(ORDO NEWS) — The Amazon rainforest is affected by more than just deforestation. 38% of the remaining forests were also affected. This is a huge area – almost 10 territories of Great Britain.
This is the conclusion reached by an international team of scientists in a report led by the University of Campines, Brazil.
Despite the fact that Brazil begins active actions to save the Amazonian forests, much can no longer be restored.
The Amazon rainforest has been degraded to a much greater extent than scientists previously thought, with more than a third of the remaining forests already affected by human activity.
The report was prepared by an international team of 35 scientists from the University of Campinas in Brazil (Unicamp), the Institute for Environmental Studies of the Amazon (IPAM), the National Institute for Space Studies (INPE) and Lancaster University in the UK.
The study shows that up to 38% of the remaining Amazonian forest area (that’s ten areas of the UK) has already been degraded by some form of human intervention. This has resulted in carbon emissions equivalent to or greater than those from deforestation.
The findings are the result of an analytical review of previously published scientific data based on satellite imagery and scientific studies describing changes in the Amazon region between 2001 and 2018.
The authors define the concept of “degradation” as temporary or long-term changes caused by human activity.
Degradation is different from deforestation, when a forest is completely cut down and a new land use is developed in its place, such as growing crops.
Although highly degraded forests may lose almost all trees, the nature of land use does not change.
The authors assess four main factors that cause forest degradation: forest fires, edge effects (changes occurring in forests adjacent to deforested areas), selective logging (including illegal) and extreme drought. Different forest areas may be affected by one or more factors.
“For carbon emissions and biodiversity loss, the cumulative effect of all these factors can be as important as complete deforestation,” said paper co-author Jos Barlow, professor of environmental sciences at Lancaster University in the UK.
In the team’s projection for 2050, the four degradation drivers will continue to be the main sources of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, regardless of an increase or decrease in Amazonian deforestation.
“Even in an optimistic scenario where there is no more deforestation at all, forest degradation will continue,” says Dr. David Lapola, lead researcher at the University of Campines.
“But preventing further deforestation remains vital and will help focus more attention on other drivers of forest degradation.”
Scientists propose to create a monitoring system for the Amazon rainforest, stop illegal logging and establish strict control over the use of fire.
One of the proposals is the concept of “smart forests”, which, like the idea of ”smart cities”, will use various types of technologies and sensors to collect data and control degradation factors.
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