Total Deforestation Research Articles

EVALUATION OF THE GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF MANGROVE SEEDLINGS UNDER DIFFERENT LIGHT INTENSITIES: SIMULATING THE EFFECT OF MANGROVE DEFORESTATION

ABSTRACT Environmental factors, especially light, temperature, and edaphic conditions are of great importance for the establishment of plant communities. In areas degraded by deforestation, these factors can vary greatly, which may affect the recolonization of the typical populations in the altered area. This study evaluated the development of seedlings of pioneer mangrove species under different levels of shading in soil substrate degraded by deforestation, aiming to assess the effect of deforestation on the recolonization of mangrove forests, which may be of help in the production of seedlings and recovery of deforested areas. The study was conducted in the municipality of Acaraú in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The species Avicennia schaueriana Stapf and Leechm. ex Moldenke (1939) and Laguncularia racemosa C. F. Gaertn (1807) were used in the study, and the substrate was collected from an area impacted by deforestation. The propagules and seedlings were exposed to full sun and 30, 50 and 70% shading. The results revealed that the treatment at full sun had the lowest germination rate of 86.66% for L. racemosa. Seedlings of both species showed a significant difference and better quality between shading treatments and full sun. The height of the seedlings showed a correlation above -0.90 with ambient temperature. L. racemosa tested in full sun had a viable seedling reduction of 50% and A. schaueriana was superior. It is concluded that the natural regeneration of a mangrove area can be compromised under the conditions of total deforestation with high sun exposure and degraded soils. Human intervention in providing 50% shading is essential for the development of seedlings and regeneration of the area impacted by deforestation.

Vulnerability of turtles to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Indicating priority areas for conservation

The loss of forest cover has been considered to be an important factor in the decline of turtle populations. We used Species Distribution Models (SDM) to identify the potential distribution areas of several turtle species in the Brazilian Amazon and to calculate amount of area possibly lost to deforestation (vulnerability). We then used the software Zonation to prioritize areas for turtle conservation. We assigned higher conservation weight to terrestrial, semi-aquatic and threatened turtles and forced the exclusion of deforested areas. Different scenarios were run to assess the effectiveness of PAs in protecting turtles. Priority areas for turtle conservation are located in central-northern Amazon. These regions usually do not encompass high deforestation areas. Areas that turtles are most vulnerable to deforestation are located in central-northeastern Amazon, but only three species lost more potential distribution area to current and predicted deforestation than the percentage of total deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Phrynops geoffroanus, Podocnemis unifilis, Mesoclemmys gibba and Kinosternon scorpioides had a highest proportion of their potential distribution area lost due to deforestation. Many priority sites for turtle conservation are located outside of PAs, even when considering only the top 17% of priority sites. Although we did not explicitly take into consideration the social importance of turtles as a food resource in our analysis, our results highlight the most important regions for investing in conservation of turtles in the Brazilian Amazon. These results have significant practical implications for conservation.

Implications of Land-Grabbing on the Ecological Balance of Brazil

In the global free-market, natural resource scarcity and opportunities for preserving the local environment are fostering international purchasing of large extensions of land, mainly for agricultural use. These land transactions often involve land cover change (i.e., through deforestation) or a shift from extensive or traditional to intensive agricultural practices. In Brazil, the land appropriation by foreign investors (i.e., the so-called “land-grabbing”) is affecting natural capital availability for local communities to a different extent in the very different territorial entities. At the same time, Brazilian investors are purchasing land in other countries. Ecological footprint accounting is one appropriate lens that can be employed to visualize the aggregated effect of natural capital appropriation and use. The aim of this paper is to provide a first estimate on the effect of land-grabbing on the ecological balance of Brazil through calculating the biocapacity embodied in purchased lands in the different states of Brazil. The results show that Brazil is losing between 9 to 9.3 million global hectares (on a gross basis, or a net total of 7.7 to 8.6 million of global hectares) of its biocapacity due to land-grabbing, when considering respectively a “cropland to cropland” (i.e., no land-cover change) and a “total deforestation” scenario. This represents a minimum estimate, highlighting the need for further land-grabbing data collection at the subnational scale. This analysis can be replicated for other countries of the world, adjusting their ecological balance by considering the biocapacity embodied in international transactions of land.

Landsat study of deforestation in the Amazon region of Colombia: Departments of Caquetá and Putumayo

The Amazon rainforest, the largest in the world in terms of size and diversity, is recognized as a source of ecological services for both local and worldwide communities. Ten percent of its territory belongs to Colombia, covering approximately 35% of the country's total area. In spite of global efforts, it continues to be vulnerable to deforestation pressures. In the departments of Caquetá and Putumayo, human activities such as logging and cattle ranching are the main causes of deforestation, which is increasing the department's vulnerability to climate change and natural hazards. However, there is a lack of consistent quantitative monitoring in the Colombian Amazon region, not only of total deforestation rates but also of specific locations and causes of deforestation, despite its high rates of deforestation compared to neighboring Ecuador. In this study, Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 images over a sixteen-year period were used to map recent changes in land cover in the departments affected by deforestation. Supervised classifications were made using the Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and expert classification system, using False Color IR composites which were effective for identifying vegetation land cover. Over sixteen years, the Tropical Rainforest land cover in the study region lost 5.2% of its area, corresponding to 3020.56 square kilometers. Overall, the study region shows an annual rate of deforestation of 0.46%, and for Caquetá alone that rate is 0.77% - about twice as high as estimates from previous studies of between 0.38% and 0.4% loss rates for tropical South America. No single factor driving deforestation was found; rather, different regions within the study area displayed different rates and causes. The particularly rapid deforestation in the department of Caquetá and the encroachment of agricultural activities into national park reserves may be explained by higher colonization pressures and intensification of illegal coca cultivation.

Modeling Deforestation and Green Houses Gas Emissions in Morowali Utara District, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia

Land use cover conversion from forest to another land was constributing for total green houses gas (GHS) emission, especially from forestry sector. The Central Sulawesi Province has forest area about 4.258 million ha. The deforestation in Central Sulawesi Province for period 2000-2009 reached 432,111.50 Ha (10.15 %). Morowali Utara District is one of district in Central Sulawesi Province, which contribution 15,20 % total deforestation in Central Sulawesi province. This study aims to calculate the rate of deforestation and simulation carbon emission in Morowali Utara District by using REDD+ model. The main data used in this study are land use or cover map (2003, 2009 and 2015), driver variable (distance from : forest edge, roads, streams, and slope) as the explanatory variables of deforestation. The results show that the deforestation on the period 2003-2015 reached 62,017.47 (9,19 %) or the rate of deforestation 5,168.12 ha year−1. Logistic regression model for prediction of deforestation is Y1 = −2.2649 + 0.001126 X1 − 0.000152 X2 − 0.000225 X3 + 0.010704 X4 (ROC = 0,7408), meanwhile the amount of carbon that the REDD project will protect given a departure from the business as usual deforestation scenario up to 18.868 million tCO2e.

Identificación y cuantificación de los procesos de cambio de las coberturas sobre el territorio de la cuenca alta del río Bogotá, entre 1977 y 2015

La cuenca alta del río Bogotá es considerada un área estratégica del país por la vocación agrícola de sus suelos, al igual que por su alta calidad paisajística y red hidrográfica que se sustenta en ecosistemas naturales particulares, entre ellos los páramos, bosques andinos y humedales. Sin embargo, últimamente la calidad del paisaje se ha visto afectada y las coberturas, tradicionalmente agrícolas y de vegetación natural, han sido sustituidas por otras de tipo industrial, comercial y habitacional, lo cual amerita ser cuantificado en un periodo de tiempo específico, en contexto con la normatividad actual. El presente estudio realizó la identificación y cuantificación de cambios en las coberturas sobre dicho territorio, entre 1977 y 2015, igualmente se calcularon tasas de cambio, deforestación y pérdida de coberturas vegetales naturales. Los resultados evidencian que en este periodo el 70,54 % del territorio se ha trasformado, el 1,93 % fue alterado, el 0,53 % está en degradación y el 26,72 % presenta aún conservación de áreas naturales. Por otra parte, las coberturas de bosques naturales disminuyeron cerca de 38.681,39 ha. La deforestación total anual promedio en un periodo de 38 años fue de 1.017,93 ha/año para el bosque nativo. La tasa de deforestación de bosque nativo es de -1,54 %. La tasa de pérdida de páramo es de -0,16 %, la de los matorrales es de - 3,03 % y la de la vegetación subxerófita es de -1,56 %.

The effects of crop-to-beef relative prices on deforestation: evidence from the Tapajós Basin

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of changes in agricultural land use on deforestation at the local level in the Tapajós Basin in the Brazilian Amazon. It uses exogenous variation in crop-to-beef relative prices to investigate the effects of pasture-to-cropland conversion on deforestation. The findings indicate that increases in crop-to-beef relative prices increase the rate of pasture-to-cropland conversion and reduce the rate of deforestation. The magnitude of the effects implies that land conversion reduced deforestation at the local level by 5,300 square kilometers from 2002 to 2012. This reduction is the equivalent of almost 15 per cent of the total deforestation observed in the region during this period. These results are consistent with a land use model in which cattle ranching and crop cultivation have different input-intensities and there is imperfect mobility of productive factors between municipalities. This model highlights the fact that changes in relative prices affect deforestation through its effect on input prices.

Economical, Environmental and Ethical Impact of Food Wastage in Hospitality and Other Global Industries

There is something horrible about throwing food in the bin. Based on existing literature, 30-50 percent (i.e. 1.2-2 billion tons) of the produced food never reaches anyone’s plate. Global food production can be split into production losses, consumers’ waste and consumption. In a world where 850 million people are undernourished, global food supply per person approximates to 570 kg: roughly, 380 kg is consumed, 140 kg is lost in the production and 50 kg is wasted by consumers. Households generate 53% of the total food waste in Europe, the processing industry 19%, food services 12%, the primary production sector 11%, and the retail/wholesale sector 5%. The European hospitality industry is a small food waster that generates only 12% of the total food waste in Europe. Wasted food is accountable for 3.3 GtCO2e. The average carbon footprint of food wastage is about 500 kg of CO2 equivalents per person per year. The blue water footprint of food wastage is about 250 km3. 1.4 billion Ha of land – 28% of the world’s agricultural area – is used annually to produce food that is either lost or wasted. The food which is not eaten contributes to the loss of biodiversity through habitat change, overexploitation, pollution and climate changes. Prompted in part by global food production inefficiency, 9.7 million hectares are deforested annually to grow food – 74% of the total annual deforestation. The scale of global food wastage is shocking, and this wasted food results in a number of ethically questionable implications. Pope Francis rightfully points out that from the moral standpoint prodigal expenditure and wasting of food is no better than stealing from the hungry and poor. From the ecological standpoint, it is no better than stealing from our own children. But moralizing, identifying problems, knowledge and information distribution, and suggesting solutions surely will not convince people to implement offered solutions. The world needs progressive politics for a fairer world to achieve more equitable distribution of wealth. Tourism and the whole hospitality industry can and must play an important role in raising awareness of the value of food. The entire touristic sector can promote changes in food management and consumption with very positive environmental and economic results.

A participatory approach to elucidate the consequences of land invasions on REDD+ initiatives: A case study with Indigenous communities in Panama.

Land tenure and tenure security are among the most important factors determining the viability and success of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiatives. The premise of the present paper is that territorial conflicts lead to forest loss and compromise the successful implementation of REDD+. Within this context, the main objectives of this paper are to (i) document, relying on participatory methods, the extent to which land conflicts drive deforestation and (ii) reflect on the legal context of REDD+ examining if, from an Indigenous perspective, it offers tools to resolve such conflicts. We used the Upper Bayano Watershed in eastern Panama as a case study of complex land tenure dynamics, and their effects on forest conservation in the context of REDD+. Combining a range of participatory methods including participatory mapping and forest carbon stock assessment, we estimated the consequences of land invasions on forest carbon stocks. Our analysis shows that invasions of Indigenous territories amounted to 27.6% of the total deforestation for the period of 2001–2014. The situation is of paramount concern in the Embera territory of Majé where 95.4% of total deforestation was caused by colonist invaders. Using and validating the maps made freely available by the Global Forest Change initiative of the University of Maryland, we then developed a reference level for the watershed and carried out a back of the envelop estimation of likely REDD+ revenue, showing its potential to bring much needed income to Indigenous communities striving to protect their forest estate. Our analysis of current legislation in Panama highlights confusion and important legal voids and emphasizes the strong links between land tenure, carbon ownership, and territorial invasions. The options and shortcoming of implementing REDD+ in Indigenous territories is discussed in the conclusion taking our legal review into account.

Vanishing iron-smelting furnaces of the South Eastern Altai, Russia – Evidences for highly developed metallurgical production of ancient nomads

Abstracts Results of multidisciplinary investigations of ferrous metallurgy archaeological sites within four locations in the South Eastern Altai, Russia are presented. Radiocarbon dating applying both conventional and AMS techniques evidences for constructing and operating of iron-smelting furnaces during the Turk period: the second half of the 5th-11th centuries AD. Trees (Larix Sibirica) more than 100 years old were utilized for charcoal production. Generally, larches, growth in 2nd-10th centuries AD, were used in metallurgical process in the Kuektanar-1, Kuektanar-2, and Turgun-1 sites belonging to the Chuya-Kurai metallurgical zone. The time of the last iron production for the bloomery iron-smelting furnace in the Kuektanar-1 site was reliably established falling between AD 655 and 765. Mineral composition of slag from the Kuektanar-1 site indicates that two types of the ore - quartz-hematite and siderite, could be utilized for iron production. The high Ca, K and Al content in some slag droplets evidence for possible presence of calcite in the initial ore, or flux additives. A small amount of fluxes could come from the clay lining of the bloomery hearth. Generally, high concentration of furnaces near the Kuektanar mouth and in the Turgun valley was determined by wide spreading of forest vegetation in an area and close location of ore occurrences. Intensive timber consumption by nomadic societies together with the progressive aridity intensification led to total deforestation of the eastern part of the Chuya depression.

Design matters: An evaluation of the impact of small man-made forest clearings on tropical bats using a before-after-control-impact design

In recent years, large clearings (>1000ha) accounted for gradually smaller amounts of total annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, whereas the proportion of small clearings (<50ha) nowadays represents more than 80% of annual deforestation. Despite the ubiquity of small clearings in fragmented Amazonian landscapes, most fragmentation research has focused on the effects of large-scale deforestation, leading to a poor understanding of the impacts of smaller barriers on Amazonian vertebrates. We capitalized on the periodical re-isolation of experimental forest fragments at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in the Central Amazon as a before-after-control-impact experiment to investigate the short-term effects of small clearings on bat assemblages. Over the course of three years we sampled six control sites in continuous forest, the interiors and edges of eight forest fragments as well as eight sites in the surrounding matrix. Sampling took place both before and after the experimental manipulation (clearing of a 100m wide strip of regrowth around each fragment), resulting in ∼4000 bat captures. Species were classified as old-growth specialists and habitat generalists according to their habitat affinities and a joint species distribution modeling framework was used to investigate the effect of fragment re-isolation on species occupancy. Following fragment re-isolation, species richness declined in all habitats other than fragment edges and, although responses were idiosyncratic, this decline was more pronounced for forest specialist than for generalist species. Additionally, fragment re-isolation led to a reduction in the similarity between assemblages in modified habitats (fragment interiors, edges and matrix) and continuous forest. Sampling of controls in continuous forest both prior to and after re-isolation revealed that much of the variation in bat species occupancy between sampling periods did not arise from fragment re-isolation but rather reflected natural spatiotemporal variability. This emphasizes the need to sample experimental controls both before and after experimental manipulation and suggests caution in the interpretation of results from studies in which the effects of habitat transformations are assessed based solely on data collected using space-for-time substitution approaches.

Property-level assessment of change in forest clearing patterns: The need for tailoring policy in the Amazon

Once driven by large-scale clearings, Amazon deforestation now occurs mostly in small increments. Did this result from the emergence of a new group of agents or from a strategic adaptation in the behavior of those who led deforestation in the past? We address this question using georeferenced data on private rural properties and deforestation. We cross property-level and forest clearing data in an empirical setting designed to detect shifts toward clearing patches that were knowingly invisible to the monitoring system. We are therefore able to assess not only whether deforesters were responding strategically to stricter monitoring of deforestation, but also how this response differed across actor types. Results suggest that centralized policy efforts introduced starting in the mid-2000s inhibited medium- and large-scale deforestation, but had heterogeneous effects on small-scale deforestation. Although the relative participation of small deforestation polygons increased in both sample states, the relative participation of smallholders in total state deforestation increased in Pará, while remaining constant in Mato Grosso. We interpret these results as suggestive — albeit not causal — evidence that landholders strategically responded to the monitoring system by adapting their forest clearings practices to elude monitoring in both Mato Grosso and Pará. In the latter, however, the increase in smallholders’ share of annual deforestation suggests that their clearing practices were relatively less affected by what effectively contained deforestation in large properties. The apparent similarity in scale of deforestation across states conceals relevant baseline differences between the agents engaging in forest clearing in each locality. Tailoring policy to account for such differences could strengthen Brazilian conservation policy.

Modeling the sedimentary response of a large Pyrenean basin to global change

Erosion processes at the catchment scale control a basin’s morphology and sediment patterns in the river network. Eroded sediments are transported and deposited downstream and may cause environmental problems and relevant effects on water storage and hydropower infrastructures. Quantification of water and sediment yield is complex due to the physical processes involved and their temporal and spatial variability, especially at the light of current global change. Numerical models that use spatially distributed information constitute a useful tool for these estimates, when sufficient input data are available. In this study, we applied the hydrological and sedimentological TETIS model to determine the patterns of water and sediment yield in a large mountain catchment. Flow discharge data obtained from two gauged stations were used for calibration and validation of the hydrological sub-model. Data from two reservoir bathymetries at the outlet of the study area were used for calibration of the sedimentological sub-model. After model calibration, several scenarios of climate and land use change were simulated. Climate scenarios show a general decrease in average annual precipitation and an increase in temperature, associated with an increase in extreme rainfall events. Global change scenarios lead to a counteracting effect between the increase in sediment transport during extreme events and the decrease in sediment erosion associated with afforestation following the abandonment of agricultural land. In the case of the most extreme climate scenario combined with total catchment deforestation, the model indicates a complete siltation of the reservoir by 2050. Model performance emphasizes its potential as a tool for evaluating water and sediment yield for large catchments, as well as of its usefulness for water and sediment management in light of future climate and land use change scenarios.

Land-use and climate change risks in the Amazon and the need of a novel sustainable development paradigm

For half a century, the process of economic integration of the Amazon has been based on intensive use of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, which has brought significant basin-wide environmental alterations. The rural development in the Amazonia pushed the agricultural frontier swiftly, resulting in widespread land-cover change, but agriculture in the Amazon has been of low productivity and unsustainable. The loss of biodiversity and continued deforestation will lead to high risks of irreversible change of its tropical forests. It has been established by modeling studies that the Amazon may have two "tipping points," namely, temperature increase of 4 °C or deforestation exceeding 40% of the forest area. If transgressed, large-scale "savannization" of mostly southern and eastern Amazon may take place. The region has warmed about 1 °C over the last 60 y, and total deforestation is reaching 20% of the forested area. The recent significant reductions in deforestation-80% reduction in the Brazilian Amazon in the last decade-opens up opportunities for a novel sustainable development paradigm for the future of the Amazon. We argue for a new development paradigm-away from only attempting to reconcile maximizing conservation versus intensification of traditional agriculture and expansion of hydropower capacity-in which we research, develop, and scale a high-tech innovation approach that sees the Amazon as a global public good of biological assets that can enable the creation of innovative high-value products, services, and platforms through combining advanced digital, biological, and material technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in progress.

Environmental Concerns of Deforestation in Myanmar 2001–2010

Deforestation in Myanmar has recently attracted much attention worldwide. This study examined spatio-temporal patterns of deforestation and forest carbon flux in Myanmar from 2001 to 2010 and environmental impacts at the regional scale using land products of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The results suggest that the total deforestation area in Myanmar was 21,178.8 km2, with an annual deforestation rate of 0.81%, and that the total forest carbon release was 20.06 million tons, with an annual rate of 0.37%. Mangrove forests had the highest deforestation and carbon release rates, and deciduous forests had both the largest deforestation area and largest amount of carbon release. During the study period, the south and southwestern regions of Myanmar, especially Ayeyarwady and Rakhine, were deforestation hotspots (i.e., the highest deforestation and carbon release rates occurred in these regions). Deforestation caused significant carbon release, reduced evapotranspiration (ET), and increased land surface temperatures (LSTs) in deforested areas in Myanmar during the study period. Constructive policy recommendations are put forward based on these research results.

Diagnosing nonlinearities in the local and remote responses to partial Amazon deforestation

AbstractUsing a set of fully coupled climate model simulations, the response to partial deforestation over the Amazon due to agricultural expansion has been analyzed. Three variations of 50% deforestation (all of western half, all of eastern half, and half of each grid box) were compared with total deforestation to determine the degree and character of nonlinearity of the climate response to partial deforestation. A metric is developed to quantify the degree and distribution of nonlinearity in the response, applicable to any variable. The metric also quantifies whether the response is saturating or accelerating, meaning significantly either more or less than 50% of the simulated response to total deforestation is attained at 50% deforestation. The spatial structure of the atmospheric response to Amazon deforestation reveals large areas across the tropics that exhibit a significant nonlinear component, particularly for temperature and geopotential height. Over the domain between 45°S and 45°N across all longitudes, 50% deforestation generally provides less than half of the total response to deforestation over oceans, indicating the marine portion of climate system is somewhat resilient to progressive deforestation. However, over continents there are both accelerating and saturating responses to 50% Amazon deforestation, and the response is different depending on whether the eastern or western half of Amazonia is deforested or half of the forest is removed uniformly across the region.

Trading forests: land-use change and carbon emissions embodied in production and exports of forest-risk commodities

Production of commercial agricultural commodities for domestic and foreign markets is increasingly driving land clearing in tropical regions, creating links and feedback effects between geographically separated consumption and production locations. Such teleconnections are commonly studied through calculating consumption footprints and quantifying environmental impacts embodied in trade flows, e.g., virtual water and land, biomass, or greenhouse gas emissions. The extent to which land-use change (LUC) and associated carbon emissions are embodied in the production and export of agricultural commodities has been less studied. Here we quantify tropical deforestation area and carbon emissions from LUC induced by the production and the export of four commodities (beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products) in seven countries with high deforestation rates (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea). We show that in the period 2000–2011, the production of the four analyzed commodities in our seven case countries was responsible for 40% of total tropical deforestation and resulting carbon losses. Over a third of these impacts was embodied in exports in 2011, up from a fifth in 2000. This trend highlights the growing influence of global markets in deforestation dynamics. Main flows of embodied LUC are Latin American beef and soybean exports to markets in Europe, China, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas embodied emission flows are dominated by Southeast Asian exports of palm oil and wood products to consumers in China, India and the rest of Asia, as well as to the European Union. Our findings illustrate the growing role that global consumers play in tropical LUC trajectories and highlight the need for demand-side policies covering whole supply chains. We also discuss the limitations of such demand-side measures and call for a combination of supply- and demand-side policies to effectively limit tropical deforestation, along with research into the interactions of different types of policy interventions.

National Scale Monitoring Reporting and Verification of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Guyana

Abstract. Monitoring deforestation and forest degradation at national scale has been identified as a national priority under Guyana‟s REDD+ Programme. Based on Guyana‟s MRV (Monitoring Reporting and Verification) System Roadmap developed in 2009, Guyana sought to establish a comprehensive, national system to monitor, report and verify forest carbon emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in Guyana. To date, four national annual assessments have been conducted: 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Monitoring of forest change in 2010 was completed with medium resolution imagery, mainly Landsat 5. In 2011, assessment was conducted using a combination of Landsat (5 and 7) and for the first time, 5m high resolution imagery, with RapidEye coverage for approximately half of Guyana where majority of land use changes were taking place. Forest change in 2013 was determined using high resolution imagery for the whole of Guyana. The current method is an automated-assisted process of careful systematic manual interpretation of satellite imagery to identify deforestation based on different drivers of change. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) for deforestation is 1 ha (Guyana‟s forest definition) and a country-specific definition of 0.25 ha for degradation. The total forested area of Guyana is estimated as 18.39 million hectares (ha). In 2012 as planned, Guyana‟s forest area was reevaluated using RapidEye 5 m imagery. Deforestation in 2013 is estimated at 12 733 ha which equates to a total deforestation rate of 0.068%. Significant progress was made in 2012 and 2013, in mapping forest degradation. The area of forest degradation as measured by interpretation of 5 m RapidEye satellite imagery in 2013 was 4 352 ha. All results are subject to accuracy assessment and independent third party verification.

Multi-method dynamical reconstruction of the ecological impact of copper mining on Chinese historical landscapes

This study deals with the historical impacts of mining as a result of the economic development in Eastern Asia. It focuses on landscape changes caused by the emerging copper mining industry in China's south east provinces. Since the ecological aftermath has never been documented in Chinese history, a reconstruction of dynamic landscape processes is performed. A key region for this reconstruction are the mining areas in Yunnan province. This province was the most important supplying region of copper in China during the early and mid Qing dynasty (1725–1855).Predictive modeling of the primary vegetation in combination with dynamic agent-based reconstructions have been performed to analyze and to understand deforestation processes. Therefore a time-discrete balance between biomass removal and renewal has been carried out to characterize different periods of landscape degradation, biodiversity and agriculture. Besides the reconstruction, explanatory and experimental results have been compiled to assess the ecological impacts of mining during this period.An ‘Evaludation’ of the model was performed in order to verify the applied concepts and test the integration of data as well as the conclusive generation of results. Our calculations show that while deforestation for mining was severe in the 18th and 19th century, rising populations and agricultural reclamation had a bigger impact on the clearance of forests. In addition, quantitative data for the ecological succession show that deforestation was reduced by up to 75% due to the provision of regrowing biomass. Deforested areas around the mines were either completely destroyed or of high biodiversity due to the abundance of heterogenous vegetation communities within small spaces. Lastly, two extreme scenarios were calculated which covered all positive and negative triggers of deforestation. These calculations served as reference data to evaluate model's quality: our model outputs lie within the range of comparable studies but underestimate the total deforestation reported and yet some uncertainties regarding forest fires and other uses of biomass remain. This study has led to a more holistic understanding of the interactions between copper mining and landscape ecology in Chinese history.

Deforestation and optimal management

In a general discrete time model of optimal forest management where land may be diverted to alternative use and stocks of standing trees may yield flow benefits, we investigate the economic and ecological conditions under which optimal paths lead to (total) deforestation i.e., complete long term removal of forest cover. We show that if deforestation occurs from some initial state, then it must occur in finite time along every optimal path so that zero forest cover is the globally stable optimal steady state. We develop a condition that is both necessary and sufficient for deforestation. Deforestation is less likely if the immediate profitability of timber harvest, the benefits from stocks of standing forests and the timber content of trees are higher. We characterize the minimum forest cover along optimal paths (when deforestation is not optimal). We design a simple linear subsidy on standing forest biomass that can motivate a private owner (who does not take into account the external benefits from standing trees) to conserve forests.