The Relevance of Maintaining Standing Forests for Global Climate Balance: A Case Study in Brazilian Forests

Abstract

Estimate Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) is important to better understand carbon exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Comprehend these dynamics is essential to better understand the responses of environments to ongoing climatic changes. This study aims to analyze, with AMERIFLUX and LBA network measurements, the variability of NEE and climate variables in four different tropical coverages: Pantanal, Amazonia, Caatinga and Cerrado (savanna). Furthermore, was estimate the Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). We found a distinct seasonality of meteorological variables and CO2 fluxes in each site. Despite acting mostly as a CO2 sink, some environments already show worrying source data in certain periods, pointed out as a direct effect of the reduction of photosynthesis caused by land use changes. The preserved forest plays an important role in maintaining rainfall at a regional and global level, and its maintenance makes it possible, by the way, an important tool in combating global warming via carbon sequestration by trees, which requires commitment and public policies of environmental preservation and recovery of degraded areas.