For the first time, a study analyzes Amazon forest loss and recovery at national and subnational levels. One finding shows that new plantings offset less than 10% of emissions associated with deforestation.
Amazonia
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Amazon Deforestation and Fires are a Hazard to Public Health
Deforestation in the Amazon has dropped since the early 2000s, but it is slowly climbing again. A new study shows the impact of that climb on public health—and how much worse conditions could be.
Posted inNews
Indigenous Peoples Harness Space Technology to Stop Deforestation
Satellite observations have long been used to detect deforestation, and a new study shows that giving Indigenous groups greater access to these data can improve response times and reduce tree cover loss.
Posted inNews
Amazon Forests Are Turning into Savannas
Floodplain forests have low resilience to repeated exposure to wildfires. As climate change increases the instances of fires, forests may transform to less productive grassland ecosystems.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Upwind Forest Buffers Rondonia Cropland Against Regional Drought
During severe Amazonia droughts when oceanic supply of moisture failed, the magnitude of rainfall reduction over Rondonia was moderated by enhanced moisture supply from upwind forests.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Trans-Atlantic Dusts May Not Enrich Amazon as Much as Thought
New research indicates that nutrient loads delivered to South American ecosystems by dust originating in Africa are far lower than suggested in previous studies.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Forest Degradation Affects Carbon and Water Cycles
Forest degradation may be as widespread as deforestation in the Amazon, but its impact on energy, carbon, and water fluxes is less well understood.
Posted inNews
Los Incendios del Amazonas Contribuyen al Derretimiento de los Glaciares Andinos
Investigaciones recientes revelan que las emisiones de carbono negro producidas por los incendios en el Amazonas causan que los glaciares en los Andes absorban más radiación solar y se derritan más.
Posted inNews
Amazon Fires Contribute to Andean Glacier Melting
New research finds that black carbon emissions produced by fires in the Amazon cause glaciers in the Andes to absorb more sunlight and melt more.
Posted inNews
Deforestation Could Exacerbate Drought in the Amazon
Researchers use high-resolution satellite images to parse the effects of land use changes on the energy balance between the rain forest and the atmosphere.