Sparing of Amazonian old-growth forests with floodplain access

Oliver T. Coomes (), Yoshito Takasaki and Christian Abizaid
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Oliver T. Coomes: McGill University
Christian Abizaid: University of Toronto

Nature Sustainability, 2022, vol. 5, issue 11, 965-972

Abstract: Abstract As pressure builds on old-growth terra firme rain forests of Amazonia for conversion to cropland and pasture, the search intensifies for more sustainable pathways for agricultural development that spare upland forests. The floodplains or várzea of the basin hold promise for both. We report on an empirical test of the hypothesis that access to floodplain resources may spare upland old-growth forests. We assessed forest cover disturbance using high-resolution satellite imagery and characterized resource use on the basis of data from large-scale community and household surveys (n = 275 communities and 1,245 households) along 725 km of two major rivers in the Peruvian Amazon. Results of our analyses of the extent of forest disturbance around communities (community ‘footprint’), household land holding and land accumulation patterns, income portfolios and responses to a flood shock provide compelling evidence to support the forest sparing idea. Access to floodplain soils for agriculture reduces pressure on upland old-growth forests by sparing them from being cleared around riverine Indigenous and traditional folk communities.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00952-2

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