Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America

Land use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Identifying and addressing the causes or drivers of anthropogenic forest change is considered crucial for global climate change mitigation. Few countries however, monitor deforestation drivers i...

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Main Authors: Sy, Veronique de, Herold, Martin, Achard, F., Beuchle, R., Clevers, J.G.P.W., Lindquist, E., Verchot, Louis V.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IOP Publishing 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94651
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author Sy, Veronique de
Herold, Martin
Achard, F.
Beuchle, R.
Clevers, J.G.P.W.
Lindquist, E.
Verchot, Louis V.
author_browse Achard, F.
Beuchle, R.
Clevers, J.G.P.W.
Herold, Martin
Lindquist, E.
Sy, Veronique de
Verchot, Louis V.
author_facet Sy, Veronique de
Herold, Martin
Achard, F.
Beuchle, R.
Clevers, J.G.P.W.
Lindquist, E.
Verchot, Louis V.
author_sort Sy, Veronique de
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Land use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Identifying and addressing the causes or drivers of anthropogenic forest change is considered crucial for global climate change mitigation. Few countries however, monitor deforestation drivers in a systematic manner. National-level quantitative spatially explicit information on drivers is often lacking. This study quantifies proximate drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America based on remote sensing time series in a systematic, spatially explicit manner. Deforestation areas were derived from the 2010 global remote sensing survey of the Food and Agricultural Organisation Forest Resource Assessment. To assess proximate drivers, land use following deforestation was assigned by visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery. To estimate gross carbon losses from deforestation, default Tier 1 biomass levels per country and eco-zone were used. Pasture was the dominant driver of forest area (71.2%) and related carbon loss (71.6%) in South America, followed by commercial cropland (14% and 12.1% respectively). Hotspots of deforestation due to pasture occurred in Northern Argentina, Western Paraguay, and along the arc of deforestation in Brazil where they gradually moved into higher biomass forests causing additional carbon losses. Deforestation driven by commercial cropland increased in time, with hotspots occurring in Brazil (Mato Grosso State), Northern Argentina, Eastern Paraguay and Central Bolivia. Infrastructure, such as urban expansion and roads, contributed little as proximate drivers of forest area loss (1.7%). Our findings contribute to the understanding of drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America, and are comparable at the national, regional and continental level. In addition, they support the development of national REDD+ interventions and forest monitoring systems, and provide valuable input for statistical analysis and modelling of underlying drivers of deforestation.
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spelling CGSpace946512025-06-17T08:24:02Z Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America Sy, Veronique de Herold, Martin Achard, F. Beuchle, R. Clevers, J.G.P.W. Lindquist, E. Verchot, Louis V. land use deforestation emission climate change mitigation Land use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Identifying and addressing the causes or drivers of anthropogenic forest change is considered crucial for global climate change mitigation. Few countries however, monitor deforestation drivers in a systematic manner. National-level quantitative spatially explicit information on drivers is often lacking. This study quantifies proximate drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America based on remote sensing time series in a systematic, spatially explicit manner. Deforestation areas were derived from the 2010 global remote sensing survey of the Food and Agricultural Organisation Forest Resource Assessment. To assess proximate drivers, land use following deforestation was assigned by visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery. To estimate gross carbon losses from deforestation, default Tier 1 biomass levels per country and eco-zone were used. Pasture was the dominant driver of forest area (71.2%) and related carbon loss (71.6%) in South America, followed by commercial cropland (14% and 12.1% respectively). Hotspots of deforestation due to pasture occurred in Northern Argentina, Western Paraguay, and along the arc of deforestation in Brazil where they gradually moved into higher biomass forests causing additional carbon losses. Deforestation driven by commercial cropland increased in time, with hotspots occurring in Brazil (Mato Grosso State), Northern Argentina, Eastern Paraguay and Central Bolivia. Infrastructure, such as urban expansion and roads, contributed little as proximate drivers of forest area loss (1.7%). Our findings contribute to the understanding of drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America, and are comparable at the national, regional and continental level. In addition, they support the development of national REDD+ interventions and forest monitoring systems, and provide valuable input for statistical analysis and modelling of underlying drivers of deforestation. 2015-12-01 2018-07-03T11:01:34Z 2018-07-03T11:01:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94651 en Open Access IOP Publishing de Sy, V., Herold, M., Achard, F., Beuchle, R., Clevers, J.G.P.W., Lindquist, E., Verchot, L.V.. 2015. Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America Environmental Research Letters, 10 (12) : 124004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124004
spellingShingle land use
deforestation
emission
climate change
mitigation
Sy, Veronique de
Herold, Martin
Achard, F.
Beuchle, R.
Clevers, J.G.P.W.
Lindquist, E.
Verchot, Louis V.
Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title_full Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title_fullStr Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title_full_unstemmed Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title_short Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America
title_sort land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in south america
topic land use
deforestation
emission
climate change
mitigation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94651
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