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The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of...

Date post: 13-Jan-2016
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The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.
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Page 1: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus,

Brazil.

Page 2: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Backwaters of Amazon River, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Page 3: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Entering a tributary of the Amazon River, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Page 4: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.
Page 5: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Rivers provide the primary travel corridors in Amazon country.

Page 6: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.
Page 7: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Evidence of shifting cultivators is not hard to find.

Page 8: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.
Page 9: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

The following photos were taken from a small plane in the area just south of Belem, Brazil.

Page 10: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

The forest spreads like a blanket from horizon to horizon.

Page 11: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Gaps in the forest cover resulting from agricultural conversion are scattered across the landscape.

Page 12: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Large areas like this, sometimes identified as due to commercial logging activity, are instead the result of

clearing to create pastureland for cattle ranching.

Page 13: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Logging clearly impacts the forest, but rarely leaves the land cleared of tree cover.

Logging clearly impacts the forest, but rarely leaves the land cleared of tree cover.

This is because few species have value in domestic and export markets.

This is because few species have value in domestic and export markets.

Page 14: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

A large tree was removed from this location in the eastern Amazon Basin leaving a hole in the forest canopy.

Page 15: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Other smaller trees are also often damaged during the harvesting process.

Page 16: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

After felling, logs are moved to log landings for loading onto trucks. This is called skidding.

After felling, logs are moved to log landings for loading onto trucks. This is called skidding.

Page 17: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Skidding sometimes results in exposure of mineral soil.

Skidding sometimes results in exposure of mineral soil.

Page 18: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

More modern skidding practices result in far less impact on the forest floor.

Page 19: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

At the landing logs are loaded on trucks for movement from the forest.

Page 20: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.
Page 21: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Impacts to the forest result from building of access roads, skid trails, and log landings, and from felling of trees.

Page 22: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Immediately following the completion of traditional logging, impacts are clearly visible. Even then, the area looks nothing like the cattle ranch shown earlier. The

open areas are soon occupied by shrubs, grasses, and tree seedlings.

Page 23: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

A stand in the Brazilian Amazon that has been harvested

using low impact logging techniques. Note the log landing. A stand in the Brazilian Amazon that has been harvested

using low impact logging techniques. Note the log landing.

Page 24: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

The same site from higher altitude. Can you find the logging road?

The same site from higher altitude. Can you find the logging road?

Page 25: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

One concern about logging in forests, and in tropical forests in particular, is that the forest will

be undesirably simplified.

If harvesting is done selectively, this is less a concern than otherwise.

Page 26: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

In fact, although conventional wisdom says that almost any of activity of mankind in tropical forests tends to destroy them,

there is growing evidence that it is possible to sustainably manage tropical

forests, even when management includes periodic timber harvesting.

In fact, although conventional wisdom says that almost any of activity of mankind in tropical forests tends to destroy them,

there is growing evidence that it is possible to sustainably manage tropical

forests, even when management includes periodic timber harvesting.

Page 27: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Summary

• Tropical forests are under a great deal of pressure from:– population growth.– expansion of permanent and shifting

agriculture.– expansion of urban areas, highways,

and other development.– timber harvesting.– fuelwood gathering.

Page 28: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Summary (Cont.)• Expansion of permanent and shifting

agriculture is by far the leading cause of tropical forest loss worldwide.

• Commercial logging is a relatively minor factor in tropical forest loss overall.– clearcutting is rare in logging of tropical

forests due to the large number of noncommercial species.

– logging can damage trees not removed in harvesting, and the road network created can increase the likelihood of settlement by shifting cultivators.

Page 29: The next 10 photos were taken on the Amazon River, and a tributary of the Amazon, just east of Manaus, Brazil.

Summary (Cont.)

• It appears to be possible to sustainably manage tropical forests if other problems related to periodic harvest (i.e. occupation by squatters or shifting cultivators) can be solved.


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