Mongabay.com is considered a leading source of information on tropical forests by some of the world's top ecologists and conservationists. TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Disappearing Opportunities

Forest Fragmentation and Global Warming



According to scientists at Brazil's National Institute for Research in the Amazon, the conversion of rainforest into fragments contributes to global warming. Studies have shown that fragments experience a considerable die-off of trees attributed to drying winds and storms. As the vegetation dies, more carbon is added to the atmosphere. In addition, forest fragments are characterized by "weedier" fast-growing species which store less carbon per volume than longer-lived trees with high density wood. Therefore such fragmented and disturbed forest has a lesser carbon storage capacity than undisturbed primary rainforest. Fragmentation is a problem worldwide as more than two-thirds of the world's remaining forests are fragmented.


Continued: Extinction

Other pages in this section:

Consequences of Deforestation
Erosion
Loss of Renewable Resources
Atmospheric Role
- - - - -
References
References
References
References
References
 Local Climate Regulation
Loss of Species, Disease
Climactic Role
Extinction
- - - - -
Kids version of this section
- Why are rainforests important?
- Climate
- Home to wildlife
- Water cycle
- Erosion control
- Extinction







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Tour: the Amazon
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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2011

"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.