Edu365.cat

The deforestation of the Amazon is increasing at twice the rate one previously thought. This is the main conclusion of a study on the Amazon rainforest of Brazil (roughly half of the total), conducted by Brazilian scientists and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, in collaboration with NASA.

According to this research, recently published in the prestigious Science magazine, for the last few decades the forested surface area of the Amazon basin has been reduced by selective logging, which consists of cutting down the trunks of certain trees for commercialisation; a clandestine practice that goes unnoticed by the systems that detect deforested areas (which only pick up vast areas used for agriculture and grazing). But a new high definition satellite imaging technique has now allowed this to be discovered.

The research concludes that between the years 1999 and 2002, selective logging drastically increased the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon region: at least 60 % more than one believed to be the case.

Researchers believe that this hidden practice negatively affects the flora and fauna of the area, as well as increases erosion and the risk of fire. Moreover, each year it increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 25%.