FAPESP project - Grant number: 2020/08916-8
FAPEAM project - Grant number: 0102016301000289/2021-33
Dimension Sciences Bridging Gaps with Scholarships - Amazon Tasl Force 2023
FAPEAM project - Grant number: 0102016301000289/2021-33
Dimension Sciences Bridging Gaps with Scholarships - Amazon Tasl Force 2023
Prediction of forest degradation as a subsidy for mitigating actions to preventing fires and wildfires
The project
Forest degradation results mainly from burning in neighbouring deforested areas from which fires escape control to become forest fires. These events are intensified by the combined effect of logging and climate change, jeopardizing the conservation of the Amazon rainforest and its ecosystem services. Logging, both in authorized management plans and through illegal activities, increases the vulnerability of the forest to the entry and spread of forest fires. This is due to the increase in combustible material that results from collateral damage caused by the logging and dragging processes. Logging also opens the canopy, allowing entry of more radiation and increasing the intensity of wind, thus making the local microclimate warmer and drier. Climate change, which has already been observed in some parts of the Amazon, causes a lengthening of the dry season and increases the frequency of extreme droughts, directly affecting the occurrence of forest fires. The general objective of the project, therefore, is to provide a diagnosis and prognosis of forest degradation caused by logging and by forest fires resulting from burning in cleared areas. The project will generate scenarios that can aid in preventive control of burning and provide information for the management of natural resources and conservation areas.