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Anthropogenic Landscape Changes and the Dynamics of Amazonian Forest Biomass
Project Start Date
01/01/1998
Project End Date
01/01/2001
Project Call Name
Solicitation
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Team Members:

Person Name Person role on project Affiliation
William Laurance Principal Investigator National Institute for Research in the Amazon, Manaus, Brazil
Rita Mesquita Co-Investigator
Mark Cochrane Collaborator University of Maryland, Cambridge, United States
Abstract

To develop a predictive model of carbon stock and their dynamics for the Amazonian forest • Collaborative research effort between Brazil’s National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and the Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian. • Use Landsat TM images of central Amazonia to classify landscape • Combination of field studies and computer modeling to estimate biomass of above ground biomass • Land-use history after forest clearing has deterministic effect on forest regeneration trajectory • Herbivores have strong negative impact on regeneration of degraded lands • Logging strategies in second growth forests enhance survival of commercially important trees • Provides baseline data for developing carbon trading with Annex 1 countries as suggested in Kyoto protocol