Climate change has many effects on landscapes and nature, including altering the colour of lakes, birds and certain plants. But other factors linked to human activity, such as deforestation, also have a considerable impact on nature, particularly the trees that populate the Amazon, as Finnish research shows.
Published in Nature Communications, this study was carried out by researchers from the University of Helsinki, who used a laser scanner to map how forest fragmentation affects the shape of trees in Brazilian rainforests.
The researchers used remote sensing to collect data, creating a 3D tree representation for modelling. Various properties were analysed, such as their ability to use water and light, and the size of their trunks.
The study clearly demonstrated that trees growing at the edge of the forest have a different shape to those growing in the heart of the forest.
These effects manifest themselves mainly in the thickness of the trunks (less substantial) and the symmetry of the canopies (less constant) and could, according to the researchers, represent “an overlooked factor” likely to exacerbate carbon losses in forests fragmented by deforestation.
“In spite of increasing wood production, the amount of biomass that binds carbon dioxide in this 40-year-old forest is reduced by as much as 20%,” says study co-author, Eduardo Maeda, associate professor at the University of Helsinki, quoted in a news release.
“The effect of human activity on climate change will need to be re-evaluated. This study provides new information on the adaptation of the rainforest to environmental change, as well as tools for researchers and decision-makers who are considering how to mitigate climate change,” Eduardo Maeda added.
Since President Lula Da Silva came back to power, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen by 22.3% in the space of a year, according to figures released in November by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.
This is the lowest rate observed since 2019, the year in which Jair Bolsonaro was elected President, a position he held until January 2023, before Lula succeeded him.