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Tag:

Deforestation

Deforestation of Sandy Soils Increases the Release of CO2, Study Finds

Deforestation of Sandy Soils Increases the Release of CO2, Study Finds

written by Yale Environment 360

The texture of the soil that microbes live in determines how much carbon they release after deforestation, with sandy soils sending the most carbon into the atmosphere, according to research led by Yale scientists.

Subterranean microbes regulate carbon emissions from soil, and drastic changes to the microbial community, such as those that follow deforestation, can allow more CO2 to escape into the atmosphere and exacerbate global warming.

The texture of soil, rather than such factors as temperature or nutrient concentrations, was the most important factor governing the release of CO2, the researchers found. Muddy, clay-like soils provide the most stable environment for microbial communities, likely because they’re better at retaining nutrients than loose, sandy soils.

The team used the findings to map areas in the U.S. where soil microbial communities would be most affected (red) and least affected (yellow) by deforestation, which could help inform land management practices.

Study



April 4, 2014 1 comment
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Consumer Products Giants Commit to Deforestation-Free Palm Oil

Consumer Products Giants Commit to Deforestation-Free Palm Oil

written by Yale Environment 360

Two major consumer products companies — General Mills and Colgate-Palmolive — have committed to using palm oil in their products that does not come from lands cleared from tropical forests, adding to the wave of corporations that have pledged measures to protect southeast Asian rainforests.

The consumer giants’ new policies go beyond standards set by the industry’s main certification body and include provisions to protect wildlife-rich rainforests, carbon-dense peatlands, and the rights of local communities.

Environmental groups are welcoming the commitments, though some believe the companies’ pledges should go further. The Union of Concerned Scientists questions General Mills’ definition of “high carbon stock” forests, while Greenpeace is urging Colgate-Palmolive to move implementation up to 2015 from 2020.

Environmental groups are hopeful that new commitments will pressure Proctor & Gamble, the last remaining consumer products giant without a similar pledge, to adopt deforestation-free palm oil policies.



March 26, 2014 0 comment
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Road to Environmental Destruction

Road to Environmental Destruction

written by Environmental News Network

Roads are considered connectors of human development providing opportunities for economic success and communication but the flip side of this network is that it has also brought enormous destruction to our fields and forests. With forest destruction comes increased human development and ecological degradation. Recent mapping and modeling has been done to document and measure forest destruction in an initiative by the Ames Research Center of NASA and ENN affiliate, Mongabay.

Using satellite imagery to detect deforestation as it is happening allows the opportunity to measure the deforestation and investigate it before it expands. Past satellite imagery has revealed the increased forest depletion in the proximity of new roads.

According to Kriton Arsenis, Greek Member in Parliament (MEP) of the European Parliament, “95% of forest loss occurs within 50 km of a road. Scientific reports and satellite imagery have demonstrated road building is a major driver of deforestation, from the Amazon to Indonesian and Congo Basin forests.”

Because of their ability to store carbon stores, their capacity to prevent floods, and protecting biodiversity, Arsenis believes that urgent measures are needed to curb the construction of roads in forested regions. Further, protection is critical to the preservation of the environment and the ongoing struggles with climate change. Arsenis says, “Keeping our last intact forests free of roads is a cost efficient way to protect the climate, halt biodiversity loss and keep illegal traffickers at bay.”

William Laurence, a professor at Australia’s James Cook University, sees roads as a gateway to the destruction of forestland.

“Roads are often fatal for forests and other native ecosystems,” he said. “They open up a Pandora’s Box of environmental problems, such as illegal deforestation, colonization, hunting, mining, and land speculation.”

Presently the European Union has several rules governing exploitation of forest resources including the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which prohibits selling illegally harvested timber and its products, but regulations currently contain no road construction legislation in forests.

Roads are generally constructed to connect isolated communities with the remainder of the country or support economic development within a remote area. Juliette Ebélé, spokesperson for the International Road Transport Union, while admitting the sector’s impact on deforestation, says, “Road infrastructure and road transport are a major driver of economic and social development, granting access to rural or remote areas, hence bringing about agricultural, business, habitat opportunities, and so on.” Ebélé goes on to say that there should be policies to protect the environment in the construction of  roads through sensitive areas.

Read more at Euractive.com.



March 24, 2014 0 comment
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Global Forest Watch Tool Allows ‘Near-Real Time’ Forest Monitoring

written by Yale Environment 360

A new online tool called Global Forest Watch employs a trove of high-resolution NASA satellite imagery and large amounts of computing power to help governments, conservation organizations, and concerned citizens monitor deforestation in “near-real time.”

Organized by the World Resources Institute (WRI),

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February 21, 2014 0 comment
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New Maps Highlight Tropical Corridors Important to Wildlife As Climate Changes

written by Yale Environment 360

A new set of maps highlights the importance of habitat corridors in helping wildlife deal with the effects of climate change and deforestation. The series of maps shows more than 16,000 habitat corridors — swaths of land that connect forests or protected areas and allow animals to move between them — in tropical regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and

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February 7, 2014 0 comment
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Groundbreaking Mapping Project Depicts Forest Change Around the Globe

written by Yale Environment 360

Scientists from Google, U.S. universities, and federal agencies have for the first time produced a high-resolution global map showing in striking detail the extent of deforestation across the globe. The project — which relied heavily on expertise from the computing center Google Earth Engine — documents a loss of 888,000 square miles of forest

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November 18, 2013 0 comment
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Gold Mining the Amazon: Deforestation 2.0

written by Walter Wang

Rainforest exploitation is a concept we have been sadly used to for years. Images of deforestation have long been a common sight in tropical countries, as illegal logging of trees and ever increasing pressure from agriculture keep claiming thousands of square kilometers of virgin forest every year. We’ve even grown accustomed to the idea of one forest

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October 29, 2013 0 comment
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Carbon Emissions in Brazil Dropped 39% from 2005 to 2010, Report Says

written by Yale Environment 360

Greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil fell by nearly 39 percent from 2005 to 2010, largely because of reductions in the amount of forest loss, according to a new government report. Overall, Brazil emitted the equivalent of 1.25 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, which was more than 10 percent lower than 1990 levels.

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June 7, 2013 0 comment
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Amazon Mega Dam Controversial Saga Continues

written by Walter Wang

Belo Monte Dam is a controversial mega dam being built in the Amazon on Indigenous land. The old project conceived during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), and which was revived by the Lula government, is the bête noire of Brazilian environmentalists due to the damage it will cause to a pristine region in the Amazon. It will pave the way to tens of other dams in

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May 17, 2013 0 comment
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Bill Gates on the Importance of Energy to the Developing World

written by Walter Wang

Anyone who discounts what Bill Gates says on any issue has some explaining to do. Recall that, when he ran Microsoft, Gates would famously make himself available to talk with employees who wished to present their ideas, but was aggressively unforgiving of people who hadn’t done their homework, and were unable to support their positions in reasoned

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April 15, 2013 0 comment
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Brazilian Deforestation Falls Sharply in Past Eight Years

written by Yale Environment 360

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 77 percent from 2004 to 2011, but carbon emissions did not drop as steeply because of complex processes revealed during on-the-ground studies, scientists say.

While analysis of satellite images showed the three-

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August 31, 2012 0 comment
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Mountain Roads Trigger Longterm Consequences in Southeast Asia

written by Yale Environment 360

The rapid expansion of roads across the rural mountains of Southeast Asia often triggers unintended environmental consequences that in many cases undermine the socioeconomic benefits, according to an article in the journal Nature Geoscience.

While international organizations have supported

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July 13, 2012 0 comment
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Recent Policies May Undermine Brazil’s Green Progress, Group Says

written by Yale Environment 360

Recent policies enacted by the Brazilian government — including changes to its Forest Code and a push to build 30 new dams in the Amazon region — threaten to undermine critical environmental progress made by the nation over the last two decades, scientists say.

In a declaration published after its annual meeting

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July 2, 2012 0 comment
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Conservationists Launch Drone to Monitor Forest Loss and Wildlife

written by Walter Wang

A coalition of scientists and environmental advocacy groups has developed a camera-equipped drone they say could become a key conservation tool for monitoring forest loss and endangered wildlife.

The coalition — which includes The Orangutan Conservancy, the Denver Zoo, and two Swiss

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February 27, 2012 0 comment
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