Unaccounted for nonforest vegetation loss in the Brazilian Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon Satellite Monitoring Program (PRODES Amazonia) tracks forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon but excludes about 6.6% ( ~ 280,000 km²) of non-forest vegetation (NF). Here we developed the PRODES NF system to address this gap by adapting the well-established methodology of PRODES Ama...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Communications earth & environment Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 451 - 9
Main Authors:	Messias, Cassiano Gustavo, de Almeida, Cláudio A., Silva, Daniel E., Soler, Luciana S., Maurano, Luis E., Camilotti, Vagner L., Alves, Fábio C., da Silva, Libério J., Reis, Mariane S., de Lima, Thiago C., Renó, Vivian, Lima, Deborah L. C., Belluzzo, Amanda P., Quadros, Camila B., Barradas, Delmina C. M., Moraes, Douglas R. V. de, Bastos, Eduardo F. M., Cunha, Igor P., Souza, Jefferson J. de, Barros, Lucélia S. de, Gusmão, Luiz Henrique A., Almeida, Rodrigo de, de Moraes, Dayane R. V., Silva, Diego M., Chrispim, Eduardo H. S., Pinto, João Felipe S. K. C., Ribeiro Neto, Manoel R., Matos, Marlon Henrique H., Moreira, Noeli Aline P., dos S. Teixeira, Raíssa C., Alves, Gabriel M. R., Andrade, Ana Carolina S. de, Perez, Letícia P., Bento, Bruna Maria P., Castro Filho, Hugo C. de, Santos, Igor S. dos, Araújo, Liliane Cristina L. de, Matias, Maira, da Silva, Murilo B., Pinheiro, Fábio da C., Carvalho, André, Xaud, Haron, Xaud, Maristela, Matos, Ana Paula, Baumann, Luis, Silva, Elaine B. da, Ferreira, Laerte Guimarães, Adami, Marcos
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group 21-08-2024 Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	Deforestation Forests Monitoring Vegetation Vegetation type Brazil Amazon Basin
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The Brazilian Amazon Satellite Monitoring Program (PRODES Amazonia) tracks forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon but excludes about 6.6% ( ~ 280,000 km²) of non-forest vegetation (NF). Here we developed the PRODES NF system to address this gap by adapting the well-established methodology of PRODES Amazonia. Initial findings from PRODES NF show that the Brazilian Amazon lost 10.46% ( ~ 30,000 km²) of NF area, mainly in the last two decades, with the estates of Mato Grosso, Roraima, and Amapá being primary hotspots of losses. Savannas were the most affected (13.3% of their extent). NF loss strongly correlates (r = 0.87; p < 0.0001) with deforestation, suggesting a continuum of vegetation loss in the biome regardless of the predominant vegetation type. Combining data from PRODES Amazonia and PRODES NF reveals an official estimate of ~798,000 km² in total primary vegetation loss ( ~ 19% of the entire biome) in the Brazilian Amazon by 2022.Most non-forest vegetation losses in the Brazilian Amazon happened during the last two decades in the states of Mato Grosso, Roraima and Amapá, according to a monitoring system which accounts for losses in these often neglected non-forest biomes
ISSN:	2662-4435 2662-4435
DOI:	10.1038/s43247-024-01542-0