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Human impacts as the main driver of tropical forest carbon

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Author(s):
Pyles, Marcela Venelli ; Silva Magnago, Luiz Fernando ; Maia, Vinicius Andrade ; Pinho, Bruno X. ; Pitta, Gregory ; de Gasper, Andre L. ; Vibrans, Alexander C. ; dos Santos, Rubens Manoel ; van den Berg, Eduardo ; Lima, Renato A. F.
Total Authors: 10
Document type: Journal article
Source: SCIENCE ADVANCES; v. 8, n. 24, p. 11-pg., 2022-06-17.
Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms controlling forest carbon storage is crucial to support "nature-based" solutions for climate change mitigation. We used a dataset of 892 Atlantic Forest inventories to assess the direct and indirect effects of environmental conditions, human impacts, tree community proprieties, and sampling methods on tree above-ground carbon stocks. We showed that the widely accepted drivers of carbon stocks, such as climate, soil, topography, and forest fragmentation, have a much smaller role than the forest disturbance history and functional proprieties of the Atlantic Forest. Specifically, within-forest disturbance level was the most important driver, with effect at least 30% higher than any of the environmental conditions individually. Thus, our findings suggest that the conservation of tropical carbon stocks may be dependable on, principally, avoiding forest degradation and that conservation policies focusing only on carbon may fail to protect tropical biodiversity. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 13/08722-5 - The role of functional diversity in structuring tropical tree communities: a model-based approach
Grantee:Renato Augusto Ferreira de Lima
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral