Future of oil and gas development in the western Amazon

The western Amazon is one of the world's last high-biodiversity wilderness areas, characterized by extraordinary species richness and large tracts of roadless humid tropical forest. It is also home to an active hydrocarbon (oil and gas) sector, characterized by operations in extremely remote areas that require new access routes. Here, we present the first integrated analysis of the hydrocarbon sector and its associated road-building in the western Amazon. Specifically, we document the (a) current panorama, including location and development status of all oil and gas discoveries, of the sector, and (b) current and future scenario of access (i.e. access road versus roadless access) to discoveries. We present an updated 2014 western Amazon hydrocarbon map illustrating that oil and gas blocks now cover 733 414 km(2), an area much larger than the US state of Texas, and have been expanding since the last assessment in 2008. In terms of access, we documented 11 examples of the access road model and six examples of roadless access across the region. Finally, we documented 35 confirmed and/or suspected untapped hydrocarbon discoveries across the western Amazon. In the Discussion, we argue that if these reserves must be developed, use of the offshore inland model-a method that strategically avoids the construction of access roads-is crucial to minimizing ecological impacts in one of the most globally important conservation regions

Storm intensity and old-growth forest disturbances in the Amazon region

We analyzed the pattern of large forest disturbances or blow-downs apparently caused by severe storms in a mostly unmanaged portion of the Brazilian Amazon using 27 Landsat images and daily precipitation estimates from NOAA satellite data. For each Landsat a spectral mixture analysis (SMA) was applied. Based on SMA, we detected and mapped 279 patches (from 5 ha to 2,223 ha) characteristic of blow-downs. A total of 21,931 ha of forest were disturbed. We found a strong correlation between occurrence of blow-downs and frequency of heavy rainfall (Spearman\u27s rank, r2 = 0.84, p \u3c 0.0003). The recurrence intervals of large disturbances were estimated to be 90,000 yr for the eastern Amazon and 27,000 yr for the western Amazon. This suggests that weather patterns affect the frequency of large forest disturbances that may produce different rates of forest turnover in the eastern and western Amazon basin

Mineralogy of soils with unusually high exchangeable Al from the western Amazon region.

Some soils from the western Amazon region contain KCl-extractable Al contents 5 to 10 times greater than is typical for highly weathered soils containing predominantly kaolinite and gibbsite. We studied a soil sequence from the Brazilian western Amazon consisting of two Typic Udifluvents on the levee of the Javari River, onde Aeric Endoaquent in the backswamp, and two Typic Hapludults on an adjacent terrace

North Tropical Atlantic influence on western Amazon fire season variability

The prevailing wet climate in the western Amazon is not favorable to the natural occurrence of fires. Nevertheless, the current process of clearing of humid forests for agriculture and cattle ranching has increased the vulnerability of the region to the spread of fires. Using meteorological stations precipitation and the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Active-Fires (AF) during 2000-2009, we show that fire anomalies vary closely with July-August-September (JAS) precipitation variability as measured by the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The precipitation variability is, in turn, greatly determined by sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA). We develop a linear regression model to relate local fire activity to an index of the NTA-SST. By using seasonal forecasts of SST from a coupled model, we are able to predict anomalous JAS fire activity as early as April. We applied the method to predict the severe 2010 JAS season, which indicated strongly positive seasonal fire anomalies within the 95% prediction confidence intervals in most western Amazon. The spatial distribution of predicted SPI was also in accordance with observed precipitation anomalies. This three months lead time precipitation and fire prediction product in the western Amazon could help local decision makers to establish an early warning systems or other appropriate course of action before the fire season begins

Available phosphorus and potassium status of soils of Amazonas State.

With the objective of presenting more substantial data, results from 3,340 soil samples collected during the past 30 years were compiled by the Laboratory of Soil Fertility of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Enterprise (Embrapa Western Amazon (Manaus)

Seasonal variability in methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from tropical peatlands in the western Amazon basin

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Increasing biomass in Amazonian forest plots

A previous study by Phillips et al. of changes in the biomass of permanent sample plots in Amazonian forests was used to infer the presence of a regional carbon sink. However, these results generated a vigorous debate about sampling and methodological issues. Therefore we present a new analysis of biomass change in old-growth Amazonian forest plots using updated inventory data. We find that across 59 sites, the above-ground dry biomass in trees that are more than 10 cm in diameter (AGB) has increased since plot establishment by 1.22 ± 0.43 Mg per hectare per year (ha-1 yr-1), where 1 ha = 104 m2), or 0.98 ± 0.38 Mg ha-1 yr-1 if individual plot values are weighted by the number of hectare years of monitoring. This significant increase is neither confounded by spatial or temporal variation in wood specific gravity, nor dependent on the allometric equation used to estimate AGB. The conclusion is also robust to uncertainty about diameter measurements for problematic trees: for 34 plots in western Amazon forests a significant increase in AGB is found even with a conservative assumption of zero growth for all trees where diameter measurements were made using optical methods and/or growth rates needed to be estimated following fieldwork. Overall, our results suggest a slightly greater rate of net stand-level change than was reported by Phillips et al. Considering the spatial and temporal scale of sampling and associated studies showing increases in forest growth and stem turnover, the results presented here suggest that the total biomass of these plots has on average increased and that there has been a regional-scale carbon sink in old-growth Amazonian forests during the previous two decades

Participatory GIS in Mapping Ecosystem Services: Two Case Studies from High-Biodiversity Regions in Italy and Peru

Assessing ecosystem services (ES) and mapping their values are of paramount importance. Here we present two case studies where the participatory mapping of social values of landscape ecosystem services is used in territories with high levels of cultural and biological diversity (Adamello Brenta Natural Park in Italy and the Alto Mayo basin in the Western Amazon, Peru). A mixed-method approach combining social geography fieldwork (participatory mapping) and desk work (GIS analyses) is adopted to improve ES mapping by including multiple actors and to increase awareness. Mapping ecosystem services is not just a technical task; it also highlights social implications of the cartographic process, a key issue in human geography. By taking into account the controversial and multiple roles of maps, and by involving actors in attributing values and mapping their spatial relations to landscape and ES, it is possible to enrich technical knowledge with local knowledge

Social Innovation by Tourism Strategy in the Western Amazon

This work concerns the strategies of social innovation focused on the concept of inbound tourism and hospitality in Rondônia State, Brazil. The general objective is to study the main strategies for qualifying as a tourist attraction. The specific objectives are to: point out the strategic elements to (1) qualify the facilities for inbound tourism and hospitality in the scenario;(2)examine the perspective on the implementation of the strategic elements in practice; and (3)indicate the elements of social innovation in support of the strategy of qualification to the concepts of inbound tourism and hospitality. This study is supported by the Theory of Planned Behaviour and concepts of inbound tourism, hospitality, creativity and innovation. It adopts the method of a case study which is both qualitative and quantitative in nature. As part of the methodological procedure, workshops were held for 28 stakeholders in Rondônia’s tourism, during which questionnaire data were collected from answers using the Likert Scale, participant observation was conducted and documents were analysed to enable the causal relationship to be critically assessed. A SWOT matrix was imposed upon the survey report. The tourist potential in the scenario has consequently been acknowledged, together with a need for the strategic planning of its attributes; valid elements for social innovation which use qualifying strategies for inbound tourism and hospitality are indicated; Possible public-private partnerships with the third sector and society could together create an ideal form of intervention. This study is of interest to both the public and the private sector, to academia and the community. It can contribute suggestions for the planning and management required for tourism to develop as well as outline strategies for social innovation