Tropical forest vulnerability index

Date:
August 26, 2021
Source:
University of Arkansas
Summary:
New research will detect and evaluate the vulnerability of global
tropical rainforests by focusing specifically on threats from
changes to land-use and climate.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Climate science researcher Katia Fernandes contributed to a large
National Geographic-sponsored project to develop a tropical rainforest vulnerability index.


==========================================================================
The research, published recently in the scientific journalOne Earth,
will detect and evaluate the vulnerability of global tropical rainforests
by focusing specifically on threats from changes to land-use and climate.

Fernandes, assistant professor of geological sciences at the U of A,
explores in her research how fires and climate interact in biomes, which
are large communities of flora and fauna within a major habitat. Fires
in tropical humid forest biomes result from human activities associated
with deforestation and agricultural practices. The intensity, frequency
and spread of fires are also determined by these practices.

In the Amazon rainforest, for instance, fire variability from year to
year depends greatly on oceanic conditions in the tropical Atlantic,
which determines patterns of atmospheric circulation and, consequently,
the occurrence of droughts. In Indonesia, on the other hand, spikes in
fires can occur in years of normal precipitation if the fire season is anomalously warm, Fernandes has found.

Fernandes contributed to the vulnerability index by identifying the
most relevant variables for the dynamics of climate and fires. Her
contribution will help determine how other stressors, such as land-use
change, interact with these variables to cause forest vulnerability.

For the overall project, the researchers relied on satellite data from the
past few decades to develop a simple and practical index that provides
a baseline for scientists and the general public. The index contains information about the intensity and direction of vulnerable ecosystems and tracks the response of tropical forests to multiple stressors by providing early-warning signals for regions undergoing these critical transitions.



========================================================================== Rainforests are a powerful natural climate solution. Conserving and
restoring them improves water filtration, biodiversity habitats and
climate resilience.

Their preservation and health can contribute to stabilizing global
warming to below two degrees Celsius.

The vulnerability of humid rainforests in the past was measured only
through a variety of indicators that were mostly from local studies,
which could not be easily extended to larger regions or globally. In
developing the index, the researchers looked at all tropics systematically
by using advanced satellite measurements.

Key findings So far, their key findings include:
* Different regions of tropics have different responses to climate
threats.

Some regions appear to be more resilient than others.

* Strong interactions between climate, land use and biodiversity
define the
vulnerability and resilience of forests. The researchers' index
identified the nature of these interactions over the entire global
rainforests.

* Rainforests on different continents have different responses
to climate
and land use pressures.

Data from the vulnerability index will help scientists perform more
in-depth examinations of natural ecosystem processes within rainforests, including carbon storage and productivity, energy, water exchanges and biodiversity.

These studies will assess how rapidly ecosystems are approaching a
tipping point.

To provide accurate early-warning signals, the index was designed to be continually updated with new data. When new satellite, climate and field
study data become available, the researchers will integrate the data into
an automated model to assess the stress and response of the ecosystem
and to evaluate if ecosystem vulnerability has increased or reduced.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Arkansas. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sassan Saatchi, Marcos Longo, Liang Xu, Yan Yang, Hitofumi Abe,
Michel
Andre', Juliann E. Aukema, Nuno Carvalhais, Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz,
Gillian Ann Cerbu, Janet M. Chernela, Kristofer Covey, Lina Mari'a
Sa'nchez-Clavijo, Isai V. Cubillos, Stuart J. Davies, Veronique De
Sy, Francois De Vleeschouwer, Alvaro Duque, Alice Marie Sybille
Durieux, Ka'tia De Avila Fernandes, Luis E. Fernandez, Victoria
Gammino, Dennis P.

Garrity, David A. Gibbs, Lucy Gibbon, Gae Yansom Gowae, Matthew
Hansen, Nancy Lee Harris, Sean P. Healey, Robert G. Hilton,
Christine May Johnson, Richard Sufo Kankeu, Nadine Therese
Laporte-Goetz, Hyongki Lee, Thomas Lovejoy, Margaret Lowman,
Raymond Lumbuenamo, Yadvinder Malhi, Jean-Michel M. Albert Martinez,
Carlos Nobre, Adam Pellegrini, Jeremy Radachowsky, Francisco Roma'n,
Diane Russell, Douglas Sheil, Thomas B.

Smith, Robert G.M. Spencer, Fred Stolle, Hesti Lestari Tata, Dennis
del Castillo Torres, Raphael Muamba Tshimanga, Rodrigo Vargas,
Michelle Venter, Joshua West, Atiek Widayati, Sylvia N. Wilson,
Steven Brumby, Aurora C. Elmore. Detecting vulnerability of humid
tropical forests to multiple stressors. One Earth, 2021; 4 (7):
988 DOI: 10.1016/ j.oneear.2021.06.002 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210826111719.htm

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