Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties

Limited data exists on emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation, and available data are typically uncertain. In this paper, we provide comparable estimates of emissions from both all deforestation and agriculture-driven deforestation, with uncertainties for 91 countries across the tropics bet...

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Main Authors: Carter, S., Herold, Martin, Avitabile, Valerio, Bruin, S. de, Sy, Veronique de, Kooistra, L., Rufino, Mariana C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IOP Publishing 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93473
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author Carter, S.
Herold, Martin
Avitabile, Valerio
Bruin, S. de
Sy, Veronique de
Kooistra, L.
Rufino, Mariana C.
author_browse Avitabile, Valerio
Bruin, S. de
Carter, S.
Herold, Martin
Kooistra, L.
Rufino, Mariana C.
Sy, Veronique de
author_facet Carter, S.
Herold, Martin
Avitabile, Valerio
Bruin, S. de
Sy, Veronique de
Kooistra, L.
Rufino, Mariana C.
author_sort Carter, S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Limited data exists on emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation, and available data are typically uncertain. In this paper, we provide comparable estimates of emissions from both all deforestation and agriculture-driven deforestation, with uncertainties for 91 countries across the tropics between 1990 and 2015. Uncertainties associated with input datasets (activity data and emissions factors) were used to combine the datasets, where most certain datasets contribute the most. This method utilizes all the input data, while minimizing the uncertainty of the emissions estimate. The uncertainty of input datasets was influenced by the quality of the data, the sample size (for sample-based datasets), and the extent to which the timeframe of the data matches the period of interest. Area of deforestation, and the agriculture-driver factor (extent to which agriculture drives deforestation), were the most uncertain components of the emissions estimates, thus improvement in the uncertainties related to these estimates will provide the greatest reductions in uncertainties of emissions estimates. Over the period of the study, Latin America had the highest proportion of deforestation driven by agriculture (78%), and Africa had the lowest (62%). Latin America had the highest emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation, and these peaked at 974 ± 148 Mt CO2 yr−1 in 2000–2005. Africa saw a continuous increase in emissions between 1990 and 2015 (from 154 ± 21–412 ± 75 Mt CO2 yr−1), so mitigation initiatives could be prioritized there. Uncertainties for emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation are ± 62.4% (average over 1990–2015), and uncertainties were highest in Asia and lowest in Latin America. Uncertainty information is crucial for transparency when reporting, and gives credibility to related mitigation initiatives. We demonstrate that uncertainty data can also be useful when combining multiple open datasets, so we recommend new data providers to include this information.
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spelling CGSpace934732025-06-17T08:23:26Z Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties Carter, S. Herold, Martin Avitabile, Valerio Bruin, S. de Sy, Veronique de Kooistra, L. Rufino, Mariana C. deforestation agriculture emission Limited data exists on emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation, and available data are typically uncertain. In this paper, we provide comparable estimates of emissions from both all deforestation and agriculture-driven deforestation, with uncertainties for 91 countries across the tropics between 1990 and 2015. Uncertainties associated with input datasets (activity data and emissions factors) were used to combine the datasets, where most certain datasets contribute the most. This method utilizes all the input data, while minimizing the uncertainty of the emissions estimate. The uncertainty of input datasets was influenced by the quality of the data, the sample size (for sample-based datasets), and the extent to which the timeframe of the data matches the period of interest. Area of deforestation, and the agriculture-driver factor (extent to which agriculture drives deforestation), were the most uncertain components of the emissions estimates, thus improvement in the uncertainties related to these estimates will provide the greatest reductions in uncertainties of emissions estimates. Over the period of the study, Latin America had the highest proportion of deforestation driven by agriculture (78%), and Africa had the lowest (62%). Latin America had the highest emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation, and these peaked at 974 ± 148 Mt CO2 yr−1 in 2000–2005. Africa saw a continuous increase in emissions between 1990 and 2015 (from 154 ± 21–412 ± 75 Mt CO2 yr−1), so mitigation initiatives could be prioritized there. Uncertainties for emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation are ± 62.4% (average over 1990–2015), and uncertainties were highest in Asia and lowest in Latin America. Uncertainty information is crucial for transparency when reporting, and gives credibility to related mitigation initiatives. We demonstrate that uncertainty data can also be useful when combining multiple open datasets, so we recommend new data providers to include this information. 2018-01-01 2018-07-03T10:55:48Z 2018-07-03T10:55:48Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93473 en Open Access IOP Publishing Carter, S., Herold, M., Avitabile, V., de Bruin, S., de Sy, V., Kooistra, L., Rufino, M.C. . 2018. Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015 : emissions, trends and uncertainties. Environmental Research Letters, 13 (1) : 014002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa9ea4
spellingShingle deforestation
agriculture
emission
Carter, S.
Herold, Martin
Avitabile, Valerio
Bruin, S. de
Sy, Veronique de
Kooistra, L.
Rufino, Mariana C.
Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title_full Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title_fullStr Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title_full_unstemmed Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title_short Agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990-2015: emissions, trends and uncertainties
title_sort agriculture driven deforestation in the tropics from 1990 2015 emissions trends and uncertainties
topic deforestation
agriculture
emission
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93473
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