Upward expansion and acceleration of forest clearance in the mountains of Southeast Asia

Feng，Yu1,2; Ziegler，Alan D.3; Elsen，Paul R.4; Liu，Yang1; He，Xinyue1,5; Spracklen，Dominick V.5; Holden，Joseph6; Jiang，Xin1; Zheng，Chunmiao1; Zeng，Zhenzhong1

2021-10-01

10.1038/s41893-021-00738-y

Nature Sustainability   影响因子和分区

2398-9629

Southeast Asia contains about half of all tropical mountain forests, which are rich in biodiversity and carbon stocks, yet there is debate as to whether regional mountain forest cover has increased or decreased in recent decades. Here, our analysis of high-resolution satellite datasets reveals increasing mountain forest loss across Southeast Asia. Total mean annual forest loss was 3.22 Mha yr during 2001–2019, with 31% occurring on the mountains. In the 2010s, the frontier of forest loss moved to higher elevations (15.1 ± 3.8 m yr during 2011–2019, P < 0.01) and steeper slopes (0.22 ± 0.05° yr during 2009–2019, P < 0.01) that have high forest carbon density relative to the lowlands. These shifts led to unprecedented annual forest carbon loss of 424 Tg C yr, accelerating at a rate of 18 ± 4 Tg C yr (P < 0.01) from 2001 to 2019. Our results underscore the immediate threat of carbon stock losses associated with accelerating forest clearance in Southeast Asian mountains, which jeopardizes international climate agreements and biodiversity conservation.

SCI ; SSCI ; EI

英语

第一 ; 通讯

WOS:000667579200002

20212710585457

Biodiversity ; Carbon ; Conservation ; Landforms

Environmental Engineering:454 ; Geology:481.1 ; Chemical Products Generally:804

2-s2.0-85115845284

Scopus

1.State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water–Groundwater Pollution Control,School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,China
2.Department of Civil Engineering,The University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong
3.Faculty of Fisheries Technology and Aquatic Resources,Mae Jo University,Chiang Mai,Thailand
4.Wildlife Conservation Society,Global Conservation Program,Bronx,United States
5.School of Earth and Environment,University of Leeds,Leeds,United Kingdom
6.School of Geography,University of Leeds,Leeds,United Kingdom

Feng，Yu,Ziegler，Alan D.,Elsen，Paul R.,et al. Upward expansion and acceleration of forest clearance in the mountains of Southeast Asia[J]. Nature Sustainability,2021,4(10):892-899.

Feng，Yu.,Ziegler，Alan D..,Elsen，Paul R..,Liu，Yang.,He，Xinyue.,...&Zeng，Zhenzhong.(2021).Upward expansion and acceleration of forest clearance in the mountains of Southeast Asia.Nature Sustainability,4(10),892-899.

Feng，Yu,et al."Upward expansion and acceleration of forest clearance in the mountains of Southeast Asia".Nature Sustainability 4.10(2021):892-899.