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 CO _2 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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124004 |
| _version_ | 1797748610922708992 |
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| author | V De Sy M Herold F Achard R Beuchle J G P W Clevers E Lindquist L Verchot |
| author_facet | V De Sy M Herold F Achard R Beuchle J G P W Clevers E Lindquist L Verchot |
| author_sort | V De Sy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO _2 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:08:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-27153c34251b4307808f9bf91890c86b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:08:15Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-27153c34251b4307808f9bf91890c86b2023-08-09T14:15:32ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262015-01-01101212400410.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124004Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South AmericaV De Sy0M Herold1F Achard2R Beuchle3J G P W Clevers4E Lindquist5L Verchot6Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University , Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The NetherlandsLaboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University , Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The NetherlandsEuropean Commission’s, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Forest Resources and Climate Unit, 21027 Ispra, ItalyEuropean Commission’s, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Forest Resources and Climate Unit, 21027 Ispra, ItalyLaboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University , Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The NetherlandsFood and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, ItalyCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, IndonesiaLand use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO _2 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.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124004deforestationland useproximate causesremote sensingforest carbon lossREDD+ |
| spellingShingle | V De Sy M Herold F Achard R Beuchle J G P W Clevers E Lindquist L Verchot Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America Environmental Research Letters deforestation land use proximate causes remote sensing forest carbon loss REDD+ |
| 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 | deforestation land use proximate causes remote sensing forest carbon loss REDD+ |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124004 |
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