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"Amazon forest"
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Life in a tropical rain forest
\"Simple text and full-color photography introduce beginning readers to life in a tropical rain forest. Developed by literacy experts for students in kindergarten through third grade\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Cultural Forests of the Amazon
Cultural Forests of the Amazon is a comprehensive and diverse account of how indigenous people transformed landscapes and managed resources in the most extensive region of tropical forests in the world. Until recently, most scholars and scientists, as well as the general public, thought indigenous people had a minimal impact on Amazon forests, once considered to be total wildernesses. William Balée’s research, conducted over a span of three decades, shows a more complicated truth. In Cultural Forests of the Amazon , he argues that indigenous people, past and present, have time and time again profoundly transformed nature into culture. Moreover, they have done so using their traditional knowledge and technology developed over thousands of years. Balée demonstrates the inestimable value of indigenous knowledge in providing guideposts for a potentially less destructive future for environments and biota in the Amazon. He shows that we can no longer think about species and landscape diversity in any tropical forest without taking into account the intricacies of human history and the impact of all forms of knowledge and technology. Balée describes the development of his historical ecology approach in Amazonia, along with important material on little-known forest dwellers and their habitats, current thinking in Amazonian historical ecology, and a narrative of his own dialogue with the Amazon and its people.
eBook
Assessment of the risk of Amazon dieback
The Amazon basin is a key component of the global carbon cycle. The old-growth rainforests in the basin represent storage of ~ 120 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) in their biomass. Annually, these tropical forests process approximately 18 Pg C through respiration and photosynthesis. This is more than twice the rate of global anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions. The basin is also the largest global repository of biodiversity and produces about 20 percent of the world's flow of fresh water into the oceans. Despite the large carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux from recent deforestation, the Amazon rainforest ecosystem is still considered to be a net carbon sinks of 0.8-1.1 Pg C per year because growth on average exceeds mortality (Phillips et al. 2008). However, current climate trends and human-induced deforestation may be transforming forest structure and behavior (Phillips et al. 2009). Increasing temperatures may accelerate respiration rates and thus carbon emissions from soils (Malhi and Grace 2000). High probabilities for modification in rainfall patterns (Malhi et al. 2008) and prolonged drought stress may lead to reductions in biomass density. Resulting changes in evapo-transpiration and therefore convective precipitation could further accelerate drought conditions and destabilize the tropical ecosystem as a whole, causing a reduction in its biomass carrying capacity or dieback. In turn, changes in the structure of the Amazon and its associated water cycle will have implications for the many endemic species it contains and result in changes at a continental scale. Clearly, with much at stake, if climate-induced damage alters the state of the Amazon ecosystem, there is a need to better understand its risk, process, and dynamics. The objective of this study is to assist in understanding the risk, process, and dynamics of potential Amazon dieback and its implications.
eBook
Life in the Amazon rainforest
\"Welcome to the largest rainforest in the world, a vast wonder just waiting for you to explore. Follow along as pink dolphins dart through the flooded river, vampire bats swoop down from the trees, and giant green anacondas slowly slither across the forest floor. This humongous habitat is home to millions of plants, animals, and people. But large as it may be, the Amazon Rainforest is in danger--and shrinking fast. Learn more about this amazing place and discover what you can do to help save the rainforest!\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Children of the Rainforest
Children of the Rainforest explores the lives of children growing up in a time of radical change in Amazonia.The book draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with the Matses, a group of hunter-gatherer forest dwellers who have lived in voluntary isolation until fairly recently.
eBook
Let it rain : exploring the Amazon rain forest
\"The Amazon Rain Forest is home to tree-strangling vines, poison frogs and killer dolphins. And if it were its own country, it would be the ninth largest in the world! Imagine that! Readers will explore the dangers of the rainforest and discover scientific mysteries along the way.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Bytes and boots to understand the future of the Amazon forest
This article is a Commentary on Longo et al., 219: 914–931.
Journal Article
Evaluating SAR-optical sensor fusion for aboveground biomass estimation in a Brazilian tropical forest
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the potential of C-band SAR data from the Sentinel-1/2 instruments and machine learning algorithms for the estimation of forest above ground forest biomass (AGB) in a high-biomass tropical ecosystem. This study was carried out in Jamari National Forest, located in the Brazilian Amazon. The response variable was AGB (Mg/ha) estimated from airborne laser surveys. The following treatments were considered as model predictors: 1) Sentinel-1 Sigma 0 at VV and VH polarizations; 2) (1) plus Sentinel-1 textural metrics; 3) (2) plus Sentinel-2 bands and derived vegetation indices (LAI, RVI, SAVI, NDVI).Our modeling design estimated the relative importance of SAR vs. optical variables in explaining AGB. The modeling was performed with twelve machine-learning algorithms including, neural network and regression tree. The addition of texture and optical data provided a noticeable improvement (3%) over models with SAR backscatter only. The best model performance was achieved with the Random Tree algorithm. Our results demonstrate the potential of freely-available SAR data and machine learning for mapping AGB in tropical ecosystems.
Journal Article