Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade
Abstract The Amazon rainforest is crucial for the global carbon cycle, yet annual changes in its aboveground biomass carbon (AGC) stock remain highly uncertain. Natural and local anthropogenic drivers such as deforestation, forest degradation, and regrowth following deforestation interact with large...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61856-1 |
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| author | Arthur Fendrich Yu Feng Jean-Pierre Wigneron Jerôme Chave Arnan Araza Zheyuan Li Martin Herold Jean Ometto Luiz E. O. C. Aragão Isabel Martinez Cano Lei Zhu Yidi Xu Philippe Ciais |
| author_facet | Arthur Fendrich Yu Feng Jean-Pierre Wigneron Jerôme Chave Arnan Araza Zheyuan Li Martin Herold Jean Ometto Luiz E. O. C. Aragão Isabel Martinez Cano Lei Zhu Yidi Xu Philippe Ciais |
| author_sort | Arthur Fendrich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Amazon rainforest is crucial for the global carbon cycle, yet annual changes in its aboveground biomass carbon (AGC) stock remain highly uncertain. Natural and local anthropogenic drivers such as deforestation, forest degradation, and regrowth following deforestation interact with large-scale climate variability to determine AGC dynamics. Here, we propose an approach to disaggregate low-frequency passive L-band microwave data over 2010-2020 and reconstruct maps of annual change. We show that the Amazon lost −0.37 ± 0.17 PgC, with gains by undisturbed (0.33 ± 0.13 PgC) and secondary forest growth (0.33 ± 0.05 PgC) outweighed by losses by deforestation (−0.55 ± 0.04 PgC), degradation (−0.42 ± 0.08 PgC), and agricultural areas (−0.06 ± 0.03 PgC). Losses in human-influenced land intensified over time and amounted to 60% of all gross losses in El Niño years. Our study reinforces the need for stronger implementation of policies and effective actions to control forest degradation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-28bf6d1a42254dafbf9bb69445f7cc2d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-28bf6d1a42254dafbf9bb69445f7cc2d2025-08-20T03:46:09ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-011611910.1038/s41467-025-61856-1Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decadeArthur Fendrich0Yu Feng1Jean-Pierre Wigneron2Jerôme Chave3Arnan Araza4Zheyuan Li5Martin Herold6Jean Ometto7Luiz E. O. C. Aragão8Isabel Martinez Cano9Lei Zhu10Yidi Xu11Philippe Ciais12Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQINRAE, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391 ISPACentre de Recherche Biodiversite Environnement, CNRS, IRD, UPS, INPTEarth Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and ResearchSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, Henan UniversityInstitute for Environmental Science and Geography, University of PotsdamImpact, Adaptation and Vulnerability Division, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas EspaciaisEarth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas EspaciaisLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 1572 CEA-CNRS-UVSQAbstract The Amazon rainforest is crucial for the global carbon cycle, yet annual changes in its aboveground biomass carbon (AGC) stock remain highly uncertain. Natural and local anthropogenic drivers such as deforestation, forest degradation, and regrowth following deforestation interact with large-scale climate variability to determine AGC dynamics. Here, we propose an approach to disaggregate low-frequency passive L-band microwave data over 2010-2020 and reconstruct maps of annual change. We show that the Amazon lost −0.37 ± 0.17 PgC, with gains by undisturbed (0.33 ± 0.13 PgC) and secondary forest growth (0.33 ± 0.05 PgC) outweighed by losses by deforestation (−0.55 ± 0.04 PgC), degradation (−0.42 ± 0.08 PgC), and agricultural areas (−0.06 ± 0.03 PgC). Losses in human-influenced land intensified over time and amounted to 60% of all gross losses in El Niño years. Our study reinforces the need for stronger implementation of policies and effective actions to control forest degradation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61856-1 |
| spellingShingle | Arthur Fendrich Yu Feng Jean-Pierre Wigneron Jerôme Chave Arnan Araza Zheyuan Li Martin Herold Jean Ometto Luiz E. O. C. Aragão Isabel Martinez Cano Lei Zhu Yidi Xu Philippe Ciais Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade Nature Communications |
| title | Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| title_full | Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| title_fullStr | Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| title_short | Human influence on Amazon’s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| title_sort | human influence on amazon s aboveground carbon dynamics intensified over the last decade |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61856-1 |
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