Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamics of Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest
01 Jul 2019-pp 6594-6597
TL;DR: The temporal analysis revealed an increasing of the incidence of fires with the increasing of deforestation in that period, evidencing the systematic use of fire as a means of suppressing biomass.
Abstract: In mitigating climate change and ecosystems preservation that are unique and indispensable to the life of the planet, efforts are being made to reduce current levels of deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. In the arch of deforestation of the Amazon forest, studies on the occurrence of fires and the dynamics of deforestation are frequent in the literature on several aspects such as soil management, climate and vegetation change and forest resilience. This work presents an analysis of the relationship between deforested areas and the occurrence of fire outbreaks observed from January 2007 to November 2018, in a study area of approximately 36,000 km2, corresponding to the area covered by a Landsat-8 scene. Further, it was performed a correlation of fire outbreaks occurred in and near the forest area from the boundaries of the deforested areas from 2015 to 2018. Annual fire outbreaks data were obtained through the Queimadas Program of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) from 2007 to 2018, the deforestation polygons from the Project for Deforestation Monitoring in the Amazon Forest by Satellite (PRODES) and the INPE's Real-Time Detection System (DETER-B) from 2007 to 2018. The temporal analysis revealed an increasing of the incidence of fires with the increasing of deforestation in that period, evidencing the systematic use of fire as a means of suppressing biomass. In the last 4 years, the high occurrence of forest fires between 500 to 1000 m from the edge boundaries of the deforested areas, showed a considerable degradation of the forest and a probable decrease of forest resilience. Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Amazon Rainforest, Temporal Analysis, Remote Sensing.
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11 Jul 2021
TL;DR: In this article, an expert system based on a priori purely spectral-domain knowledge is proposed for per-pixel (spatial context-insensitive) automatic near real-time detection of thermal anomalies in geostationary GOES-16 ABI multi-spectral (MS) imagery.
Abstract: Typical advantages and limitations of prior knowledge-based (deductive, top-down) expert systems are well known in literature: they typically score “high” in efficiency and interpretability, but they tend to score “low” in transferability/robustness to changes in input data. To benefit from these advantages while overcoming their typical shortcomings, an original expert system, based on a priori purely spectral-domain knowledge, is proposed for per-pixel (spatial context-insensitive) automatic near real-time detection of thermal anomalies in geostationary GOES-16 ABI multi-spectral (MS) imagery. Unable to learn-from-data, the proposed static decision-tree for MS signature recognition (classification) requires neither training data nor human-machine interaction to run. Its degrees of novelty pertain to the Marr levels of system understanding known as information/knowledge representation, system design (architecture) and implementation. Input with day and night ABI imagery acquired every 15 minutes, the proposed expert system detected 680 pixels with thermal anomalies in ABI images of the North and South Americas acquired from 30/01/2018 (15:00 UTC) to 31/01/2018 (01:30 UTC).
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present field surveys of wood mills and forest burning across Brazilian Amazonia which show that logging crews severely damage 10,000 to 15,000 km2 of forest that are not included in deforestation mapping programmes.
Abstract: Amazonian deforestation rates are used to determine human effects on the global carbon cycle1,2,3 and to measure Brazil's progress in curbing forest impoverishment1,4,5. But this widely used measure of tropical land use tells only part of the story. Here we present field surveys of wood mills and forest burning across Brazilian Amazonia which show that logging crews severely damage 10,000 to 15,000 km2 yr−1 of forest that are not included in deforestation mapping programmes. Moreover, we find that surface fires burn additional large areas of standing forest, the destruction of which is normally not documented. Forest impoverishment due to such fires may increase dramatically when severe droughts provoke forest leaf-shedding and greater flammability; our regional water-balance model indicates that an estimated 270,000 km2 of forest became vulnerable to fire in the 1998 dry season. Overall, we find that present estimates of annual deforestation for Brazilian Amazonia capture less than half of the forest area that is impoverished each year, and even less during years of severe drought. Both logging and fire increase forest vulnerability to future burning6,7 and release forest carbon stocks to the atmosphere, potentially doubling net carbon emissions from regional land-use during severe El Nino episodes. If this forest impoverishment is to be controlled, then logging activities need to be restricted or replaced with low-impact timber harvest techniques, and more effective strategies to prevent accidental forest fires need to be implemented.
1,286 citations
"Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamic..." refers background in this paper
...5, indicates high level of degradation of the standing forest in the vicinity of deforested areas [9]-[11]-[16]-[17][26]-[1]-[19]....
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...The deforestation fronts are observed along forest edges [9]-[10]-[11]....
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TL;DR: It is reported that protected areas in the Amazon basin—the central feature of prevailing conservation approaches—are an important but insufficient component of this strategy, based on policy-sensitive simulations of future deforestation.
Abstract: Deforestation is continuing in the Amazon basin as the cattle and soy industries expand. The main conservation policy there involves ‘protected areas’: areas designated by national governments that are left undisturbed to allow natural vegetation to develop. But this alone may not protect the rainforest ecosystem from collapse. An new estimate of forest losses made using the SimAmazonia 1 computer model suggests that by 2050, agricultural expansion will eliminate two-thirds of the forest cover of five major watersheds and ten ecoregions. One in four mammalian species examined will lose 40% of their forest habitat. Although an improved network of protected areas could avoid up to a third of projected forest loss, forest conservation on private properties will be essential if the Amazon landscapes and watersheds are to be maintained. Expansion of the cattle and soy industries in the Amazon basin has increased deforestation rates and will soon push all-weather highways into the region's core1,2,3,4. In the face of this growing pressure, a comprehensive conservation strategy for the Amazon basin should protect its watersheds, the full range of species and ecosystem diversity, and the stability of regional climates. Here we report that protected areas in the Amazon basin—the central feature of prevailing conservation approaches5,6,7,8—are an important but insufficient component of this strategy, based on policy-sensitive simulations of future deforestation. By 2050, current trends in agricultural expansion will eliminate a total of 40% of Amazon forests, including at least two-thirds of the forest cover of six major watersheds and 12 ecoregions, releasing 32 ± 8 Pg of carbon to the atmosphere. One-quarter of the 382 mammalian species examined will lose more than 40% of the forest within their Amazon ranges. Although an expanded and enforced network of protected areas could avoid as much as one-third of this projected forest loss, conservation on private lands is also essential. Expanding market pressures for sound land management and prevention of forest clearing on lands unsuitable for agriculture are critical ingredients of a strategy for comprehensive conservation3,4.
1,201 citations
"Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamic..." refers background in this paper
...The most significant changes in the biomass carbon stocks takes place in regions close to the edges of the forest [16]-[17]-[18]-[19]....
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...5, indicates high level of degradation of the standing forest in the vicinity of deforested areas [9]-[11]-[16]-[17][26]-[1]-[19]....
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TL;DR: The current state of tropical fire science is discussed, recommendations for advancement are made and pan-tropical forest fires will increase as more damaged, less fire-resistant, forests cover the landscape.
Abstract: Forest fires are growing in size and frequency across the tropics. Continually eroding fragmented forest edges, they are unintended ecological disturbances that transcend deforestation to degrade vast regions of standing forest, diminishing ecosystem services and the economic potential of these natural resources. Affecting the health of millions, net forest fire emissions may have released carbon equivalent to 41% of worldwide fossil fuel use in 1997-98. Episodically more severe during El Nino events, pan-tropical forest fires will increase as more damaged, less fire-resistant, forests cover the landscape. Here I discuss the current state of tropical fire science and make recommendations for advancement.
1,003 citations
"Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamic..." refers background in this paper
...Dynamics of deforestation in Brazilian Amazon rainforest (adapted from Cochrane [11])....
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...[11] M.A. Cochrane, “Fire science for rainforests”....
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...5, indicates high level of degradation of the standing forest in the vicinity of deforested areas [9]-[11]-[16]-[17][26]-[1]-[19]....
[...]
...The deforestation fronts are observed along forest edges [9]-[10]-[11]....
[...]
TL;DR: Pasture remains the dominant land use after forest clearing in Mato Grosso, but the growing importance of larger and faster conversion of forest to cropland defines a new paradigm of forest loss in Amazonia and refutes the claim that agricultural intensification does not lead to new deforestation.
Abstract: Intensive mechanized agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon grew by >3.6 million hectares (ha) during 2001–2004. Whether this cropland expansion resulted from intensified use of land previously cleared for cattle ranching or new deforestation has not been quantified and has major implications for future deforestation dynamics, carbon fluxes, forest fragmentation, and other ecosystem services. We combine deforestation maps, field surveys, and satellite-based information on vegetation phenology to characterize the fate of large (>25-ha) clearings as cropland, cattle pasture, or regrowing forest in the years after initial clearing in Mato Grosso, the Brazilian state with the highest deforestation rate and soybean production since 2001. Statewide, direct conversion of forest to cropland totaled >540,000 ha during 2001–2004, peaking at 23% of 2003 annual deforestation. Cropland deforestation averaged twice the size of clearings for pasture (mean sizes, 333 and 143 ha, respectively), and conversion occurred rapidly; >90% of clearings for cropland were planted in the first year after deforestation. Area deforested for cropland and mean annual soybean price in the year of forest clearing were directly correlated (R2 = 0.72), suggesting that deforestation rates could return to higher levels seen in 2003–2004 with a rebound of crop prices in international markets. Pasture remains the dominant land use after forest clearing in Mato Grosso, but the growing importance of larger and faster conversion of forest to cropland defines a new paradigm of forest loss in Amazonia and refutes the claim that agricultural intensification does not lead to new deforestation.
954 citations
"Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamic..." refers background in this paper
...In the Brazilian Amazon rainforest the land management, by ranchers and farmers, clearings are made followed by fire [5]-[6]-[7]-[8]....
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TL;DR: This work developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon, equivalent to 60 to 123% of previously reported deforestation area.
Abstract: Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square kilometers per year (±14%) between 1999 and 2002, equivalent to 60 to 123% of previously reported deforestation area. Up to 1200 square kilometers per year of logging were observed on conservation lands. Each year, 27 million to 50 million cubic meters of wood were extracted, and a gross flux of ∼0.1 billion metric tons of carbon was destined for release to the atmosphere by logging.
925 citations
"Hot Spots Occurrence in the Dynamic..." refers background in this paper
...The damage to the forest is difficult to document [21]....
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