Natural Regeneration in the Amazon Rainforest Impacted by Selective Logging and Forest Fires

Selective logging (SL) and forest fires cause disturbances in the forest canopy and are the main vectors of forest degradation in the Amazon. These processes, in conjunction with adjacent disturbances such as falling trees, the use of heavy machinery in SL operations impacting the soil and mortality in the understory, are enhanced by the passage of fire, triggering a series of local dynamics, among them natural regeneration. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of natural regeneration of vegetation in a dense Amazonian forest impacted by SL and understory fire. We used images from the Landsat-8 (30 November 2015) and 9 (27 October 2023), Sentinel-2 (27 October 2023) and PlanetScope (4 January 2024 and 25 January 2024) satellites. Between 2015 and early 2024, the natural regeneration area increased by a weighted average of 252.3% in SL areas with fire. The results indicate that the highest severity levels of understory fire (strong and very strong) affect the trajectory of natural regeneration originating from SL in the Amazon. The net loss of biomass and carbon stocks from these degradation processes is substantial and indicates the need for changes in government policies to restrict logging and prevent forest fires.