The drivers and impacts of Amazon forest degradation.
David Montenegro LapolaPatricia PinhoJos BarlowLuiz Eduardo Oliveira E Cruz de AragãoErika BerenguerRachel CarmentaHannah M LiddyHugo SeixasCamila Silva ValeriaCelso Henrique Leite Silva JuniorAne A C AlencarLiana Oighenstein AndersonDolors ArmenterasVictor BrovkinKim CaldersJeffrey Q ChambersLouise ChiniMarcos H CostaBruno L FariaPhilip Martin FearnsideJoice FerreiraLuciana V GattiVictor Hugo Gutierrez-VelezZhangang HanKathleen HibbardCharles D KovenPeter LawrenceJulia PongratzBruno Takeshi Tanaka PortelaMark D A RounsevellAlex C RuaneRüdiger SchaldachSonaira S da SilvaCelso von RandowWayne S WalkerPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023)
Approximately 2.5 × 10 6 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, the emissions from Amazon deforestation (0.06 to 0.21 Pg C year -1 ). Amazon forest degradation can reduce dry-season evapotranspiration by up to 34% and cause as much biodiversity loss as deforestation in human-modified landscapes, generating uneven socioeconomic burdens, mainly to forest dwellers. Projections indicate that degradation will remain a dominant source of carbon emissions independent of deforestation rates. Policies to tackle degradation should be integrated with efforts to curb deforestation and complemented with innovative measures addressing the disturbances that degrade the Amazon forest.