Deforestation

Tropical deforestation. Credit: Amazônia Real from Manaus AM, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPoorly defined land rights increase deforestation, but private land rights must be combined with strict environmental policies.Tropical deforestation causes widespread degradation of biodiversity and carbon stocks. Researchers were now able to test the relationship between land tenure and deforestation rates in Brazil. Their findings show that poorly defined land rights go hand in hand with increased deforestation rates.…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain New research published in PNAS today showed that, out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. Brazil, Ghana and Suriname also stood out in the study, which underscored the need for stronger measures to protect tropical forests from destructive economic activities like mining.…

A sweltering mid-June day with temperatures topping 100 degrees spurred one of the largest livestock die-offs in recent Kansas history, killing about 2,000 cattle. Twice that many cattle perished in fierce 2011 Iowa heat, with thousands more dying in neighboring states. And a July 1995 heat wave took a similar toll in the Farm Belt. Heat stress reduces cows' appetite, fertility and milk production. It also suppresses their immune systems. And that is likely to happen more often as the climate warms, particularly in the…

A study using satellite imagery and machine learning techniques shows that many deforestation hotspots lie outside the 11 municipalities currently monitored by the Brazilian federal government. Credit: Agência Brasil Using a method based on satellite images and artificial intelligence, Brazilian researchers have shown that the priority area for actions to combat illegal deforestation could comprise 27.8% less territory than…

CLIMATEWIRE | Forests around the world are losing their resilience and becoming more vulnerable to disturbances as the planet warms. That’s especially true for ecosystems in tropical, temperate and dry parts of the world, according to a new study. When a forest loses resilience, it means it’s gradually losing its ability to bounce back after fires, droughts, logging and other disruptive events, said the study, published on July 13 in Nature. Past a certain point, some forests may approach a kind of tipping point — a…

A burned section in the Amazon rainforest, in the municipality of Novo Progresso, in 2020. Photo: Fernando Souza / AGIF (AP)The Amazon rainforest has reached a new record for deforestation for the first half of this year.Satellite imagery of the rainforest taken from January to June show how 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 square miles) of forest was destroyed in the last six months, the Associated Press reports. This has been the fastest rate of deforestation to occur in half a year since recordingof this began about…

Deforestation in South America is devastating to local communities. Credit: © Xico Putini, Shutterstock Deforestation in the Gran Chaco forest in South America can be the end of the world for indigenous people who call it home. Researchers have been investigating different aspects of its human impact. …