Managing ecosystem services in the Brazilian Amazon: the influence of deforestation and forest degradation in the world’s largest rain forest

作者：Walter Leal Filho, Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis, Moara Almeida Canova, Márcio Cataldi, Giulia Costa, Alex Enrich-Prast, Elías Symeonakis, Francis Q. Brearley · 发表于：Geoscience Letters · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s40562-025-00391-9 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management、Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development、Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Abstract The Amazon rain forest covers an area of ~ 6.7 million km 2 of South America; nearly 60% of it is in Brazil, while the rest is shared among eight other countries. This vast extent of rain forest is a globally significant ecosystem that provides numerous ecosystem services that benefit humanity including essential climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and hydrological stability. However, deforestation and forest degradation have led to the loss of approximately 15% of the Amazon rainforest since the 1970s, primarily driven by agricultural expansion, illegal mining, logging, and wildfires. These pressures have triggered a cascade of consequences, including biodiversity loss, disruption of cultural and ecosystem services, depletion of carbon sinks, and severe alterations to the hydrological cycle. While initially manifesting at local and regional scales, these effects increasingly pose risks to global climate stability. We simulated deforestation scenarios (15%, 50%, and 100% forest loss) using the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM 3.1) to evaluate precipitation changes and atmospheric responses. Results indicate substantial reductions in regional precipitation, hydrological disruptions affecting agricultural productivity, and an increasing risk of the Amazon transitioning from a carbon sink to a carbon source. This underscores the urgency of policy interventions, including stricter environmental regulations, trade restrictions on commodities produced illegally o...