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ethics

+
policy

the uncertain fate of


the brazilian amazon
How selective logging impacts
the sustainability of rainforests
by Julia Guth

U
ntil recently, the timber industry and conservationists struck
a compromise with selective logging—a process that removes
certain trees from specific locations in the forest, as opposed
to deforestation, the clear-cutting of large regions. Most scientists
and environmentalists believed this process was sustainable and not
particularly harmful to forests. However, research led by Dr. Greg Asner, a
scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and assistant professor,
by courtesy, in Stanford’s Department of Geological and Environmental
Sciences, used advanced satellite imaging to prove that selective logging
does, in fact, destroy regions of rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon by
acting as a catalyst for large-scale deforestation.

“ The probability that an area will be deforested


once the land has been selectively logged has


been proven to be 32% within 4 years.
A Sharper Eye in the Sky
Asner is part of the international initiative “Large Scale Biosphere-
The largest remaining tropical
forest in the world, the Amazon
Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia” (LBA), a Brazil-led project that
rainforest is as large as the began in 1997 to study the Amazon Rainforest its deforestation. Selective
continental United States. It logging seemed sustainable compared to the large-scale clear-cutting
is home to nearly 10% of the that resulted from the creation of cattle pastures, the primary reason
world’s mammals and 15% of
the world’s known land-based
for deforestation. However, before Asner and his crew at the Carnegie
plant species. Institution began their research in 1999, there had been no studies
documenting the regional impacts of selective logging on the rainforest.
With their new developments in satellite monitoring technology, Asner’s
team revealed the startling truth about selective logging and its not-so-
Photo Credit: Don Deering, NASA/LBA Project
sustainable implications.

Measuring Deforestation
The use of satellites and aircraft to measure and map the changes in forest canopy, the uppermost layer of branches,
is called remote sensing. This method has been historically used to study changes in the Amazon due to large-scale
deforestation. Asner and his crew have advanced this technology to map out the effects of selective logging in the
Brazilian Amazon. They developed a high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis called the Carnegie Landsat
Analysis System (CLAS). CLAS is capable of detecting finer changes in the forest and was used to quantify the amount
of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon.

62 stanford scientific
ethics
+
policy

the America (PNAS), 22 Aug 2006


Sciences of the United States of
the National Academy of
Credit: Proceedings of
This image depicts the annual logging intensity throughout a four-state region of the Brazilian Amazon. Gray
areas indicate federal conservation lands and indigenous reserves, while the blue areas indicate deforestation.

Selective Logging Leads to Clear-Cutting Future Plans for Research


The results of Asner’s research shows that a large amount Once the Brazilian Amazon study is completed in 12
of selective logging has taken place in the Brazilian Amazon. months, Asner and his crew plan on analyzing the same
Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square kilometers effect of selective logging in Peru, Southeast Asia, and
per year between 1999 and 2002. Even conservation lands parts of Africa. Asner also plans to broaden his focus
suffered from 1,200 square kilometers of logged land per to include biodiversity. His use of “direct biodiversity
year. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that selective mapping” can detect chemicals in the forest canopy to
logging is far from sustainable. “High-damage logging is in determine the biodiversity of specific regions.
fact occurring,” said Asner. From 1999 to 2004, at least 76%
of the more than 2 million square kilometers of the Brazilian and ecosystems found only in the Amazon Rainforest.
Rainforest was harvested, causing enormous damage to the According to Asner, “The Amazon rainforest plays a vital
canopy and leaving forests vulnerable to drought and fire. role in regulating the global climate system.” Approximately
Perhaps the most dramatic finding in this research is the 0.1 billion metric tons of carbon are released into the
close correlation between selective logging and large-scale atmosphere each year from the extraction of 27 million to
deforestation. Because both selective logging and clear- 50 million cubic meters of wood. Trees, whose trunks serve
cutting rely on roads to access the trees, it was expected that as carbon sinks, release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
there would be a correlation between the two. The probability when they are destroyed. This emission contributes greatly
that an area will be deforested once the land has been to the climate system and global warming.
selectively logged was calculated to be 32% within four years. The continued depletion of trees faster than they can
Asner concludes, “Logging that is supported by conservation be replenished also has grave implications for logging
may be unintentionally supporting clear-cutting.” sustainability. In the coming years, humanity may be
How does this happen? The link is not clearly established, suffering a scarcity of wood due to rapid deforestation
but there is a correlation between selective logging and occurring in the heart of the tropics.
clear-cutting, since they occur sequentially in the same
area. One possibility is that roads leading to the areas of Research as a Catalyst for Change
selective logging open up the patch to clear-cutting by So how can we save the rainforest? “Recently, due to
providing easier transportation and access to those trees. the work of many people in Brazil including ourselves,
Another possibility is that the logging may be causing root the Brazilian government has decided to develop forest
damage that negatively affects the surrounding trees and concessions for the Amazon,” Asner states. While this policy
plants. Alternatively, selective loggers may be taking more may seem anti-environmentalist, regulated logging can
trees than they should, or completely ignoring the selective actually help preserve the forest by sequestering logging and
logging laws. clear-cutting to distinct locations, preventing the destruction
of the entire forest. “I believe that Amazonian forests are
A Rainforest Worth Preserving destined for human domination in the coming few decades,”
The effects of deforestation extend beyond the immediate says Asner. “The changes I’ve witnessed in the past 10 years
threat to biodiversity caused by the destruction of habitats alone show that development is extremely rapid. Therefore,
laws that serve to manage the ‘working nature’ of the forest
Photo Credit: Rhett A. Butler / mongabay.com

Massive clear-cutting destroys habitat and increases


are vital to the long-term sustainability of the human
the risk of fire and drought.
enterprise in the Amazon, and to the very existence of the
forest into the future.” S

JULIA GUTH is a sophomore majoring in Earth Systems, with a


minor in Economics. She enjoys reading the newspaper, watching
documentaries, and playing softball.
To Learn More
Visit the Laboratory for Regional Ecological Studies website
of Dr. Greg Asner at http://asnerlab.stanford.edu

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