Publisher DOI: 10.1186/s40562-025-00391-9
Title: Managing ecosystem services in the Brazilian Amazon : the influence of deforestation and forest degradation in the world’s largest rain forest
Language: English
Authors: Leal Filho, Walter  
Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta 
Canova, Moara Almeida 
Cataldi, Marcio 
da Costa, Giulia Angelina Silva 
Enrich-Prast, Alex 
Symeonakis, Elias 
Brearley, Francis Q. 
Issue Date: 16-May-2025
Publisher: Springer
Journal or Series Name: Geoscience Letters 
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Abstract: 
The Amazon rain forest covers an area of ~ 6.7 million km2 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 or in deforested areas, enhanced Indigenous land protection, and international cooperation to mitigate deforestation and promote sustainable land use. Immediate action is necessary to prevent irreversible ecological and climatic tipping points.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12738/17850
ISSN: 2196-4092
Review status: This version was peer reviewed (peer review)
Institute: Department Gesundheitswissenschaften 
Fakultät Life Sciences 
Forschungs- und Transferzentrum Nachhaltigkeit und Klimafolgenmanagement 
Type: Article
Additional note: article number: 24 (2025)
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