The drivers and impacts of Amazon Forest degradation.
Approximately 2.5 × 106 square kilometers of the Amazon Forest are currently degraded by fire, edge effects, timber extraction, and/or extreme drought, representing 38% of all remaining forests in the region. Carbon emissions from this degradation total up to 0.2 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year−1), which is equivalent to, if not greater than, […]
Human impacts outpace natural processes in the Amazon.
Amazonian environments are being degraded by modern industrial and agricultural activities at a pace far above anything previously known, imperiling its vast biodiversity reserves and globally important ecosystem services. The most substantial threats come from regional deforestation, because of export market demands, and global climate change. The Amazon is currently perched to transition rapidly from […]