Brazil
Indigenous territories and governance of forest restoration in the Xingu River (Brazil)BackgroundOpen access copy available |
Indigenous knowledge and forest succession management in the Brazilian Amazon: Contributions to reforestation of degraded areasBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Between a rock and a hard place: The burdens of uncontrolled fire for smallholders across the tropicsBackgroundThe growing prevalence of uncontrolled tropical landscape fires significantly threatens tropical forests and causes substantial social and economic burdens. These burdens continue to be largely overlooked in favor of aggregate-scale losses like climate change and biodiversity, despite the severe local impacts on smallholder farming communities across the forested tropics. Furthermore, people often unfairly portray smallholders as the primary culprits of fire contagion due to their customary fire-based agricultural practices. This narrative is rooted in colonial-era condemnations. Open access copy available |
Improving Sustainable Tropical Forest Management with Voluntary Carbon MarketsBackgroundTropical forests play a vital role in global carbon sequestration, absorbing around 1 petagram (Pg) of carbon annually—more than any other terrestrial ecosystem. However, deforestation and forest degradation weaken their ability to mitigate climate change. While reduced-impact logging and sustainable forest management (SFM) aim to minimize damage, many SFM plans overlook differences in tree growth rates, species characteristics, and local site conditions. As voluntary carbon markets grow, they create new opportunities to fund improved forest practices through “carbon-focused sustainable forest management” (SFM + C), which integrates carbon sequestration goals into existing frameworks. Open access copy available |
Synergistic Effects of Seed Disperser and Predator Loss on Recruitment Success and Long-Term Consequences for Carbon Stocks in Tropical RainforestsBackgroundDefaunation—the loss of animal species due to hunting, habitat destruction, and other human activities—affects tropical forests profoundly. Large frugivores play a key role in seed dispersal, while seed predators influence recruitment success and plant population dynamics. Previous studies focus mainly on how defaunation impacts seed dispersal but often overlook the role of seed predators and potential compensatory ecosystem effects. This study examines how losing both seed dispersers and seed predators simultaneously affects tree recruitment and long-term carbon storage in tropical forests. Open access copy available |
Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forestsBackgroundTropical forests play a critical role in global carbon storage, holding approximately 40% of the Earth's terrestrial carbon. While deforestation, logging, and climate change are well-documented threats to these forests, the impact of defaunation (the loss of large frugivorous animals due to hunting and habitat loss) has been largely overlooked. Many large-seeded hardwood trees rely on large vertebrates for seed dispersal, and their decline could significantly affect forest composition and carbon storage. Open access copy available |
Why environmental impact assessments often failBackgroundEnvironmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) aim to mitigate the environmental costs of development, particularly in biodiversity-rich developing nations. While governments and corporations claim EIAs as safeguards against environmental harm from roads, dams, mines, and housing, many are ineffective or even worthless. Weak assessments fail to prevent projects that destroy habitats and endanger species. Key shortcomings include insufficient funding, narrow focus on immediate project areas, conflicts of interest among consultants, and poor governance that grants developers undue influence over policy decisions. Open access copy available |
The 10 Elements of Agroecology: enabling transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food systems through visual narrativesBackgroundAgriculture and food systems around the world are failing to deliver the desired outcomes for food security and nutrition, creating an urgent need for transformative change to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Addressing this challenge requires stakeholders to adopt holistic approaches that integrate population, diet, and food production, moving beyond a narrow focus on technological advancements and productivity. Agroecology, which incorporates social, political, and economic dimensions, provides a promising pathway to build sustainable and equitable food systems. Open access copy available |
Committed to restoring tropical forests: an overview of Brazil's and Indonesia's restoration targets and policiesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Restoring tropical forests on lands mined for bauxite: Examples from the Brazilian AmazonBackground:Effective forest restoration is required to avoid the adverse environmental impacts of mining. However, restorationists working in most tropical regions lack the requisite knowledge of species selection and disturbance ecology to aid in mimicking the pre-disturbed ecosystem. One noteworthy exception to this is the forest restoration initiative created by a Brazilian bauxite mining company operating at Trombetas in Pará State, central Amazonia, since the early 1980s. Available with subscription or purchase |
