Monitoring fires in southwestern Amazonia Rain Forests

Brown, I. Foster; Schroeder, Wilfrid; Setzer, Alberto; Maldonado, Monica De Los Rios; Pantoja, Nara Vidal; Duarte, Alejandro Fonseca; Marengo, José A.

doi:10.1029/2006eo260001

Cited by 105 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…1). This may be partly due to the fact that fires under a forest canopy can be difficult to detect from space (Brown et al, 2006). In addition, at least two of the forest fires we actually sampled (and photographed) are in non-forest areas according to multiple vegetation maps (INEGI and INE, 1998;CONABIO, 1999;Loveland et al, 2000).…”

Section: Airborne Sampling Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emissions from forest fires near Mexico City

et al. 2007

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Abstract. The emissions of NO x (defined as NO (nitric oxide) + NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide)) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), per unit amount of fuel burned, from fires in the pine forests that dominate the mountains surrounding Mexico City (MC) are about 2 times higher than normally observed for forest burning. The ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions are about average for forest burning. The upper limit for the mass ratio of NO x to volatile organic compounds (VOC) for these MC-area mountain fires was ∼0.38, which is similar to the NO x /VOC ratio in the MC urban area emissions inventory of 0.34, but much larger than the NO x /VOC ratio for tropical forest fires in Brazil (∼0.068). The nitrogen enrichment in the fire emissions may be due to deposition of nitrogencontaining pollutants in the outflow from the MC urban area. This effect may occur worldwide wherever biomass burning coexists with large urban areas (e.g. the tropics, southeastern US, Los Angeles Basin). The molar emission ratio of HCN to carbon monoxide (CO) for the mountain fires was 0.012±0.007, which is 2-9 times higher than widely used literature values for biomass burning. The ambient molar ratio HCN/CO in the MC-area outflow is about 0.003±0.0003.

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Section: Airborne Sampling Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emissions from forest fires near Mexico City

et al. 2007

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“…Bonal and RIB are dominated by open submontane rainforest with bamboo and Humaitá and Talismã is characterized by dense submantane rainforest with emergent canopy [24,25]. The occurrence of fire events in this region was associated to two severe droughts that occurred in 2005 and 2010 [26][27][28][29]. During these events, fire incidence increased by 103.2% (2005) and 100.54% (2010) in relation to the long-term mean (2000-2014) [9] with an estimated area of degraded forest of 592 km 2 in 2005 and 259 km 2 in 2010 caused by the combination of logging and fire activities [30].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Fire Changes in Forest Biomass Retrieved by Airborne LiDAR in Amazonia

Sato

Gomes²,

Shimabukuro

et al. 2016

Remote Sensing

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Abstract:Fire is one of the main factors directly impacting Amazonian forest biomass and dynamics. Because of Amazonia's large geographical extent, remote sensing techniques are required for comprehensively assessing forest fire impacts at the landscape level. In this context, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) stands out as a technology capable of retrieving direct measurements of vegetation vertical arrangement, which can be directly associated with aboveground biomass. This work aims, for the first time, to quantify post-fire changes in forest canopy height and biomass using airborne LiDAR in western Amazonia. For this, the present study evaluated four areas located in the state of Acre, called Rio Branco, Humaitá, Bonal and Talismã. Rio Branco and Humaitá burned in 2005 and Bonal and Talismã burned in 2010. In these areas, we inventoried a total of 25 plots (0.25 ha each) in 2014. Humaitá and Talismã are located in an open forest with bamboo and Bonal and Rio Branco are located in a dense forest. Our results showed that even ten years after the fire event, there was no complete recovery of the height and biomass of the burned areas (p < 0.05). The percentage difference in height between control and burned sites was 2.23% for Rio Branco, 9.26% for Humaitá, 10.03% for Talismã and 20.25% for Bonal. All burned sites had significantly lower biomass values than control sites. In Rio Branco (ten years after fire), Humaitá (nine years after fire), Bonal (four years after fire) and Talismã (five years after fire) biomass was 6.71%, 13.66%, 17.89% and 22.69% lower than control sites, respectively. The total amount of biomass lost for the studied sites was 16,706.3 Mg, with an average loss of 4176.6 Mg for sites burned in 2005 and 2890 Mg for sites burned in 2010, with an average loss of 3615 Mg. Fire impact associated with tree mortality was clearly detected using LiDAR data up to ten years after the fire event. This study indicates that fire disturbance in the Amazon region can cause persistent above-ground biomass loss and subsequent reduction of forest carbon stocks. Continuous monitoring of burned forests is required for depicting the long-term recovery trajectory of fire-affected Amazonian forests.

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“…Streamflows in tributaries on the south side of the Amazon River were so low that boats could not navigate the rivers and riverside communities were isolated from hospitals and other essential services. Forest fires burned in Acre and in neighboring parts of the state of Amazonas, an unprecedented event (Brown et al, 2006;Vasconcelos and Brown, 2007). The forest lost biomass through stunted growth and increased tree mortality (Phillips et al, 2009).…”

Section: ) Atlantic Oscillationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global warming in Amazonia: impacts and Mitigation

Fearnside

2009

Acta Amaz.

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Global warming has potentially catastrophic impacts in Amazonia, while at the same time maintenance of the Amazon forest offers one of the most valuable and cost-effective options for mitigating climate change. We know that the El Niño phenomenon, caused by temperature oscillations of surface water in the Pacific, has serious impacts in Amazonia, causing droughts and forest fires (as in 1997-1998). Temperature oscillations in the Atlantic also provoke severe droughts (as in 2005). We also know that Amazonian trees die both from fires and from water stress under hot, dry conditions. In addition, water recycled through the forest provides rainfall that maintains climatic conditions appropriate for tropical forest, especially in the dry season. What we need to know quickly, through intensified research, includes progress in representing El Niño and the Atlantic oscillations in climatic models, representation of biotic feedbacks in models used for decision-making about global warming, and narrowing the range of estimating climate sensitivity to reduce uncertainty about the probability of very severe impacts. Items that need to be negotiated include the definition of "dangerous" climate change, with the corresponding maximum levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Mitigation of global warming must include maintaining the Amazon forest, which has benefits for combating global warming from two separate roles: cutting the flow the emissions of carbon each year from the rapid pace of deforestation, and avoiding emission of the stock of carbon in the remaining forest that can be released by various ways, including climate change itself. Barriers to rewarding forest maintenance include the need for financial rewards for both of these roles. Other needs are for continued reduction of uncertainty regarding emissions and deforestation processes, as well as agreement on the basis of carbon accounting. As one of the countries most subject to impacts of climate change, Brazil must assume the leadership in fighting global warming.KEYWORDS: Carbon, Climate change, Deforestation, Environmental services, Global warming, Greenhouse effect Aquecimento Global na Amazônia: Impactos e Mitigação RESUMO O aquecimento global tem impactos potencialmente catastróficos na Amazônia, e, ao mesmo tempo, a manutenção da floresta amazônica oferece uma das opções mais valiosas e baratas para mitigar as mudanças climáticas. Nós sabemos que o fenômeno de El Niño, causado por uma oscilação da temperatura da superfície da água no Pacífico, tem impactos sérios na Amazônia, causando secas e incêndios florestais, como aconteceram em 1997-1998. Oscilações de temperatura no Atlântico também provocam secas severas, como em 2005. Nós também sabemos que árvores amazônicas morrem, tanto do fogo como do estresse hídrico sob condições quentes e secas. Além disso, a água reciclada pela floresta fornece chuva que mantém as condições climáticas apropriadas para floresta tropical, especialmente durante a estação seca. O que nós precisamos saber com urgên...

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Monitoring fires in southwestern Amazonia Rain Forests

Cited by 105 publications

References 4 publications

Emissions from forest fires near Mexico City

Emissions from forest fires near Mexico City

Post-Fire Changes in Forest Biomass Retrieved by Airborne LiDAR in Amazonia

Global warming in Amazonia: impacts and Mitigation

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