Tropical forests accumulate large quantities of carbon in both vegetation and in the soil, where carbon is constantly added through the decomposition of organic material, such as leaves and woody biomass. Forest loss and fragmentation release large amounts of this carbon stock to the atmosphere, contributing to ongoing greenhouse gas accumulation and global climate change. In tropical regions, the conversion of forested regions into cattle pastures and tree plantations often represents the dominant source of CO2 emission, representing a severe ecological, social and economic challenge. This project seeks to understand how forest loss and fragmentation influence carbon stocks, in order to provide finer-grained information on the implications of land-use change for CO2 emission to better understand the capacity for reconciliation and trade-offs between economic development and forest conservation needs.

* Pictures have links to detailed descriptions of sub-projects.

Francisco Carvalho

Isabella Romitelli

Karine Costa

Jean Paul Metzger

Simone Vieira