Catastrophic Amazon tipping point less than 30 years away: study
Deforestation and climate change could convert Amazon rainforest to savanna by 2050. New infrastructure development would quicken process.
Articles by Claire Asher
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.
Brazil sugarcane growth can meet biofuel need and not drive deforestation: study
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.
Amazon trees may absorb far less carbon than previously thought: study
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.
Camera trap study reveals Amazon ocelot’s survival strategies
The largest study of ocelots ever reveals insights into habitat preferences and use. Brazilian Amazon ocelots prefer thick canopy cover, avoid humans.
Amazon REDD+ scheme side-steps land rights to reward small forest producers
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.
Shade or sun? Forest structure affects tree responses to Amazon drought
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.
Brazil soy trade linked to widespread deforestation, carbon emissions
Analysis of new satellite data released by the Brazilian government links international soy exports to major deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado.
Brazil’s New Forest Code puts vast areas of protected Amazon forest at risk
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.
Adapt to a changing Amazon now, or pay far higher price later, experts say
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…
Amazon forests not changing fast enough to keep up with climate change: study
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.
Extreme floods on the rise in the Amazon: study
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.
Mega-dam costs outweigh benefits, global building spree should end: experts
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.
Saving the Amazon has come at the cost of Cerrado deforestation: study
The benefits of zero-deforestation agreements in the Amazon are being offset by the spillover of deforestation and native vegetation loss into other biomes.
Deforestation-linked Brazilian beef still flowing into international markets: report
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.
A river runs through it — and keeps the Amazon’s bird species diverse
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…
Trase.earth tracks commodities, links supply chains to deforestation risk
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.
Plant response to rising CO2 levels may alter rainfall patterns across tropics
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.
Hunting, fishing causing dramatic decline in Amazon river dolphins
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’s actual forest-related CO2 emissions could blow by Paris pledge
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.
Andes dams twice as numerous as thought are fragmenting the Amazon
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.
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- On anniversary of nun’s murder Amazon land rights activists at high risk
- Iran upholds heavy sentences for conservationists convicted of spying
- Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- BR-319 illegal side road threatens Amazon protected area, indigenous land (commentary)
- Barrage of mining requests targets Brazil’s isolated indigenous peoples
- Database offers new details on the dams that hold mining waste
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia-WWF split puts rhino breeding project in Borneo in limbo
- Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
- Love triangle complicates efforts to breed Sumatran rhinos
