Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades

Mataveli, Guilherme A. V.; de Oliveira, Gabriel; Seixas, Hugo T.; Pereira, Gabriel; Stark, Scott C.; Gatti, Luciana V.; Basso, Luana S.; Tejada, Graciela; Cassol, Henrique L. G.; Anderson, Liana O.; Aragão, Luiz E. O. C.

doi:10.3390/f12091217

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades

by

Guilherme A. V. Mataveli

^1,*

,

Gabriel de Oliveira

²

,

Hugo T. Seixas

³

,

Gabriel Pereira

^4,5

,

Scott C. Stark

⁶

,

Luciana V. Gatti

⁷

,

Luana S. Basso

⁷

,

Graciela Tejada

⁷

,

Henrique L. G. Cassol

¹

,

Liana O. Anderson

⁸

and

Luiz E. O. C. Aragão

¹

Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil

²

Department of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688, USA

³

Center for Environmental Studies and Research, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-867, Brazil

⁴

Department of Geosciences, Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João del-Rei 36307-352, Brazil

⁵

Department of Geography, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil

⁶

Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

⁷

Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil

⁸

National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disaster, São José dos Campos 12247-016, Brazil

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Forests 2021, 12(9), 1217; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091217

Submission received: 10 August 2021 / Revised: 26 August 2021 / Accepted: 2 September 2021 / Published: 7 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Ecological Effects of Recent Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss in the Amazon Region)

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Abstract

With deforestation and associated fires ongoing at high rates, and amidst urgent need to preserve Amazonia, improving the understanding of biomass burning emissions drivers is essential. The use of orbital remote sensing data enables the estimate of both biomass burning emissions and deforestation. In this study, we have estimated emissions of particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) associated with biomass burning, a primary human health risk, using the Brazilian Biomass Burning emission model with Fire Radiative Power (3BEM_FRP), and estimated deforestation based on the MapBiomas dataset. Using these estimates, we have assessed for the first time how deforestation drove biomass burning emissions in Amazonia over the last two decades at three scales of analysis: Amazonia-wide, country/state and pixel. Amazonia accounted for 48% of PM_2.5 emitted from biomass burning in South America and current deforestation rates have reached values on par with those of the early 21st Century. Emissions and deforestation were concentrated in the Eastern and Central-Southern portions of Amazonia. Amazonia-wide deforestation and emissions were linked through time (R = 0.65). Countries/states with the widest spread agriculture were less likely to be correlated at this scale, likely because of the importance of biomass burning in agricultural practices. Concentrated in regions of ongoing deforestation, in 18% of Amazonia grid cells PM_2.5 emissions associated with biomass burning and deforestation were significantly positively correlated. Deforestation is an important driver of emissions in Amazonia but does not explain biomass burning alone. Therefore, future work must link climate and other non-deforestation drivers to completely understand biomass burning emissions in Amazonia. The advance of anthropogenic activities over forested areas, which ultimately leads to more fires and deforestation, is expected to continue, worsening a crisis of dangerous emissions.

Keywords: biomass burning; aerosols; deforestation; tropical forests; remote sensing; 3BEM_FRP; MapBiomas

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mataveli, G.A.V.; de Oliveira, G.; Seixas, H.T.; Pereira, G.; Stark, S.C.; Gatti, L.V.; Basso, L.S.; Tejada, G.; Cassol, H.L.G.; Anderson, L.O.; et al. Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades. Forests 2021, 12, 1217. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091217

AMA Style

Mataveli GAV, de Oliveira G, Seixas HT, Pereira G, Stark SC, Gatti LV, Basso LS, Tejada G, Cassol HLG, Anderson LO, et al. Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades. Forests. 2021; 12(9):1217. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091217

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mataveli, Guilherme A. V., Gabriel de Oliveira, Hugo T. Seixas, Gabriel Pereira, Scott C. Stark, Luciana V. Gatti, Luana S. Basso, Graciela Tejada, Henrique L. G. Cassol, Liana O. Anderson, and et al. 2021. "Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades" Forests 12, no. 9: 1217. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091217

APA Style

Mataveli, G. A. V., de Oliveira, G., Seixas, H. T., Pereira, G., Stark, S. C., Gatti, L. V., Basso, L. S., Tejada, G., Cassol, H. L. G., Anderson, L. O., & Aragão, L. E. O. C. (2021). Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades. Forests, 12(9), 1217. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091217

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Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades

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