Selective Logging in the Brazilian Amazon

TLDR

Amazon deforestation has been monitored by remote sensing for three decades, yet selective logging remains largely undetected by satellite imagery. The study aims to develop a large‑scale, high‑resolution automated remote‑sensing analysis of selective logging in Brazil’s top five timber‑producing Amazon states. The authors applied automated, high‑resolution remote‑sensing techniques across the five largest timber‑producing states to detect selective logging. Between 1999 and 2002, selective logging covered 12,075–19,823 km² per year—60–123 % of previously reported deforestation—up to 1,200 km² annually on conservation lands, extracted 27–50 million m³ of wood, and released roughly 0.1 billion metric tons of carbon.

Abstract

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 approximately 0.1 billion metric tons of carbon was destined for release to the atmosphere by logging.