Climate benefits of Amazon secondary forests—recent advances and research needs

Abstract A quarter of the deforested Amazon has regrown as secondary tropical forest and yet the climatic importance of these complex regenerating landscapes is only beginning to be recognised. Advances in satellite remote-sensing have transformed our ability to detect and map changes in forest cover, while detailed ground-based measurements from permanent monitoring plots and eddy-covariance flux towers are providing new insights into the role of secondary forests in the climate system. This review summarises how progress in data availability on Amazonian secondary forests has led to better understanding of their influence on global, regional and local climate through carbon and non-carbon climate benefits. We discuss the climate implications of secondary forest disturbance and the progress in representing forest regrowth in climate models. Much remains to be learned about how secondary forests function and interact with climate, how these processes change with forest age, and the resilience of secondary forest ecosystems faced with increasing anthropogenic disturbance. Secondary forests face numerous threats: half of secondary forests in the Brazilian legal Amazon were 11 years old or younger in 2023. On average, 1%–2% of Amazon secondary forests burn each year, threatening the permanence of sequestered carbon. The forests that burn are predominantly young (in 2023, 55% of burned secondary forests were <6 years old, <4% were over 30 years old). In the context of legally binding international climate treaties and a rapidly changing political backdrop, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of encouraging tropical forest restoration to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. Amazon secondary forests could make a valuable contribution to Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution provided there are robust systems in place to ensure permanence. We consider how to improve communication between scientists and decision-makers and identify pressing areas of future research.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Research Letters
Published
2025-02-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb984
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.42

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article

Climate benefits of Amazon secondary forests—recent advances and research needs

Jos Barlow, Rita von Randow, Viola Heinrich, Liana O. Anderson et al.
4 citations
Environmental Research Letters
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
4.42
article

Climate benefits of Amazon secondary forests—recent advances and research needs

Jos Barlow, Rita von Randow, Viola Heinrich, Liana O. Anderson, Marcos Adami, Callum Smith, Arthur Argles, Henrique Cassol, Stephen A. Sitch, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Jessica C. A. Baker, Celso H. L. Silva, Luis Waldyr Rodrigues Sadeck, Dominick V. Spracklen, Celso von Randow, Fernando Elias, Joice Ferreira
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Abstract A quarter of the deforested Amazon has regrown as secondary tropical forest and yet the climatic importance of these complex regenerating landscapes is only beginning to be recognised. Advances in satellite remote-sensing have transformed our ability to detect and map changes in forest cover, while detailed ground-based measurements from permanent monitoring plots and eddy-covariance flux towers are providing new insights into the role of secondary forests in the climate system. This review summarises how progress in data availability on Amazonian secondary forests has led to better understanding of their influence on global, regional and local climate through carbon and non-carbon climate benefits. We discuss the climate implications of secondary forest disturbance and the progress in representing forest regrowth in climate models. Much remains to be learned about how secondary forests function and interact with climate, how these processes change with forest age, and the resilience of secondary forest ecosystems faced with increasing anthropogenic disturbance. Secondary forests face numerous threats: half of secondary forests in the Brazilian legal Amazon were 11 years old or younger in 2023. On average, 1%–2% of Amazon secondary forests burn each year, threatening the permanence of sequestered carbon. The forests that burn are predominantly young (in 2023, 55% of burned secondary forests were <6 years old, <4% were over 30 years old). In the context of legally binding international climate treaties and a rapidly changing political backdrop, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of encouraging tropical forest restoration to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. Amazon secondary forests could make a valuable contribution to Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution provided there are robust systems in place to ensure permanence. We consider how to improve communication between scientists and decision-makers and identify pressing areas of future research.

Environmental Research LettersVol. 20(4)
Met Office (GB), University of Leeds (GB), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR), University of Exeter (GB), Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (BR), São Paulo State Technological College (BR), University of Bristol (GB), Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais (BR), Amazon Research Foundation (BR), Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (BR), Hospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo (BR), GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (DE), Campbell Collaboration (NO), Universidade Federal do Maranhão (BR), Universidade Federal do Pará (BR), Lancaster University (GB), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR)
Newton Fund, UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, Met Office, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Amazônia Paraense de Amparo à Pesquisa, Instituto Serrapilheira, Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology, H2020 European Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
4.42
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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