Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing
Tropical deforestation changes the surface energy balance and water cycle, but how much change occurs strongly depends on the land uses that follow deforestation. Here, we quantify how recent (2000–2010) transitions among widespread land uses (i.e., forests, croplands, and pastures) altered the wate...
| 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/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104015 |
| _version_ | 1797748617238282240 |
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| author | Divino V Silvério Paulo M Brando Marcia N Macedo Pieter S A Beck Mercedes Bustamante Michael T Coe |
| author_facet | Divino V Silvério Paulo M Brando Marcia N Macedo Pieter S A Beck Mercedes Bustamante Michael T Coe |
| author_sort | Divino V Silvério |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tropical deforestation changes the surface energy balance and water cycle, but how much change occurs strongly depends on the land uses that follow deforestation. Here, we quantify how recent (2000–2010) transitions among widespread land uses (i.e., forests, croplands, and pastures) altered the water and energy balance in the Xingu region of southeast Amazonia. Spatial-temporal analyses of multiple satellite data sets revealed that forest-to-crop and forest-to-pasture transitions decreased the net surface radiation (by 18% and 12%, respectively) and latent heat flux (32% and 24%), while increasing sensible heat flux (6% and 9%). Land use transitions during the 2000s reduced contemporaneous evapotranspiration (ET) in the Xingu region by 35 km ^3 and warmed the land surface temperature (LST) by 0.3 °C. Forest-to-pasture and forest-to-crop transitions accounted for most of the observed ET reduction (25.5 km ^3 and 7 km ^3 , respectively) and LST increase (0.2 °C and 0.07 °C). Pasture-to-crop transitions reduced ET by an additional 2.5 km ^3 and increased LST by 0.03 °C. If land use had changed at a similar rate within the region’s protected areas, ET would have decreased by another 4.7 km ^3 and the surface would have warmed an additional 0.5 °C. Forests thus play a key role in regulating regional climate in Amazonia, with protected areas able to attenuate regional climate change caused by land use changes. Our findings show how a major non-GHG forcing, in this case agricultural expansion, has significantly altered regional climate in southeastern Amazonia and how protected forests can mitigate such changes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:07:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e56c84d95c0466c984c05960f257849 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:07:22Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e56c84d95c0466c984c05960f2578492023-08-09T14:17:21ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262015-01-01101010401510.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104015Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcingDivino V Silvério0Paulo M Brando1Marcia N Macedo2Pieter S A Beck3Mercedes Bustamante4Michael T Coe5Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília , 70910-900, Brasília-DF, Brazil; Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, 66035-170, Belém, Pará, BrazilInstituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, 66035-170, Belém, Pará, Brazil; Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305-4101, USA; The Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02450, USAThe Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02450, USAForest Resources and Climate Unit, Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, Ispra VA, I-21027, ItalyDepartamento de Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília , 70910-900, Brasília-DF, BrazilThe Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02450, USATropical deforestation changes the surface energy balance and water cycle, but how much change occurs strongly depends on the land uses that follow deforestation. Here, we quantify how recent (2000–2010) transitions among widespread land uses (i.e., forests, croplands, and pastures) altered the water and energy balance in the Xingu region of southeast Amazonia. Spatial-temporal analyses of multiple satellite data sets revealed that forest-to-crop and forest-to-pasture transitions decreased the net surface radiation (by 18% and 12%, respectively) and latent heat flux (32% and 24%), while increasing sensible heat flux (6% and 9%). Land use transitions during the 2000s reduced contemporaneous evapotranspiration (ET) in the Xingu region by 35 km ^3 and warmed the land surface temperature (LST) by 0.3 °C. Forest-to-pasture and forest-to-crop transitions accounted for most of the observed ET reduction (25.5 km ^3 and 7 km ^3 , respectively) and LST increase (0.2 °C and 0.07 °C). Pasture-to-crop transitions reduced ET by an additional 2.5 km ^3 and increased LST by 0.03 °C. If land use had changed at a similar rate within the region’s protected areas, ET would have decreased by another 4.7 km ^3 and the surface would have warmed an additional 0.5 °C. Forests thus play a key role in regulating regional climate in Amazonia, with protected areas able to attenuate regional climate change caused by land use changes. Our findings show how a major non-GHG forcing, in this case agricultural expansion, has significantly altered regional climate in southeastern Amazonia and how protected forests can mitigate such changes.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104015rainforestenergy partitioninglatent heat fluxheat fluxland use changearc of deforestation |
| spellingShingle | Divino V Silvério Paulo M Brando Marcia N Macedo Pieter S A Beck Mercedes Bustamante Michael T Coe Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing Environmental Research Letters rainforest energy partitioning latent heat flux heat flux land use change arc of deforestation |
| title | Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |
| title_full | Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |
| title_fullStr | Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |
| title_short | Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |
| title_sort | agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern amazonia the overlooked non ghg forcing |
| topic | rainforest energy partitioning latent heat flux heat flux land use change arc of deforestation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104015 |
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