Forest degradation in Brazil worries experts

Brazil needs to monitor the problem and identify the causes of reduced vegetation cover in biomes in addition to Amazônia, say researchers at an international workshop in Brasília.

By Elton Alisson

Agência FAPESP – Brazil has made great progress over the past 25 years with regard to monitoring deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest through actions such as the 1988 Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project (PRODES) and the 2004 Real-Time System for Detection of Deforestation (DETER) – both coordinated by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

Now, the country needs to turn its attention to another environmental problem that is as serious as deforestation, forest degradation, which affects not only Amazônia but other Brazilian biomes as well.

The assessment was made by a group of researchers from institutions such as INPE, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Germany’s Max Planck Institute and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during the Workshop on Monitoring Forest Dynamics: Carbon Stocks, Greenhouse Gas Fluxes and Biodiversity, which was held September 2-4, 2014, at the University of Brasília (UnB).

“We need to interpret the data about deforestation in Amazônia while also looking at other processes of forest dynamics such as forest degradation, which also has an impact on ecological functions, carbon stock and biodiversity conservation,” said Mercedes Bustamante, professor in the Department of Ecology at UnB and organizer of the event.

According to the workshop participants, forest degradation differs from deforestation, which is characterized by the clear cutting of trees and is responsible for the significant alteration of the landscape of the Brazilian Amazon when parcels of forest are converted into pastureland.

Degradation, in contrast, is defined as the loss of the forest’s ability to carry out its original functions, such as contributing to climate, water and carbon balance, as a result of the selective cutting of trees for commercial purposes and for intentional burning, among other impacts.

“Degradation is the midway point between an intact forest and one that has been turned into pastureland. It is a forest that has not yet been completely deforested,” summarized Michael Keller, a scientist from the U.S. Forest Service and visiting researcher from Embrapa Satellite Monitoring.

“A degraded forest no longer has the same carbon stock and biodiversity it had before being affected; however, if it is well-managed for a period of 20 to 30 years, it can regenerate and even get close to its original characteristics,” he explained.

According to the researchers, another important difference between the two processes is that deforestation is more evident and unmistakable and may be easily observed by the satellites used in environmental monitoring.

Degradation however is more subtle: it is a long-term process that needs to be constantly monitored so that its causes can be identified.

“Long-term monitoring is needed not only for changes in the forest cover but also regarding the processes that cause these environmental alterations,” Bustamante said.

“Without it, it is impossible to estimate the trajectory of forest degradation and to compare it to information from field studies to assess the potential for regeneration, the gain or loss of carbon, or whether it could lead to deforestation,” he said.

Degradation of Amazônia

In late August 2014, for the first time, INPE published the mapping of areas of forest degradation in the Legal Amazon of Brazil for 2011, 2012 and 2013, as conducted by the Amazon Deforestation and Forest Degradation Monitoring Project (DEGRAD).

The initiative’s goal is to use satellite images to identify areas exposed to progressive forest degradation due to selective logging activity, with or without burning, but that have not yet been clear cut.

Data from the survey point to the fact that the rate of degradation in the region over the past three years was the lowest recorded since the historical project series began in 2007, accompanying the downward trend for clear cutting in the forest, as verified by PRODES since 2005.

“Investments need to be made in a national monitoring system that encompasses and takes into consideration the particularities of the various Brazilian biomes such as Amazônia that are also relevant with regard to regulating climate, biodiversity conservation and various ecosystem functions,” Bustamante stated.

It is easier to monitor and identify degradation of the Amazon region compared to other Brazilian biomes because it has denser vegetation and therefore clearings caused by the removal of trees are more easily noticed.

In contrast, the Cerrado has more open vegetation and a greater seasonality of trees, shrubs and grassy plants, rendering the identification of degraded areas more difficult.

“The greatest emphasis in Brazil has been on monitoring forest degradation in the Amazon region, but Embrapa is working in partnership with INPE and the Federal University of Goiás to develop a classification system for land in the Cerrado,” Keller said.

The National Forest Service (SFN) is moving forward to develop a Brazilian National Forest Inventory (IFN-BR), explained Joberto Freitas, researcher at the institution, during a lecture at the event.

The idea is that data from the inventory would be added to remote sensing data to monitor forest degradation in the various biomes.

“Many countries, including the United States, use integrated monitoring systems similar to the one Brazil plans to develop, and this is the route the country needs to follow,” Keller assessed.

“Monitoring degradation using integrated data works much better than when it is based on either satellite data or forest inventories alone,” he said.

REDD+

In addition to forest control, monitoring degradation is important for Brazil and other developing countries so that they can define strategies to promote an increase in plant cover and obtain financial compensation as specified under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The international body associated with the IPCC has instituted a mechanism known as REDD+ or REDD plus [reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation], which allows developing countries to be compensated for the results they achieve in fighting deforestation and forest degradation.

One issue is that it is still not known how the countries will be able to prove the control of forest degradation because there is currently no established basis for its causes, which may be due to natural disturbances such as prolonged periods of drought or to human activity.

In addition, there is no clear definition of forest degradation among the UNFCC signatory countries.

“From the standpoint of some scientists and countries, degradation is the long-term loss of the forest’s capacity to continue performing its functions,” said Thelma Krug, INPE researcher and vice-president of an IPCC task force on national inventories of greenhouse gas effects.

“However, there are scientists and countries suggesting that if forest function were fully recovered, it would no longer be considered degradation,” she said.

According to Krug, to avoid complicating the process, there is no intention to define the concept in international climate negotiations. “If a particular country has not considered a definition of degradation or deforestation in negotiations, a consensus cannot be reached.”

*The reporter traveled at the invitation of the University of Brasília (UnB).