Fire-mediated dieback and compositional cascade in an Amazonian forest
The only fully coupled land
The only fully coupled land
In 2005, southwestern Amazonia experienced the effects of an intense drought that affected life and biodiversity. Several major tributaries as well as parts of the main river itself contained only a fraction of their normal volumes of water, and lakes were drying up. Analyses of climatic and hydrological records in Amazonia suggest a broad consensus that the 2005 drought was linked not to El Nin
<p>Understanding the interplay between climate and land-use dynamics is a fundamental concern for assessing the vulnerability of Amazonia to climate change. In this study, we analyse satellite-derived monthly and annual time series of rainfall, fires and deforestation to explicitly quantify the seasonal patterns and relationships between these three variables, with a particular focus on the Amazonian drought of 2005. Our results demonstrate a marked seasonality with one peak per year for all variables analysed, except deforestation.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/363/1498/1779" target="_blank">Original Source</a></strong></p>
The potential loss or large-scale degradation of the tropical rainforests has become one of the iconic images of the impacts of twenty-first century environmental change and may be one of our century's most profound legacies. In the Amazon region, the direct threat of deforestation and degradation is now strongly intertwined with an indirect challenge we are just beginning to understand: the possibility of substantial regional drought driven by global climate change.
<p>Some model experiments predict a large-scale substitution of Amazon forest by savannah-like vegetation by the end of the twenty-first century. Expanding global demands for biofuels and grains, positive feedbacks in the Amazon forest fire regime and drought may drive a faster process of forest degradation that could lead to a near-term forest dieback. Rising worldwide demands for biofuel and meat are creating powerful new incentives for agro-industrial expansion into Amazon forest regions. Forest fires, drought and logging increase susceptibility to further burning while deforestation and smoke can inhibit rainfall, exacerbating fire risk. If sea surface temperature anomalies (such as El Niño episodes) and associated Amazon droughts of the last decade continue into the future, approximately 55% of the forests of the Amazon will be cleared, logged, damaged by drought or burned over the next 20 years, emitting 15–26 Pg of carbon to the atmosphere. Several important trends could prevent a near-term dieback. As fire-sensitive investments accumulate in the landscape, property holders use less fire and invest more in fire control. Commodity markets are demanding higher environmental performance from farmers and cattle ranchers. Protected areas have been established in the pathway of expanding agricultural frontiers. Finally, emerging carbon market incentives for reductions in deforestation could support these trends.</p> <p><a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/363/1498/1737.short" target="_blank">Original Source</a></p>
Forests, fields are all vulnerable
Uttarakhand forests are smouldering, leading to a loss of forest wealth worth crores, besides invaluable damage to flora and fauna. These raging fires have also claimed two human lives. With mercury soaring high, forest fires have engulfed large areas in the Garhwal as well as the Kumaon regions of the state. State government officials have requested the remote sensing agency to provide satellite imagery of the prevailing fires to know the exact damage.
With mercury soaring the incidents of forest fires in various parts of the state has gone up even though most are ground fires with an estimated loss of only Rs 10.35 lakh. Till now 71 cases of forest fires have been reported with none of them being a devastating one. The forest area that has been affected by the fires this year till now is 972 hectares. Even though the fire-prone season is after April 15 onwards, the forest staff were put on alert right from mid-March this year so that any incident of fire could be prevented and the damage confined to the minimum.
Boreal forests serve as important global sources or sinks of carbon (C) and wildfire is a major driver of C storage in these forests. Although fire releases CO2 to the atmosphere, it also converts plant biomass into forms of black carbon, such as charcoal, that are resistant to microbial attack and persist in the soil for thousands of years. It has frequently been suggested that, because of its resistance, black C can serve as an important long-term C sink that may help offset the release of human-induced CO2 to the atmosphere.
frequent, uncontrolled fires are threatening the Gautala Autramghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra's Aurangabad and Jalgaon districts. About 40 incidents of fire have been reported from the 260 sq
A wildfire that began along a popular hiking trail forced 1,000 people to evacuate their homes in the hills northeast of Los Angeles on Sunday, officials said. The cause of the 400-acre (162 hectares) fire, which started Saturday afternoon as Southern California logged near-record temperatures, was still under investigation, said Elisa Weaver, a spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Thirteen forest officials and 85 farmers of Phungshing, Baging and Shadang villages in Dremetse, Mongar, spent two whole days battling flames of a forest fire, which burnt more than 500 acres of lemon grass and pine forests near the Sherichhu-Dremetse highway. The fire, which started somewhere near Phungshing village in Dremetse gewog at around 6.30pm on April 21, was brought under control by the morning of April 24.
The Himachal Pradesh government has started deliberations with the World Bank over earning carbon credits from the forest cover of the state. The credits would come as financial gains in return of effective sequestration of carbon emissions done by state forests.
The Forest Department has made elaborate arrangements to prevent and control fires during the summer. Special attention will be paid to sensitive and fire-prone areas. Fire lines have been made to prevent fire from spreading and local people are being motivated to protect forests.
In a major setback for asean's efforts to fight the haze in the region, Indonesian lawmakers have refused to endorse a bill that would have paved the way for Jakarta to ratify the grouping's
EU To Give Greece 90 Mln Euros For Forest Fires BELGIUM: April 9, 2008 BRUSSELS - The European Union's executive arm on Tuesday proposed giving nearly 90 million euros ($142 million) in aid to help Greece cope with the damage from last year's forest fires. "I had the opportunity to see the horrific fire damage in Greece for myself, so I know the scale of the needs," EU Regional Aid Commissioner Danuta Huebner said in a statement. The fires caused major damage to basic infrastructure and the environment.
Slowing Deforestation May Be Worth $Billions
Fires Main Threat To Amazon In Drier Climate - Study NORWAY: April 8, 2008 OSLO - Fires set by people will be the biggest threat to the Amazon rainforest in coming decades linked to a drier climate caused by global warming, researchers said on Monday. They said swathes of the forest were more likely to be killed by blazes raging out of control than by a more gradual shift towards savannah caused by more frequent droughts predicted by the UN Climate Panel in a 2007 report.
Anthropogenic fires in Indian forests probably date back to the arrival of the first people on the Indian subcontinent. Fires were used to clear areas for habitation, and quite likely, to facilitate hunting. People continue to use fires today for several reasons. Very frequent fires can result in soil degradation.
Wizened old Jidemadamma has to depend on her neighbours for meals. Her son and daughter-in-law have gone to Kodagu to collect pepper from trees and will not be back before two weeks. “They took the children along because I cannot move around much. Earlier, all of us stayed together here.