Tropical rain forests are important ecosystems, yet these forests are becoming increasingly threatened, according to new research. A new approach to deforestation since 2000 has shown that more than 71 million hectares of dry tropical forests have been lost, mainly in South America and Asia. Even more disturbing is the fact that a third of the remaining forests are endangered as they are found in so-called border areas where deforestation is progressing rapidly. The tropical rain forests of Africa are still relatively undisturbed, but for many, deforestation has taken its toll. Advanced monitoring and land use planning are urgently needed to protect the world’s tropical rain forests.
In a new study published in Nature Sustainability, researchers from the Humboldt-Universität Geography Department of Berlin and the Earth and Life Institute of University Catholique de Louvain provide comprehensive global assessments of deforestation processes in the world’s tropical and subtropical forests to date. Using a time series of satellite imagery with high deforestation for the period 2000 to 2020, the team analyzed spatial and temporary deforestation patterns in an area of more than 18 million square miles of dry forest and forest. “A major innovation of our research is that we are building a path beyond deforestation,” explains Tobias Kuemmerle, a professor in the Humboldt-Universität Department of Geography. “In other words, we can now see and map in detail where deforestation is faster and where it has declined, whether it results in fragmentation or that forests are completely lost.”
Tropical deforestation areas of South America and Asia
The results are alarming. Since 2000, more than 71 million acres [71 million ha] of deforested land, nearly twice the size of Germany, has been destroyed. Many tropical deforestation areas are concentrated in South America, such as Gran Chaco in Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, or Cerrado in Brazil, and in Asia, such as the dry forests of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. “It is also worrying that we have found one-third of all the remaining rain forests in the deforestation areas,” said Matthias Baumann, co-author of the study, adding: “We will lose many of these unique forests in the near future, if we do not better protect them. ”
Much of the deforestation occurs as costly farming spreads to the dry forests. “Surprisingly, about 55% of the new deforestation areas are located in the arid rainforests of Africa,” said Patrick Meyfroidt, co-author of the study, and highlights: “If we want to protect Africa’s arid forests and plains, it ‘s time to act now.”
Dry forests are just as threatened as rain forests
Deforestation in the tropics leads to serious environmental and social problems, including loss of biodiversity, carbon emissions, the spread of zoonotic diseases, or the discrimination of millions of local people who depend on these forests for their livelihood. Unfortunately, the end of the dry forests and savannas is often overlooked by research, by policy makers and the public. Ana Badoas, a researcher at the Humboldt-Universitätzu Geography Department of Berlin, says, “This is a problem because these ecosystems are truly unique and equally threatened as rain forests in many parts of the world.”
Improved deforestation monitoring and better land use and sustainable planning are needed, according to the authors. “Our work allowed us to see recurring patterns of deforestation processes across different continents. This would be a good start for developing policy tools that are more familiar with local conditions,” said Ana Badoas. According to researchers, the results are also a great opportunity to learn in one context, for example policy interventions that have worked in South America, in some cases, such as where deforestation begins as in Africa.
Source Journal reference: Ana Buchadas et al, Uncovering major types of deforestation frontiers across the world’s tropical dry woodlands, Nature Sustainability (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00886-9
READ ALSO : Minerals can be key to healing damaged tissue
