文章基本信息

标题：Near-complete loss of fire-resistant primary tropical forest cover in Sumatra and Kalimantan
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作者：Tadas Nikonovas ; Allan Spessa ; Stefan H. Doerr 等
期刊名称：Communications Earth & Environment
电子版ISSN：2662-4435
出版年度：2020
卷号：1
期号：1
页码：1-8
DOI：10.1038/s43247-020-00069-4
语种：English
出版社：Nature Research
摘要：Deforestation in Indonesia in recent decades has made increasingly large parts of the region vulnerable to fires. Burning is particularly widespread in deforested peatlands, and it leads to globally significant carbon emissions. Here we use satellite-based observations to assess loss and fragmentation of primary forests and associated changes in fire regimes in Sumatra and Kalimantan between 2001 and 2019. We find that fires did not penetrate undisturbed primary forest areas deeper than two kilometres from the forest edge irrespective of drought conditions. However, fire-resistant forest now covers only 3% of peatlands and 4.5% of non-peatlands; the majority of the remaining primary forests are severely fragmented or degraded due to proximity to the forest edge. We conclude that protection and regeneration of the remaining blocks of contiguous primary forest, as well as peatland restoration, are urgently needed to mitigate the impacts of potentially more frequent fire events under future global warming. Loss and fragmentation of contiguous tracts of primary forest enhances the susceptibility of tropical peatland and forest to fires triggered by frequent droughts, according to satellite-based remote sensing of Sumatra and Kalimantan from the past two decades.