More than a decade after the Planetary Boundaries framework was first proposed by top scientists, we are no closer to changing our destructive trajectory — but 2021 gives us three opportunities to act.
In some of the wettest parts of the Amazon rainforest, dry air may increase plant photosynthesis rates — a response that contradicts the assumptions of many climate models, according to…
Integrating aquatic biodiversity into conservation planning could yield substantial benefits for freshwater species with minimal cost to terrestrial creatures, according to a study published in Science last month. Conservation areas…
337,427 square kilometers of Amazon forest were degraded between 1992 and 2014 ¬(mostly due to logging and understory fires), compared to 308,311 square kilometers completely cleared.
Just 6.5% of Earth’s best-quality and least-disturbed tropical forests are legally protected. Only 47% of remaining humid tropical forests globally have high ecological integrity.
Only one eighth of the 100 most influential timber and pulp companies have both a commitment to eliminating deforestation and an established system to monitor their progress.
By 2070, rising soil temperatures could cause germination failure in 20% of tropical plants, and reduced rates in more than 50%, with the potential to disrupt and alter tropical ecosystems.
Deforestation and climate change could convert Amazon rainforest to savanna by 2050. New infrastructure development would quicken process.
Intensifying cattle grazing on existing pasture could free up degraded land for new sugarcane plantations without need to clear Amazon forests and other native vegetation.
Nutrient limitations in the Amazon’s million-year-old soils may mean climate models are overestimating the size of the future carbon sink by 46-52 percent.
The largest study of ocelots ever reveals insights into habitat preferences and use. Brazilian Amazon ocelots prefer thick canopy cover, avoid humans.
Study finds pros and cons in a REDD+ carbon credit scheme in the Brazilian Amazon that rewards small-scale ecosystem service providers in local communities.
Small trees in the shade of the canopy are able to thrive during dry spells in the Brazilian Amazon, but those exposed to the sun in forest clearings suffer.
Analysis of new satellite data released by the Brazilian government links international soy exports to major deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado.
Weakening of Brazil’s Forest Code by Congress in 2012 and by the Supreme Court in 2018 could free Amazon landowners to clear 15 million hectares of once protected forest: study.
The costs of acting now to adapt to a predicted, dramatic loss of Amazon rainforest would be at least one order of magnitude lower than the economic fallout if we…
A three-decade study of Amazon forests finds rain-loving trees are being replaced by drought-tolerant species – an adaptation not close to keeping pace with climate change.
Severe flood events have become five times more common over the last century as a result of natural atmospheric oscillations and human-driven climate change.
It is time to move away from large hydroelectric dams in favor of micro-scale energy generation and sustainable alternatives, according to a new report.
The benefits of zero-deforestation agreements in the Amazon are being offset by the spillover of deforestation and native vegetation loss into other biomes.
The Brazilian cattle industry’s lack of traceability allows deforestation-linked beef to reach retailers committed to eliminating it. Uruguay’s digital traceability system could be a solution.
Amazonian rivers don’t often drive the creation of new species, but do help maintain distinct populations, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances last month. Amazonian rivers…
Report details soy supply chains, shows that just six traders control most of Brazil’s deforestation risk. Report is product of Trase, a powerful new Internet tracking tool.
Increases in greenhouse gas levels are closing plant stomata (tiny pores in leaves); the plants then retain more water, potentially altering tropical rain patterns: study.
Both species of Amazon river dolphin declined by over 90 percent between 1994-2017 in an Amazonas state reserve, mostly due to hunting and fishing: study.
Brazil is reporting its CO2 emissions within U.N. guidelines, but the nation’s true carbon releases due to forest degradation, wildfires and other key sources could be far higher.
Study: 142 existing and under construction Andean dams are fragmenting the Amazon, putting ecosystems at risk and impacting up to 30 million people. Another 160 dams are planned.
Forest fires are no longer driven mainly by deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with climate change induced drought now taking a major role.
A new assessment of UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites found 35 percent with significant conservation concerns, or worse. Most are in the Tropics.
A new study of dung beetles offers evidence for the need to adopt new forestry practices creating a patchwork of highly logged sites and intact forest reserves.
Claire has been working as a freelance science writer for the last 2 years, and her writing has appeared in New Scientist, BBCEarth, ScienceNOW and SciDev.Net. She is interested in animal behaviour, ecology and conservation. She also works part-time in science communication at University College London, and runs a science blog in her spare time.
