Improved estimates of forest cover and loss in the Brazilian Amazon in 2000-2017

Published in Nature Sustainability, v. 2:764–772
Authors

Qin, Y., Xiao, X., Dong, J., Zhang, Y., Wu, X., Shimabukuro, Y., Arai, E., Biradar, C., Wang, J., Zou, Z., Liu, F., Shi, Z., Doughty, R. and Moore III, B
Publication year 2019
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0336-9
Affiliations
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA 
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, Brazil
  • Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, Brazil
  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Cairo, Egypt
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
  • College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.

 
IAI Program

CRN3
IAI Project CRN3076
Keywords
Tropical forest area
Brazilian Amazon
Forest-loss

Abstract

The data, information and knowledge on the tropical forest area and its dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon remain contentious. We use time-series satellite images to quantify annual forest area, loss and gain in the Brazilian Amazon during 2000-2017. We find that forest area was ~15% higher than the estimate by the official Brazilian forest dataset (PRODES), but annual forest-loss rates were twice the PRODES estimates (~0.027 × 10⁶ km² yr-1 during 2001-2016). Forest-loss rates increased again after 2013. The El Niño and drought year (2015/2016) drove large forest area loss. The cumulative forest-loss area within the protected areas (which include ~50% of forests in the region) was ~11% of the total forest-loss area, which highlights the roles of protected areas in forest conservation.