Summary Of Carving Up The Amazon
In her article "Carving up the Amazon" (Nature 3/22/2014), Barbara Fraser descripes the effects of road construction and deforestation in the Amazon and on a global scale.
Fraser states that rainforest destruction began in the 1970s. Since then, the road network has extended year by year. The forest must be cut down and the roads offer a way to penetrate the forest and destroy large parts of it. This causes changes in the remaining forest.
One of the consequences of the construction of roads is a fragmentation of the forest. Because of it increasingly wider area is prone to drying out. The forest growing on the borders of open patches has a weaker ability to capture and storage carbon dioxide, compared to the unbroken parts of the forest.
Fraser states that rainforest destruction began in the 1970s. Since then, the road network has extended year by year. The forest must be cut down and the roads offer a way to penetrate the forest and destroy large parts of it. This causes changes in the remaining forest.
One of the consequences of the construction of roads is a fragmentation of the forest. Because of it increasingly wider area is prone to drying out. The forest growing on the borders of open patches has a weaker ability to capture and storage carbon dioxide, compared to the unbroken parts of the forest.