Ano de publicação: 2018
Integrated valuation,
Ecosystem service appraisal,
Ecosystem service governance,
Information costs,
Uncertainty,
Valuation,
Eccosystem services cascade
Ano de publicação: 2017
David Montenegro Lapola, José Antonio Marengo
Ano de publicação: 2021
Ano de publicação: 2016
Ano de publicação: 2019
will continue to act as a carbon sink in the future, primarily owing to
the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration.
Soil phosphorus impoverishment in parts of the Amazon basin largely
controls its functioning, but the role of phosphorus availability has
not been considered in global model ensembles—for example, during the
Fifth Climate Model Intercomparison Project. Here we simulate the
planned free-air CO2 enrichment experiment AmazonFACE with an
ensemble of 14 terrestrial ecosystem models. We show that phosphorus
availability reduces the projected CO2-induced biomass carbon growth by about 50% to 79 ± 63 g C m−2 yr−1
over 15 years compared to estimates from carbon and carbon–nitrogen
models. Our results suggest that the resilience of the region to climate
change may be much less than previously assumed. Variation in the
biomass carbon response among the phosphorus-enabled models is
considerable, ranging from 5 to 140 g C m−2 yr−1,
owing to the contrasting plant phosphorus use and acquisition strategies
considered among the models. The Amazon forest response thus depends on
the interactions and relative contributions of the phosphorus
acquisition and use strategies across individuals, and to what extent
these processes can be upregulated under elevated CO2.
Carbon cycle, Climate and Earth system modelling, Climate-change ecology, Element cycles, Tropical ecology.
Ano de publicação: 2021
Ano de publicação: 2019
climate change has been incorporated into governmental agendas, and
evaluate the status of adaptation planning and interventions at the
local level. In this paper, we seek to contribute towards bridging this
gap by identifying local practices connected to climate adaptation in
six large Brazilian cities, and presenting a framework, based on the
existing literature, for assessing constraints to adaptation across the
municipal level. Although local governments are not the only actors who
can take the lead through their actions, the employed framework
considers that effective adaptation planning in urban areas is highly
dependent on municipal efforts. Our findings indicate that six aspects
have the highest levels of impact on adaptation in the Brazilian cities
studied: administrative practices, political will, level of commitment,
mismatch between the scale of urban issues and the extent of local
government authority, pressures from private sectors, and inspection.
Although these barriers are not specific only to climate issues and can
be identified in other environmental arenas, when combined, they cause
and worsen constraints to advancing urban adaptation at the local level.
Specifically concerning the local dynamics of urban planning, the
combination of pressures from private sectors and insufficient
inspection negatively affects the ability of these cities to consolidate
adaptation interventions. Our results are helpful in the context of
large cities, particularly in Global South, where, as in Brazil,
competitive urbanism and specific interest groups confront municipal
efforts, and make achieving adaptation more difficult.
Ano de publicação: 2018
The scientific notion that the Amazon forest could be deeply impacted by climate change through large-scale replacement of the rainforest by a drier forest, a savannah or even nonanalogous degraded vegetation will soon be 20 years old (White et al., 1999; Cox et al., 2000). The mere prospect of undermining a significant fraction of the world's largest tropical rainforest due to global climate change – even if deforestation is completely stopped – should be alarming for the nine Amazonian countries, and the world as a whole, given the bundled ecosystem services at stake. This possibility, however, has not caused widespread concern among governments and societies because the lingering scientific uncertainties prevent any well-informed decisions from being made. The most pressing of these uncertainties regarding the resilience of the Amazon forest to ongoing climatic changes and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are as follows:
- the impacts of the future rainfall regime – either drier, wetter or simply more seasonal – on the forest's structure and functioning
- the existence and extent of nutrient – notably phosphorus (P) – limitation on forest productivity
- the existence, magnitude and duration of a supposed CO2 fertilization effect.
Ano de publicação: 2021
Most leaf functional trait studies in the Amazon basin do not consider ontogenetic variations (leaf age), which may influence ecosystem productivity throughout the year. When leaf age is taken into account, it is generally considered discontinuous, and leaves are classified into age categories based on qualitative observations. Here, we quantified age-dependent changes in leaf functional traits such as the maximum carboxylation rate of ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) (Vcmax), stomatal control (Cgs%), leaf dry mass per area and leaf macronutrient concentrations for nine naturally growing Amazon tropical trees with variable phenological strategies. Leaf ages were assessed by monthly censuses of branch-level leaf demography; we also performed leaf trait measurements accounting for leaf chronological age based on days elapsed since the first inclusion in the leaf demography, not predetermined age classes. At the tree community scale, a nonlinear relationship between Vcmax and leaf age existed: young, developing leaves showed the lowest mean photosynthetic capacity, increasing to a maximum at 45 days and then decreasing gradually with age in both continuous and categorical age group analyses. Maturation times among species and phenological habits differed substantially, from 8 ± 30 to 238 ± 30 days, and the rate of decline of Vcmax varied from −0.003 to −0.065 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 day−1. Stomatal control increased significantly in young leaves but remained constant after peaking. Mass-based phosphorus and potassium concentrations displayed negative relationships with leaf age, whereas nitrogen did not vary temporally. Differences in life strategies, leaf nutrient concentrations and phenological types, not the leaf age effect alone, may thus be important factors for understanding observed photosynthesis seasonality in Amazonian forests. Furthermore, assigning leaf age categories in diverse tree communities may not be the recommended method for studying carbon uptake seasonality in the Amazon, since the relationship between Vcmax and leaf age could not be confirmed for all trees.
Ano de publicação: 2022
Ano de publicação: 2021
Deforestation in the Amazon
Ano de publicação: 2019
Payment for ecosystem services,
Public policies,
Sugarcane production,
Participatory methods,
Cairngorms National Park
Ano de publicação: 2021
Purpose
Large parts of the Amazon rainforest grow on weathered soils depleted in phosphorus and rock-derived cations. We tested the hypothesis that in this ecosystem, fine roots stimulate decomposition and nutrient release from leaf litter biochemically by releasing enzymes, and by exuding labile carbon stimulating microbial decomposers.
Methods
We monitored leaf litter decomposition in a Central Amazon tropical rainforest, where fine roots were either present or excluded, over 188 days and added labile carbon substrates (glucose and citric acid) in a fully factorial design. We tracked litter mass loss, remaining carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and cation concentrations, extracellular enzyme activity and microbial carbon and nutrient concentrations.
Results
Fine root presence did not affect litter mass loss but significantly increased the loss of phosphorus and cations from leaf litter. In the presence of fine roots, acid phosphatase activity was 43.2% higher, while neither microbial stoichiometry, nor extracellular enzyme activities targeting carbon- and nitrogen-containing compounds changed. Glucose additions increased phosphorus loss from litter when fine roots were present, and enhanced phosphatase activity in root exclusions. Citric acid additions reduced litter mass loss, microbial biomass nitrogen and phosphorus, regardless of fine root presence or exclusion.
Conclusions
We conclude that plant roots release significant amounts of acid phosphatases into the litter layer and mobilize phosphorus without affecting litter mass loss. Our results further indicate that added labile carbon inputs (i.e. glucose) can stimulate acid phosphatase production by microbial decomposers, highlighting the potential importance of plant-microbial feedbacks in tropical forest ecosystems.
Ano de publicação: 2020
Ano de publicação: 2019
Ano de publicação: 2018
Ano de publicação: 2018
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
Ano de publicação: 2016
Ano de publicação: 2016
Ano de publicação: 2019
Ano de publicação: 2020
Ano de publicação: 2018
Ano de publicação: 2021
Ano de publicação: 2016
Ano de publicação: 2021
Biogeochemistry, Ecology, Tropical ecology
Ano de publicação: 2023
Approximately 2.5 × 106 square kilometers of the Amazon forest are currently degraded by fire, edge effects, timber extraction, and/or extreme drought, representing 38% of all remaining forests in the region. Carbon emissions from this degradation total up to 0.2 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year−1), which is equivalent to, if not greater than, the emissions from Amazon deforestation (0.06 to 0.21 Pg C year−1). Amazon forest degradation can reduce dry-season evapotranspiration by up to 34% and cause as much biodiversity loss as deforestation in human-modified landscapes, generating uneven socioeconomic burdens, mainly to forest dwellers. Projections indicate that degradation will remain a dominant source of carbon emissions independent of deforestation rates. Policies to tackle degradation should be integrated with efforts to curb deforestation and complemented with innovative measures addressing the disturbances that degrade the Amazon forest.
Ano de publicação: 2021
Worldwide cities are at the forefront of tackling climate change; however, it is not clear to what extent they are prepared for the challenge, particularly in the context of lower income countries, where the need for action is urgent. In this context, many of cities struggle to develop evidence-based approaches to assess their current and future capacity to deal with climate impacts and inform the design of policies to respond in the short/long term. Based both on extensive field research carried out in Brazilian cities and on urban adaptation literature, we develop and test the Urban Adaptation Index (UAI) that cities can use to assess their current adaptive capacity in a realistic/achievable way. The index includes 26 indicators and focuses on a set of public policies to support interventions connected to adaptation: housing, urban mobility, sustainable agriculture, environmental management, and climate impact response. To make the UAI more usable/accessible, we use empirical data that is publicly available, and develop an approach that can be implemented with resources already available in many Brazilian cities. We illustrate the UAI usability by applying the index to the 645 municipalities of the state of São Paulo. Results show that more than half of the municipalities present low UAI ratings; however, municipalities located in metropolitan regions, where the majority of the population live, tend to have higher ratings. Practitioners agreed on the value of the UAI as a tool to monitor the current situation and changes regarding local potential capacity to adapt to climate change
Climate change adaptation, public policies, Sustainability, Index, Adaptive capacity