Ecology Letters · 2002 · 256 citations · 9 references
Natural ResourcesEcologyEnvironmental SciencesFire EcologyFire ManagementForest EcologyDeforestationFire Effects On VegetationFire WeatherForest GrowthTropical Forest EcologyWildfire EcologyAnthropogenic Carbon EmissionsBelowground Biomass LossBiomass Loss EstimationFiresForest Fire EmissionsForest Mortality DynamicsTree Mortality DynamicsTree Mortality Risk
Abstract Surface fires in Amazonian forests could contribute as much as 5% of annual carbon emissions from all anthropogenic sources during severe El Niño years. However, these estimates are based on short‐term figures of post‐burn tree mortality, when large thicker barked trees (representing a disproportionate amount of the forest biomass) appear to resist the fires. On the basis of a longer term study, we report that the mortality of large trees increased markedly between 1 and 3 years, more than doubling current estimates of biomass loss and committed carbon emissions from low‐intensity fires in tropical forests.
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Large-scale impoverishment of Amazonian forests by logging and fire
Daniel C. Nepstad, Adalberto Verssimo, Ane Alencar et al. · Nature · 1999 · 1.4K citations
Increased El Niño frequency in a climate model forced by future greenhouse warming
Axel Timmermann, Josef Oberhuber, A. Bacher et al. · Nature · 1999 · 1.3K citations
Positive Feedbacks in the Fire Dynamic of Closed Canopy Tropical Forests
Mark A. Cochrane, Ane Alencar, Mark Schulze et al. · Science · 1999 · 925 citations
Natural Resources, Ecology, Forestry +17