lhoumeau S, Cardoso P, Costa R, Boieiro M, Malumbres-Olarte J, Amorim IR, Rigal F, Santos AMC, Gabriel R, Borges PAV. SLAM Project - Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the natural forest of Azores: IV - The spiders of Terceira and Pico Islands (2019-2021) and general diversity patterns after ten years of sampling. Biodivers Data J 2022; 10:e96442. [PMID: 36761513 PMCID: PMC9836435 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.10.e96442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Long-term studies are key to understand the drivers of biodiversity erosion, such as land-use change and habitat degradation, climate change, invasive species or pollution. The long-term project SLAM (Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the natural forest of Azores) started in 2012 and focuses on arthropod monitoring, using SLAM (Sea, Land and Air Malaise) traps, aiming to understand the impact of the drivers of biodiversity erosion on Azorean native forests (Azores, Portugal). This is the fourth contribution including SLAM project data and the second focused on the spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) of native forests on two islands (Pico and Terceira). In this contribution, we describe data collected between 2019 and 2021 and we analyse them together with a previously published database that covered the 2012-2019 period, in order to describe changes in species abundance patterns over the last ten years. New information We present abundance data of Azorean spider species for the 2019-2021 period in two Azorean Islands (Terceira and Pico). We also present analyses of species distribution and abundance of the whole sampling period. In the period of 2019-2021, we collected a total of 5110 spider specimens, of which 2449 (48%) were adults. Most juveniles, with the exception of some exotic Erigoninae, were also included in the data presented in this paper, since the low diversity of spiders in the Azores allows a relatively precise species-level identification of this life-stage. We recorded a total of 45 species, belonging to 39 genera and 16 families. The ten most abundant species were composed mostly of endemic or native non-endemic species and only two exotic species (Tenuiphantestenuis (Blackwall, 1852) and Dysderacrocata C. L. Koch, 1838). They included 4308 individuals (84%) of all sampled specimens and were the dominant species in Azorean native forests. The family Linyphiidae was the richest and most abundant taxon, with 15 (33%) species and 2630 (51%) specimens. We report Cheiracanthiummildei L. Koch, 1864, a non-native species, from Pico Island for the first time. We found no new species records on Terceira Island. This publication contributes to increasing the baseline information for future long-term comparisons of the spiders on the studied sites and the knowledge of the arachnofauna of the native forests of Terceira and Pico, in terms of species abundance, distribution and diversity across seasons for a 10 years period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Lhoumeau
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - Pedro Cardoso
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,LIBRe – Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13), 00014, Helsinki, FinlandLIBRe – Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13), 00014HelsinkiFinland,IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalIUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist GroupAngra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - Ricardo Costa
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - Mário Boieiro
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalIUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist GroupAngra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,LIBRe – Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13), 00014, Helsinki, FinlandLIBRe – Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13), 00014HelsinkiFinland
| | - Isabel R. Amorim
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalIUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist GroupAngra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - François Rigal
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,Institut Des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico Chimie pour L’environnement et les Materiaux UMR5254, Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique - University de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour - E2S UPPA, Pau, FranceInstitut Des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico Chimie pour L’environnement et les Materiaux UMR5254, Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique - University de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour - E2S UPPAPauFrance
| | - Ana M. C. Santos
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049MadridSpain,Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, SpainCentro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049MadridSpain
| | - Rosalina Gabriel
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalIUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist GroupAngra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
| | - Paulo A. V. Borges
- cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalcE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042Angra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal,IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalIUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Specialist GroupAngra do Heroísmo, AzoresPortugal
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Baldo M, Buldrini F, Chiarucci A, Rocchini D, Zannini P, Ayushi K, Ayyappan N. Remote sensing analysis on primary productivity and forest cover dynamics: A Western Ghats India case study. ECOL INFORM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Restoring the orangutan in a Whole- or Half-Earth context. ORYX 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s003060532200093x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Various global-scale proposals exist to reduce the loss of biological diversity. These include the Half-Earth and Whole-Earth visions that respectively seek to set aside half the planet for wildlife conservation or to diversify conservation practices fundamentally and change the economic systems that determine environmental harm. Here we assess these visions in the specific context of Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus and their conservation. Using an expert-led process we explored three scenarios over a 10-year time frame: continuation of Current Conditions, a Half-Earth approach and a Whole-Earth approach. In addition, we examined a 100-year population recovery scenario assuming 0% offtake of Bornean orangutans. Current Conditions were predicted to result in a population c. 73% of its current size by 2032. Half-Earth was judged comparatively easy to achieve and predicted to result in an orangutan population of c. 87% of its current size by 2032. Whole-Earth was anticipated to lead to greater forest loss and ape killing, resulting in a prediction of c. 44% of the current orangutan population for 2032. Finally, under the recovery scenario, populations could be c. 148% of their current size by 2122. Although we acknowledge uncertainties in all of these predictions, we conclude that the Half-Earth and Whole-Earth visions operate along different timelines, with the implementation of Whole-Earth requiring too much time to benefit orangutans. None of the theorized proposals provided a complete solution, so drawing elements from each will be required. We provide recommendations for equitable outcomes.
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Bastos A, Ciais P, Sitch S, Aragão LEOC, Chevallier F, Fawcett D, Rosan TM, Saunois M, Günther D, Perugini L, Robert C, Deng Z, Pongratz J, Ganzenmüller R, Fuchs R, Winkler K, Zaehle S, Albergel C. On the use of Earth Observation to support estimates of national greenhouse gas emissions and sinks for the Global stocktake process: lessons learned from ESA-CCI RECCAP2. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2022; 17:15. [PMID: 36183029 PMCID: PMC9526973 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-022-00214-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Global Stocktake (GST), implemented by the Paris Agreement, requires rapid developments in the capabilities to quantify annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals consistently from the global to the national scale and improvements to national GHG inventories. In particular, new capabilities are needed for accurate attribution of sources and sinks and their trends to natural and anthropogenic processes. On the one hand, this is still a major challenge as national GHG inventories follow globally harmonized methodologies based on the guidelines established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but these can be implemented differently for individual countries. Moreover, in many countries the capability to systematically produce detailed and annually updated GHG inventories is still lacking. On the other hand, spatially-explicit datasets quantifying sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from Earth Observations (EO) are still limited by many sources of uncertainty. While national GHG inventories follow diverse methodologies depending on the availability of activity data in the different countries, the proposed comparison with EO-based estimates can help improve our understanding of the comparability of the estimates published by the different countries. Indeed, EO networks and satellite platforms have seen a massive expansion in the past decade, now covering a wide range of essential climate variables and offering high potential to improve the quantification of global and regional GHG budgets and advance process understanding. Yet, there is no EO data that quantifies greenhouse gas fluxes directly, rather there are observations of variables or proxies that can be transformed into fluxes using models. Here, we report results and lessons from the ESA-CCI RECCAP2 project, whose goal was to engage with National Inventory Agencies to improve understanding about the methods used by each community to estimate sources and sinks of GHGs and to evaluate the potential for satellite and in-situ EO to improve national GHG estimates. Based on this dialogue and recent studies, we discuss the potential of EO approaches to provide estimates of GHG budgets that can be compared with those of national GHG inventories. We outline a roadmap for implementation of an EO carbon-monitoring program that can contribute to the Paris Agreement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Bastos
- Dept. of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire Des Sciences du Climat Et de L'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Tropical Ecosystems and Environmental Sciences Laboratory, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
- Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José Dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | - Frédéric Chevallier
- Laboratoire Des Sciences du Climat Et de L'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Dominic Fawcett
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Thais M Rosan
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Marielle Saunois
- Laboratoire Des Sciences du Climat Et de L'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Lucia Perugini
- Division On Climate Change Impacts On Agriculture, Forests and Ecosystem Services (IAFES), Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Center On Climate Change (CMCC), Viterbo, Italy
| | - Colas Robert
- Dept. AFOLU, Citepa, 42 rue de Paradis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Zhu Deng
- Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Julia Pongratz
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstr. 37, 80333, Munich, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstr. 53, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Richard Fuchs
- Land Use Change & Climate Research Group, IMK-IFU, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Karina Winkler
- Land Use Change & Climate Research Group, IMK-IFU, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Laboratory of Geoinformation and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sönke Zaehle
- Dept. of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Clément Albergel
- European Space Agency Climate Office, ECSAT, Harwell Campus, Didcot, UK
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29
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Increasing and widespread vulnerability of intact tropical rainforests to repeated droughts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2116626119. [PMID: 36067321 PMCID: PMC9477241 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116626119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Intact tropical rainforests have been exposed to severe droughts in recent decades, which may threaten their integrity, their ability to sequester carbon, and their capacity to provide shelter for biodiversity. However, their response to droughts remains uncertain due to limited high-quality, long-term observations covering extensive areas. Here, we examined how the upper canopy of intact tropical rainforests has responded to drought events globally and during the past 3 decades. By developing a long pantropical time series (1992 to 2018) of monthly radar satellite observations, we show that repeated droughts caused a sustained decline in radar signal in 93%, 84%, and 88% of intact tropical rainforests in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, respectively. Sudden decreases in radar signal were detected around the 1997-1998, 2005, 2010, and 2015 droughts in tropical Americas; 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2010-2011, and 2015 droughts in tropical Africa; and 1997-1998, 2006, and 2015 droughts in tropical Asia. Rainforests showed similar low resistance (the ability to maintain predrought condition when drought occurs) to severe droughts across continents, but American rainforests consistently showed the lowest resilience (the ability to return to predrought condition after the drought event). Moreover, while the resistance of intact tropical rainforests to drought is decreasing, albeit weakly in tropical Africa and Asia, forest resilience has not increased significantly. Our results therefore suggest the capacity of intact rainforests to withstand future droughts is limited. This has negative implications for climate change mitigation through forest-based climate solutions and the associated pledges made by countries under the Paris Agreement.
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30
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Pendrill F, Gardner TA, Meyfroidt P, Persson UM, Adams J, Azevedo T, Bastos Lima MG, Baumann M, Curtis PG, De Sy V, Garrett R, Godar J, Goldman ED, Hansen MC, Heilmayr R, Herold M, Kuemmerle T, Lathuillière MJ, Ribeiro V, Tyukavina A, Weisse MJ, West C. Disentangling the numbers behind agriculture-driven tropical deforestation. Science 2022; 377:eabm9267. [PMID: 36074840 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm9267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Tropical deforestation continues at alarming rates with profound impacts on ecosystems, climate, and livelihoods, prompting renewed commitments to halt its continuation. Although it is well established that agriculture is a dominant driver of deforestation, rates and mechanisms remain disputed and often lack a clear evidence base. We synthesize the best available pantropical evidence to provide clarity on how agriculture drives deforestation. Although most (90 to 99%) deforestation across the tropics 2011 to 2015 was driven by agriculture, only 45 to 65% of deforested land became productive agriculture within a few years. Therefore, ending deforestation likely requires combining measures to create deforestation-free supply chains with landscape governance interventions. We highlight key remaining evidence gaps including deforestation trends, commodity-specific land-use dynamics, and data from tropical dry forests and forests across Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Pendrill
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Toby A Gardner
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Patrick Meyfroidt
- Georges Lemaître Earth and Climate Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.,Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique F.R.S.-FNRS, Brussels, Belgium
| | - U Martin Persson
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Justin Adams
- Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Matthias Baumann
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Veronique De Sy
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Rachael Garrett
- Environmental PolicyLab, Department of Humanities, Social, and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Geography and Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Javier Godar
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Matthew C Hansen
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert Heilmayr
- Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.,Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Martin Herold
- Helmholz GFZ Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Integrated Research Institute for Transformations in Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Vivian Ribeiro
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexandra Tyukavina
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Mikaela J Weisse
- Global Forest Watch, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Chris West
- Stockholm Environment Institute York, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
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31
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Bousfield CG, Massam MR, Peres CA, Edwards DP. Carbon payments can cost-effectively improve logging sustainability in the Amazon. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 314:115094. [PMID: 35468435 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Selective logging is pervasive across the tropics and unsustainable logging depletes forest biodiversity and carbon stocks. Improving the sustainability of logging will be crucial for meeting climate targets. Carbon-based payment for ecosystem service schemes, including REDD+, give economic value to standing forests and can protect them from degradation, but only if the revenue from carbon payments is greater than the opportunity cost of forgone or reduced logging. We currently lack understanding of whether carbon payments are feasible for protecting Amazonian forests from logging, despite the Amazon holding the largest unexploited timber reserves and an expanding logging sector. Using financial data and inventories of >660,000 trees covering 52,000 ha of Brazilian forest concessions, we estimate the carbon price required to protect forests from logging. We estimate that a carbon price of $7.90 per tCO2 is sufficient to match the opportunity costs of all logging and fund protection of primary forest. Alternatively, improving the sustainability of logging operations by ensuring a greater proportion of trees are left uncut requires only slightly higher investments of $7.97-10.45 per tCO2. These prices fall well below the current compliance market rate and demonstrate a cost-effective opportunity to safeguard large tracts of the Amazon rainforest from further degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher G Bousfield
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
| | - Mike R Massam
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - David P Edwards
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
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32
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Linking land-use and land-cover transitions to their ecological impact in the Amazon. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202310119. [PMID: 35759674 PMCID: PMC9271202 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202310119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human activities pose a major threat to tropical forest biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although the impacts of deforestation are well studied, multiple land-use and land-cover transitions (LULCTs) occur in tropical landscapes, and we do not know how LULCTs differ in their rates or impacts on key ecosystem components. Here, we quantified the impacts of 18 LULCTs on three ecosystem components (biodiversity, carbon, and soil), based on 18 variables collected from 310 sites in the Brazilian Amazon. Across all LULCTs, biodiversity was the most affected ecosystem component, followed by carbon stocks, but the magnitude of change differed widely among LULCTs and individual variables. Forest clearance for pasture was the most prevalent and high-impact transition, but we also identified other LULCTs with high impact but lower prevalence (e.g., forest to agriculture). Our study demonstrates the importance of considering multiple ecosystem components and LULCTs to understand the consequences of human activities in tropical landscapes.
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33
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Stoll E, Roopsind A, Maharaj G, Velazco S, Caughlin TT. Detecting gold mining impacts on insect biodiversity in a tropical mining frontier with SmallSat imagery. REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2022; 8:379-390. [PMID: 35912067 PMCID: PMC9305433 DOI: 10.1002/rse2.250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Gold mining is a major driver of Amazonian forest loss and degradation. As mining activity encroaches on primary forest in remote and inaccessible areas, satellite imagery provides crucial data for monitoring mining-related deforestation. High-resolution imagery, in particular, has shown promise for detecting artisanal gold mining at the forest frontier. An important next step will be to establish relationships between satellite-derived land cover change and biodiversity impacts of gold mining. In this study, we set out to detect artisanal gold mining using high-resolution imagery and relate mining land cover to insects, a taxonomic group that accounts for the majority of faunal biodiversity in tropical forests. We applied an object-based image analysis (OBIA) to classify mined areas in an Indigenous territory in Guyana, using PlanetScope imagery with ~3.7 m resolution. We complemented our OBIA with field surveys of insect family presence or absence in field plots (n = 105) that captured a wide range of mining disturbances. Our OBIA was able to identify mined objects with high accuracy (>90% balanced accuracy). Field plots with a higher proportion of OBIA-derived mine cover had significantly lower insect family richness. The effects of mine cover on individual insect taxa were highly variable. Insect groups that respond strongly to mining disturbance could potentially serve as bioindicators for monitoring ecosystem health during and after gold mining. With the advent of global partnerships that provide universal access to PlanetScope imagery for tropical forest monitoring, our approach represents a low-cost and rapid way to assess the biodiversity impacts of gold mining in remote landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Stoll
- Department of BiologyUniversity of GuyanaTurkeyen CampusGeorgetownGuyana
| | - Anand Roopsind
- Center for Natural Climate SolutionsConservation International2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 600ArlingtonVirginia22202USA
- Department of Biological SciencesBoise State UniversityBoiseIdaho83725USA
| | - Gyanpriya Maharaj
- Department of BiologyUniversity of GuyanaTurkeyen CampusGeorgetownGuyana
| | - Sandra Velazco
- Department of Biological SciencesBoise State UniversityBoiseIdaho83725USA
| | - T. Trevor Caughlin
- Department of Biological SciencesBoise State UniversityBoiseIdaho83725USA
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34
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Crawford CL, Yin H, Radeloff VC, Wilcove DS. Rural land abandonment is too ephemeral to provide major benefits for biodiversity and climate. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm8999. [PMID: 35613262 PMCID: PMC9132457 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm8999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Hundreds of millions of hectares of cropland have been abandoned globally since 1950 due to demographic, economic, and environmental changes. This abandonment has been seen as an important opportunity for carbon sequestration and habitat restoration; yet those benefits depend on the persistence of abandonment, which is poorly known. Here, we track abandonment and recultivation at 11 sites across four continents using annual land-cover maps for 1987-2017. We find that abandonment is largely fleeting, lasting on average only 14.22 years (SD = 1.44). At most sites, we project that >50% of abandoned croplands will be recultivated within 30 years, precluding the accumulation of substantial amounts of carbon and biodiversity. Recultivation resulted in 30.84% less abandonment and 35.39% less carbon accumulated by 2017 than expected without recultivation. Unless policymakers take steps to reduce recultivation or provide incentives for regeneration, abandonment will remain a missed opportunity to reduce biodiversity loss and climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L. Crawford
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - He Yin
- Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Volker C. Radeloff
- SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - David S. Wilcove
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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35
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Land use effects on tree species diversity and soil properties of the Awudua Forest, Ghana. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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36
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Finlayson C, Roopsind A, Griscom BW, Edwards DP, Freckleton RP. Removing climbers more than doubles tree growth and biomass in degraded tropical forests. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8758. [PMID: 35356565 PMCID: PMC8948070 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Huge areas of tropical forests are degraded, reducing their biodiversity, carbon, and timber value. The recovery of these degraded forests can be significantly inhibited by climbing plants such as lianas. Removal of super‐abundant climbers thus represents a restoration action with huge potential for application across the tropics. While experimental studies largely report positive impacts of climber removal on tree growth and biomass accumulation, the efficacy of climber removal varies widely, with high uncertainty as to where and how to apply the technique. Using meta‐analytic techniques, we synthesize results from 26 studies to quantify the efficacy of climber removal for promoting tree growth and biomass accumulation. We find that climber removal increases tree growth by 156% and biomass accumulation by 209% compared to untreated forest, and that efficacy remains for at least 19 years. Extrapolating from these results, climber removal could sequester an additional 32 Gigatons of CO2 over 10 years, at low cost, across regrowth, and production forests. Our analysis also revealed that climber removal studies are concentrated in the Neotropics (N = 22), relative to Africa (N = 2) and Asia (N = 2), preventing our study from assessing the influence of region on removal efficacy. While we found some evidence that enhancement of tree growth and AGB accumulation varies across disturbance context and removal method, but not across climate, the number and geographical distribution of studies limits the strength of these conclusions. Climber removal could contribute significantly to reducing global carbon emissions and enhancing the timber and biomass stocks of degraded forests, ultimately protecting them from conversion. However, we urgently need to assess the efficacy of removal outside the Neotropics, and consider the potential negative consequences of climber removal under drought conditions and for biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Finlayson
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Anand Roopsind
- Center for Natural Climate Solutions Conservation International Arlington Virginia USA
| | - Bronson W. Griscom
- Center for Natural Climate Solutions Conservation International Arlington Virginia USA
| | - David P. Edwards
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Robert P. Freckleton
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
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37
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Mapping Canopy Cover in African Dry Forests from the Combined Use of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Data: Application to Tanzania for the Year 2018. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14061522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
High-resolution Earth observation data is routinely used to monitor tropical forests. However, the seasonality and openness of the canopy of dry tropical forests remains a challenge for optical sensors. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of combining Sentinel-1 (S1) SAR and Sentinel-2 (S2) optical sensors in order to map the tree cover in East Africa. The overall methodology consists of: (i) the generation of S1 and S2 layers, (ii) the collection of an expert-based training/validation dataset and (iii) the classification of the satellite data. Three different classification workflows, together with different approaches to incorporating the spatial information to train the classifiers, are explored. Two types of maps were derived from these mapping approaches over Tanzania: (i) binary tree cover–no tree cover (TC/NTC) maps, and (ii) maps of the canopy cover classes. The overall accuracy of the maps is >95% for the TC/NTC maps and >85% for the forest types maps. Considering the neighboring pixels for training the classification improved the mapping of the areas that are covered by 1–10% tree cover. The study relied on open data and publicly available tools and can be integrated into national monitoring systems.
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38
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Valle D, Silva CA, Longo M, Brando P. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation model applied to airborne
LiDAR
data: a case study on mapping forest degradation associated with fragmentation and fire in the Amazon region. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Denis Valle
- School of Forest Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Carlos Alberto Silva
- School of Forest Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Marcos Longo
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
| | - Paulo Brando
- Department of Earth System Science University of California Irvine California United States of America
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Abstract
The Amazon Basin is undergoing extensive environmental degradation as a result of deforestation and the rising occurrence of fires. The degradation caused by fires is exacerbated by the occurrence of anomalously dry periods in the Amazon Basin. The objectives of this study were: (i) to quantify the extent of areas that burned between 2001 and 2019 and relate them to extreme drought events in a 20-year time series; (ii) to identify the proportion of countries comprising the Amazon Basin in which environmental degradation was strongly observed, relating the spatial patterns of fires; and (iii) examine the Amazon Basin carbon balance following the occurrence of fires. To this end, the following variables were evaluated by remote sensing between 2001 and 2019: gross primary production, standardized precipitation index, burned areas, fire foci, and carbon emissions. During the examined period, fires affected 23.78% of the total Amazon Basin. Brazil had the largest affected area (220,087 fire foci, 773,360 km2 burned area, 54.7% of the total burned in the Amazon Basin), followed by Bolivia (102,499 fire foci, 571,250 km2 burned area, 40.4%). Overall, these fires have not only affected forests in agricultural frontier areas (76.91%), but also those in indigenous lands (17.16%) and conservation units (5.93%), which are recognized as biodiversity conservation areas. During the study period, the forest absorbed 1,092,037 Mg of C, but emitted 2908 Tg of C, which is 2.66-fold greater than the C absorbed, thereby compromising the role of the forest in acting as a C sink. Our findings show that environmental degradation caused by fires is related to the occurrence of dry periods in the Amazon Basin.
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40
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Combining Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8 Does Not Improve Classification Accuracy of Tropical Selective Logging. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14010179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests play a key role in the global carbon and hydrological cycles, maintaining biological diversity, slowing climate change, and supporting the global economy and local livelihoods. Yet, rapidly growing populations are driving continued degradation of tropical forests to supply wood products. The United Nations (UN) has developed the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme to mitigate climate impacts and biodiversity losses through improved forest management. Consistent and reliable systems are still needed to monitor tropical forests at large scales, however, degradation has largely been left out of most REDD+ reporting given the lack of effective monitoring and countries mainly focus on deforestation. Recent advances in combining optical data and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data have shown promise for improved ability to monitor forest losses, but it remains unclear if similar improvements could be made in detecting and mapping forest degradation. We used detailed selective logging records from three lowland tropical forest regions in the Brazilian Amazon to test the effectiveness of combining Landsat 8 and Sentinel-1 for selective logging detection. We built Random Forest models to classify pixel-based differences in logged and unlogged regions to understand if combining optical and SAR improved the detection capabilities over optical data alone. We found that the classification accuracy of models utilizing optical data from Landsat 8 alone were slightly higher than models that combined Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8. In general, detection of selective logging was high with both optical only and optical-SAR combined models, but our results show that the optical data was dominating the predictive performance and adding SAR data introduced noise, lowering the detection of selective logging. While we have shown limited capabilities with C-band SAR, the anticipated opening of the ALOS-PALSAR archives and the anticipated launch of NISAR and BIOMASS in 2023 should stimulate research investigating similar methods to understand if longer wavelength SAR might improve classification of areas affected by selective logging when combined with optical data.
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41
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Developing Multi-Source Indices to Discriminate between Native Tropical Forests, Oil Palm and Rubber Plantations in Indonesia. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 18 years, Indonesia has experienced significant deforestation due to the expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations. Accurate land cover maps are essential for policymakers to track and manage land change to support sustainable forest management and investment decisions. An automatic digital processing (ADP) method is currently used to develop land cover change maps for Indonesia, based on optical imaging (Landsat). Such maps produce only forest and non-forest classes, and often oil palm and rubber plantations are misclassified as native forests. To improve accuracy of these land cover maps, this study developed oil palm and rubber plantation discrimination indices using the integration of Landsat-8 and synthetic aperture radar Sentinel-1 images. Sentinel-1 VH and VV difference (>7.5 dB) and VH backscatter intensity were used to discriminate oil palm plantations. A combination of Landsat-8 NDVI, NDMI with Sentinel-1 VV and VH were used to discriminate rubber plantations. The improved map produced four land cover classes: native forest, oil palm plantation, rubber plantation, and non-forest. High-resolution SPOT 6/7 imagery and ground truth data were used for validation of the new classified maps. The map had an overall accuracy of 92%; producer’s accuracy for all classes was higher than 90%, except for rubber (65%), and user’s accuracy was over 80% for all classes. These results demonstrate that indices developed from a combination of optical and radar images can improve our ability to discriminate between native forest and oil palm and rubber plantations in the tropics. The new mapping method will help to support Indonesia’s national forest monitoring system and inform monitoring of plantation expansion.
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42
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Continuous Detection of Forest Loss in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia Using Sentinel-1 Data. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13234877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we demonstrate the ability of a new operational system to detect forest loss at a large scale accurately and in a timely manner. We produced forest loss maps every week over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (>750,000 km2 in total) using Sentinel-1 data. To do so, we used the forest loss detection method based on shadow detection. The main advantage of this method is the ability to avoid false alarms, which is relevant in Southeast Asia where the areas of forest disturbance may be very small and scattered and detection is used for alert purposes. The estimated user accuracy of the forest loss map was 0.95 for forest disturbances and 0.99 for intact forest, and the estimated producer’s accuracy was 0.90 for forest disturbances and 0.99 for intact forest, with a minimum mapping unit of 0.1 ha. This represents an important step forward compared to the values achieved by previous studies. We also found that approximately half of forest disturbances in Cambodia from 2018 to 2020 occurred in protected areas, which emphasizes the lack of efficiency in the protection and conservation of natural resources in protected areas. On an annual basis, the forest loss areas detected using our method are found to be similar to the estimations from Global Forest Watch. These results highlight the fact that this method provides not only quick alerts but also reliable detections that can be used to calculate weekly, monthly, or annual forest loss statistics at a national scale.
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43
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The Contribution of Trees Outside of Forests to Landscape Carbon and Climate Change Mitigation in West Africa. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12121652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
While closed canopy forests have been an important focal point for land cover change monitoring and climate change mitigation, less consideration has been given to methods for large scale measurements of trees outside of forests. Trees outside of forests are an important but often overlooked natural resource throughout sub-Saharan Africa, providing benefits for livelihoods as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this study, the development of an individual tree cover map using very high-resolution remote sensing and a comparison with a new automated machine learning mapping product revealed an important contribution of trees outside of forests to landscape tree cover and carbon stocks in a region where trees outside of forests are important components of livelihood systems. Here, we test and demonstrate the use of allometric scaling from remote sensing crown area to provide estimates of landscape-scale carbon stocks. Prominent biomass and carbon maps from global-scale remote sensing greatly underestimate the “invisible” carbon in these sparse tree-based systems. The measurement of tree cover and carbon in these landscapes has important application in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.
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44
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Lescuyer G, Bassanaga S. Positive Influence of Certification on the Financial Performance of Cocoa Production Models in Cameroon. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.743079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cameroon plans to double its cocoa production in the coming decade in line with international requirements for sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa. Private certification, which has developed considerably in recent years, should help achieve this objective. Based on a literature review and 63 individual interviews with farmers, we identified four archetypes of cocoa production using the criteria of plantation size, degree of shade, and support from public or private extension services. We analyzed the average operating accounts of the four archetypes. Our findings show that the net profit rates obtained by small-scale certified producers are 14% (in the savannah zone) and 24% (in the forest zone). These rates are much higher than for the other two production models. Certification schemes provide technical and financial support, which has a positive influence on the practices of many small-scale producers and compensates for the lack of public services, which are now almost non-existent. A hybrid governance of the cocoa sector in Cameroon could clarify and improve the organization of the interactions between public regulation and private certification systems.
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Zebaze D, Fayolle A, Daïnou K, Libalah M, Droissart V, Sonké B, Doucet J. Land use has little influence on the soil seed bank in a central African moist forest. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Donatien Zebaze
- Plant Systematics and Ecology Laboratory Higher Teacher's Training College University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
- Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Forest is Life University of Liège Gembloux Belgium
| | - Adeline Fayolle
- Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Forest is Life University of Liège Gembloux Belgium
| | - Kasso Daïnou
- Nature+ asbl / TERRA Forest is Life Gembloux Belgium
| | - Moses Libalah
- Plant Systematics and Ecology Laboratory Higher Teacher's Training College University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
- Department of Plant Biology University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - Vincent Droissart
- Plant Systematics and Ecology Laboratory Higher Teacher's Training College University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
- AMAP lab Univ Montpellier, IRDCNRSINRAECIRAD Montpellier France
| | - Bonaventure Sonké
- Plant Systematics and Ecology Laboratory Higher Teacher's Training College University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - Jean‐Louis Doucet
- Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Forest is Life University of Liège Gembloux Belgium
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Rodrigues RG, Srivathsa A, Vasudev D. Dog in the matrix: Envisioning countrywide connectivity conservation for an endangered carnivore. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan G. Rodrigues
- Wildlife Conservation Society–India Bengaluru India
- National Centre for Biological SciencesTIFR Bengaluru India
| | - Arjun Srivathsa
- Wildlife Conservation Society–India Bengaluru India
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Divya Vasudev
- Conservation Initiatives Guwahati India
- Centre for Wildlife Studies Bengaluru India
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Guan P, Zheng Y, Lei G. Analysis of canopy phenology in man-made forests using near-earth remote sensing. PLANT METHODS 2021; 17:104. [PMID: 34641927 PMCID: PMC8507189 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-021-00803-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Forest canopies are highly sensitive to their growth, health, and climate change. The study aims to obtain time sequence images in mix foresters using a near-earth remote sensing method to track the seasonal variation in the color index and select the optimal color index. Three different regions of interest (RIOs) were defined and six color indexes (GRVI, HUE, GGR, RCC, GCC, and GEI) were calculated to analyze the microenvironment difference. The key phenological phase was identified using the double logistic model and the derivative method, and the phenology forecast of color indexes was performed based on the long short-term memory (LSTM) model. RESULTS The results showed that the same color index in different RIOs and different color indexes in the same RIO present a slight difference in the days of growth and the days corresponding to the peak value, exhibiting different phenological phases; the mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the LSTM model was 0.0016, 0.0405, 0.0334, and 12.55%, respectively, indicating that this model has a good forecast effect. CONCLUSIONS In different areas of the same forest, differences in the micro-ecological environment in the canopies were prevalent, with their internal growth mechanism being affected by different cultivation ways and the external environment. Besides, the optimal color index also varies with species in phenological response, that is, different color indexes are used for different forests. With the data of color indexes as the training set and forecast set, the feasibility of the LSTM model in phenology forecast is verified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Guan
- School of Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Beijing, China
| | - Yili Zheng
- School of Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Beijing, China.
| | - Guannan Lei
- School of Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Beijing, China
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Edwards DP, Cerullo GR, Chomba S, Worthington TA, Balmford AP, Chazdon RL, Harrison RD. Upscaling tropical restoration to deliver environmental benefits and socially equitable outcomes. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R1326-R1341. [PMID: 34637743 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration offers immense potential to return hundreds of millions of hectares of degraded tropical landscapes to functioning ecosystems. Well-designed restoration can tackle multiple Sustainable Development Goals, driving synergistic benefits for biodiversity, ecosystem services, agricultural and timber production, and local livelihoods at large spatial scales. To deliver on this potential, restoration efforts must recognise and reduce trade-offs among objectives, and minimize competition with food production and conservation of native ecosystems. Restoration initiatives also need to confront core environmental challenges of climate change and inappropriate planting in savanna biomes, be robustly funded over the long term, and address issues of poor governance, inadequate land tenure, and socio-cultural disparities in benefits and costs. Tackling these issues using the landscape approach is vital to realising the potential for restoration to break the cycle of land degradation and poverty, and deliver on its core environmental and social promises.
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Edwards
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
| | | | | | | | - Andrew P Balmford
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Robin L Chazdon
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4556, Australia
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Shapiro AC, Bernhard KP, Zenobi S, Müller D, Aguilar-Amuchastegui N, d'Annunzio R. Proximate Causes of Forest Degradation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Vary in Space and Time. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.690562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Forest degradation, generally defined as a reduction in the delivery of forest ecosystem services, can have long-term impacts on biodiversity, climate, and local livelihoods. The quantification of forest degradation, its dynamics and proximate causes can help prompt early action to mitigate carbon emissions and inform relevant land use policies. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is largely forested with a relatively low deforestation rate, but anthropogenic degradation has been increasing in recent years. We assess the impact of eight independent variables related to land cover, land use, infrastructure, armed conflicts, and accessibility on forest degradation, measured by the Forest Condition (FC) index, a measure of forest degradation based on biomass history and fragmentation that ranges from 0 (completely deforested) to 100 (intact). We employ spatial panel models with fixed effects using regular 25 × 25 km units over five 3-year intervals from 2002 to 2016. The regression results suggest that the presence of swamp ecosystems, low access (defined by high travel time), and forest concessions are associated with lower forest degradation, while built up area, fire frequency, armed conflicts result in greater forest degradation. The impact of neighboring units on FC shows that all variables within the 50 km spatial neighborhood have a greater effect on FC than the on-site spatial determinants, indicating the greater influence of drivers beyond the 25 km2 unit. In the case of protected areas, we unexpectedly find that protection in neighboring locations leads to higher forest degradation, suggesting a potential leakage effect, while protected areas in the local vicinity have a positive influence on FC. The Mann-Kendall trend statistic of occurrences of fires and conflicts over the time period and until 2020 show that significant increases in conflicts and fires are spatially divergent. Overall, our results highlight how assessing the proximate causes of forest degradation with spatiotemporal analysis can support targeted interventions and policies to reduce forest degradation but spillover effects of proximal drivers in neighboring areas need to be considered.
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Open and Consistent Geospatial Data on Population Density, Built-Up and Settlements to Analyse Human Presence, Societal Impact and Sustainability: A Review of GHSL Applications. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13147851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This review analyses peer-reviewed scientific publications and policy documents that use built-up density, population density and settlement typology spatial grids from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) project to quantify human presence and processes for sustainability. Such open and free grids provide detailed time series spanning 1975–2015 developed with consistent approaches. Improving our knowledge of cities and settlements by measuring their size extent, as well as the societal processes occurring within settlements, is key to understanding their impact on the local, regional and global environment for addressing global sustainability and the integrity of planet Earth. The reviewed papers are grouped around five main topics: Quantifying human presence; assessing settlement growth over time; estimating societal impact, assessing natural hazard risk and impact, and generating indicators for international framework agreements and policy documents. This review calls for continuing to refine and expand the work on societal variables that, when combined with essential variables including those for climate, biodiversity and ocean, can improve our understanding of the societal impact on the biosphere and help to monitor progress towards local, regional and planetary sustainability.
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