In the run-up to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), experts participating in a webinar hosted by FAPESP showed that the 2020 revision of Brazil’s nationally determined contribution failed to improve targets and allows in practice for a higher level of greenhouse gas emissions.
The phenomenon is linked to gradual contraction of the tropical rain belt over the last 5,000 years, according to a study conducted at the University of São Paulo. Its findings can help predict the region’s future climate.
Fewer Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab embryos survived in a warmer, more acid environment mimicking conditions forecast for the end of this century. Given the important ecological role of this invertebrate in mangroves, the researchers warn of a potential cascade effect.
Cities located in metropolitan areas of this Brazilian state score better according to an index that measures the existence of public policies designed to adjust critical sectors to the impacts of climate change.
Illegal logging to clear land for cattle grazing has fueled growth in Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to participants in a webinar on the prospects for COP26 hosted by FAPESP.
The study was conducted in a Brazilian national park and was based on analysis of tree rings in the species Amburana cearensis, as well as satellite images.
The study shows that the 2019-20 drought resulted from a natural meteorological phenomenon similar to the one that caused the 2014-16 critical water shortage in São Paulo state, Southeast Brazil.
Researchers analyzed the effects of wildfires on plant cover and soil quality in the last 40 years. The findings of the study show that the forest is highly vulnerable even in well-conserved areas far from the ‘deforestation arc’.
Butterflies are considered a key biological indicator of trends in the biome. The study quantified the contributions of landscape and climate variables to current species distribution patterns.
The researchers concluded that water stress, soil fertility and human-induced forest degradation cause gaps in the world’s largest tropical forest.
Agricultural residues already produce 25% of the electricity used by households in the state. The proportion could jump to 70%, according to researchers who took part in an online seminar on the topic.
With FAPESP’s support, PangeiaBiotech develops genetically modified varieties of sugarcane that are protected against attacking insects and glyphosate-tolerant.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo estimated biodiversity and biomass losses in the biome using data from 1,819 forest inventories. In terms of carbon storage, the losses correspond to the destruction of 70,000 km² of forest, representing some USD 2.6 billion in carbon credits.
Researchers who studied riverine insect communities in the Atlantic Rainforest and Finland’s boreal forests discovered that random events are more frequent in Brazil.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo conducted field experiments to estimate the impact of drought and rising temperatures on soil quality and plant health.
The IEA aims to help countries move the bioenergy agenda forward by identifying bottlenecks, recommending solutions and sharing best practices. The initiative was presented during a conference organized by BIOEN, FAPESP’s bioenergy research program.
The estimate comes from a research project supported by FAPESP to produce scientific input for implementation of Brazil’s new forest code in the state.
Study by Brazilian researchers reported in Nature Communications shows that trees are growing faster in forests worldwide, including the Amazon, but their lives are getting shorter.
An article in Science Advances shows high school students are steadily becoming more sensitive to environmental and scientific ideas. However, interest is uneven in regional terms. It is most intense in the North, less so in the Southeast.
A cross-border team of researchers refute arguments that carbon debt, opportunity cost and indirect land-use change prevent greenhouse gas mitigation by biofuels.
Incentives to drive a rapid recovery by the sector, one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, will contribute to a resumption of world economic growth, save or create millions of jobs, and contain global emissions of carbon dioxide, experts say.
A study quantified the size and age of the forests that grow naturally in degraded and abandoned areas, creating 131 benchmark maps for Brazil. The Amazon has the most restored forests and the Atlantic Rainforest biome has the oldest.
Researchers from six countries in the Americas explored bromeliad microcosms, showing how drought and flood affect the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, especially at the bottom of the food chain.
Analysis published in Scientific Reports is based on climate models for the mid-Pliocene period, which occurred 3 million years ago and shared characteristics with present-day warming.
