High resolution analysis of tropical forest fragmentation and its impact on the global carbon cycle
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Deforestation in the tropics is not only responsible for direct carbon emissions but
also extends the forest edge wherein trees suffer increased mortality. Here we combine
high-resolution (30 m) satellite maps of forest cover with estimates of the edge effect and
show that 19% of the remaining area of tropical forests lies within 100 m of a forest edge. The
tropics house around 50 million forest fragments and the length of the world’s tropical forest
edges sums to nearly 50 million km. Edge effects in tropical forests have caused an additional
10.3 Gt (2.1–14.4 Gt) of carbon emissions, which translates into 0.34 Gt per year and represents
31% of the currently estimated annual carbon releases due to tropical deforestation.
Fragmentation substantially augments carbon emissions from tropical forests and must be
taken into account when analysing the role of vegetation in the global carbon cycle.
also extends the forest edge wherein trees suffer increased mortality. Here we combine
high-resolution (30 m) satellite maps of forest cover with estimates of the edge effect and
show that 19% of the remaining area of tropical forests lies within 100 m of a forest edge. The
tropics house around 50 million forest fragments and the length of the world’s tropical forest
edges sums to nearly 50 million km. Edge effects in tropical forests have caused an additional
10.3 Gt (2.1–14.4 Gt) of carbon emissions, which translates into 0.34 Gt per year and represents
31% of the currently estimated annual carbon releases due to tropical deforestation.
Fragmentation substantially augments carbon emissions from tropical forests and must be
taken into account when analysing the role of vegetation in the global carbon cycle.
Date Issued
2017-03-17
Date Acceptance
2017-02-07
Citation
Nature Communications, 2017, 8
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
8
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© The Author(s) 2017
International License. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© The Author(s) 2017
License URL
Subjects
MD Multidisciplinary
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
14855
Date Publish Online
2017-03-17