Deforestation

Here are some citations and ummaries, sorry they're not very organized, but they are all from Proquest and about half of them are Scholarly Journals

Mery Galanternick. "Brazil: Amazon Deforestation Slows :[Brief]. " New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 14 Aug. 2007, Late Edition (East Coast): 9. National Newspapers (5). ProQuest. Foley Library, Spokane, Washington. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.proquest.com/

Andrew Downie Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor. "Amazon destruction rising fast ; Brazil has launched a $140 million plan to reverse Amazon deforestation, which hit near record levels last year :[ALL Edition]. " The Christian Science Monitor [Boston, Mass.] 22 Apr. 2004,01. National Newspapers (5). ProQuest. Foley Library, Spokane, Washington. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.proquest.com/

Abstract (Summary) Brazil is the world's second-biggest soy producer and has the second-largest herd of cattle - 57 million of which are in the Amazon. Beef exports have increased fivefold over the past six years, according to a report by the Center for International Forestry Research, and soy production has grown from 32 million tons in 2000 to 52 million tons last year. Although the Lula government says it needs time for its antideforestation measures, launched last month, to take effect, environmentalists say that if the government's other promises are anything to go by, then they are right to be wary. Since taking power, Lula has done about-turns on several key environmental issues - such as flip- flopping on genetically modified foods and possibly opening another nuclear reactor outside Rio - prompting activists to openly question his commitment to protecting the environment. Economic growth has historically been one of the main catalysts for the deforestation. A boom during the mid 1990s prompted unprecedented destruction - in 1995, more than 11,220 square miles were cut down - and turned saving the rain forest into a trendy international cause. The forest fell off Western radar screens and the destruction continued in the area that is home to 80,000 kinds of trees and plants, more than 2,000 different birds, and more species of fish than in the whole of Western Europe. The Amazon has lost 16 perecnt of it's original tree cover.

Matt Kantz. "Amazon jungle in dire threat. " National Catholic Reporter 29 Aug. 2003: 6-7. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/> Periodical Full Text (177 words) Copyright National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company Aug 29, 2003 RIO DE JANERO, Brazil - Faced with accelerating deforestation of Amazon regions, Brazilian officials announced that the government environmental agency, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources will receive $7 million to crack down on illegal tree cutting and land clearing. Experts say about 16 percent of Brazil's 4.1 million square kilometers of Amazon rainforest have already been destroyed. Satellite data showed that an estimated 26,390 square kilometers of Amazon forest vanished between August 2001 and August 2002. This represents a 40 percent increase from the previous 12 months, when an estimated 18,820 square kilometers were cleared. In their search for new lands, cattle ranchers and farmers have been pushing into the northern regions of Mato Grosso state and southern Para state, which used to be completely covered by Amazon forest or savannah. "The numbers show clearly that the federal government has been incapable of stopping Amazon deforestation," said Paulo Adario of Greenpeace, which has warned that the Amazon rainforest will be wiped out in 80 years if deforestation continues at the current rate.

Lykke E Andersen, Clive W J Granger. "Modeling Amazon deforestation for policy purposes: reconciling conservation priorities and human development. " Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 8.3 (2007): 201-210. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.proquest.com/

Scholarly Journal

Abstract (Summary) Brazil has long ago removed most of the perverse government incentives that stimulated massive deforestation in the Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s, but the highly controversial policy concerning road building still remains. While data is now abundantly available due to the constant satellite surveillance of the Amazon, the analytical methods typically used to analyze the impact of roads on natural vegetation cover are methodologically weak and not very helpful in guiding public policy. This article discusses the respective weaknesses of typical geographic information system (GIS) analysis and typical municipality-level regression analysis, and shows what would be needed to construct an ideal model of deforestation processes. It also presents an alternative approach that is much less demanding in terms of modeling and estimation and is more useful for policymakers. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Gregory P Asner, David E Knapp, Eben N Broadbent, Paulo J C Oliveira, et al. "Selective Logging in the Brazilian Amazon. " Science 310.5747 (2005): 480-2. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Scholarly Journal

Abstract (Summary) Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square kilometers per year (±14%) between 1999 and 2002, equivalent to 60 to 123% of previously reported deforestation area. Up to 1200 square kilometers per year of logging were observed on conservation lands. Each year, 27 million to 50 million cubic meters of wood were extracted, and a gross flux of ~0.1 billion metric tons of carbon was destined for release to the atmosphere by logging. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

David Werth, Roni Avissar. "Effects of Amazon deforestation. " Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 83.1 (2002): 11-12. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Scholarly Journal

Abstract (Summary) Many studies agree that Amazon deforestation greatly reduces summertime rainfall in that region. Now, results from studies with a global climate model show that deforestation in the Amazon region also can reduce precipitation far from South America.

Full Text (357 words) Copyright American Meteorological Society Jan 2002 Many studies agree that Amazon deforestation greatly reduces summertime rainfall in that region. Now, results from our studies with a global climate model show that deforestation in the Amazon region also can reduce precipitation far from South America. So far, only a few researchers have looked at possible remote effects of Amazon deforestation, and these have generally been limited to effects related to atmospheric flow. We ran the GISS Model II GCM six times with the Amazon rainforest replaced by grassland, creating an ensemble. This scenario was then compared to a control ensemble without deforestation, and the annual precipitation of several areas was reduced in the deforested runs. The strength of the effect was verified through further analysis. For example, the globally averaged reduction in precipitation due to deforestation was larger than the precipitation differences between different model runs with no vegetation differences between them. We explored our modeling results for a mechanism that might connect the Amazon deforestation and remote areas. Amazon geopotential aloft correlates well with precipitation in two remote areas, suggesting a Rossby wave propagation. Winds above the Amazon correlate well with wind shear over an area downstream of the Amazon, and this wind shear correlates negatively with precipitation within that area. It is also possible that the removal of the rainforest vegetation alters moisture transport or changes the Hadley circulation in the vicinity of the Amazon. This research underscores the importance of human activity in the Amazon. Ultimately, the goal of our study was to highlight the sensitivity of the climate system to changes in land cover and land use. In the future, it will be valuable to perform long simulations with an interacting ocean, allowing for the effects of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. Additionally, a higher model resolution could increase the effect found here. By no means is this study complete and further research on this topic is very much needed.-DAVID WERTH AND RONI AVISSAR (DEPT. OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, DUKE UNIVERSITY). "The Local and Global Effects ofAmazon Deforestation- will be presented at the 13th Symposium on Global Change and Climate Variations at the AMS Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, January 2002.

Kathryn R Kirby, William F Laurance, Ana K Albernaz, Gotz Schroth, et al. "The future of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. " Futures 38.4 (2006): 432-453. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Scholarly Journal

Abstract (Summary) Concern about the future of Amazonian forests is growing as both the extent and rate of primary forest destruction increase. We combine spatial information on various biophysical, demographic and infrastructural factors in the Brazilian Amazon with satellite data on deforestation to evaluate the relative importance of each factor to deforestation in the region. We assess the sensitivity of results to alternative sampling methodologies, and compare our results to those of previous empirical studies of Amazonian deforestation. Our findings, in concert with those of previous studies, send a clear message to planners: both paved and unpaved roads are key drivers of the deforestation process. Proximity to previous clearings, high population densities, low annual rainfall, and long dry seasons also increase the likelihood that a site will be deforested; however, roads are consistently important and are the factors most amenable to policymaking. We argue that there is ample evidence to justify a fundamental change in current Amazonian development priorities if additional large-scale losses of forests and environmental services are to be avoided. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Andrea Cattaneo. "Inter-regional innovation in Brazilian agriculture and deforestation in the Amazon: income and environment in the balance. " Environment and Development Economics 10.4 (2005): 485-511. Research Library. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 10 Nov. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Scholarly Journal

Abstract (Summary) The paper examines how recent trends in agricultural productivity in Brazil, occurring both inside and outside the Amazon, affected deforestation and agricultural incomes. The analysis uses a computable general equilibrium model adapted to capture regional economic structures, and accounts for uncertainty concerning productivity improvements. Due to countervailing effects on deforestation of innovation inside and outside the Amazon - respectively, increasing and decreasing it - innovation in Brazilian agriculture in the period from 1985 to 1995 has not altered substantially deforestation rates. However, innovation inside the Amazon has to be reckoned as a driving force behind the continuing high levels of deforestation rates. Innovation rates for livestock activities, inside and outside the Amazon, prove crucial in determining deforestation and agricultural income. Technological improvements outside the Amazon for small farm production systems and for farms in general in the North-East increase agricultural income, improve income distribution, and limit deforestation rates. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]