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Cited by 32Fire effects on ecosystemsConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementForest Management and Policy

Intensification of fire regimes and forest loss in the Território Indígena do Xingu

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Silvério, Divino V, Oliveira, Robson Santana, Flores, Bernardo Monteiro, Brando, Paulo M, Almada, Hellen Kezia, Furtado, Marco Túlio, Moreira, Fabio Garcia, Heckenberger, Michael +2 more·2022·Environmental Research Letters
DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/ac5713
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Abstract

The contemporary fire regime of southern Amazonian forests has been dominated by interactions between droughts and sources of fire ignition associated with deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture. Until recently, wildfires have been concentrated mostly on private properties, with protected areas functioning as large-scale firebreaks along the Amazon’s agricultural frontier. However, as the climate changes, protected forests have become increasingly flammable. Here, we have quantified forest degradation in the Território Indígena do Xingu (TIX), an iconic area of 2.8 million hectares where over 6000 people from 16 different ethnic Indigenous groups live across 100 villages. Our main hypothesis was that forest degradation, defined here as areas with lower canopy cover, inside the TIX is increasing due to pervasive sources of fire ignition, more frequent extreme drought events, and changing slash-and-burn agricultural practices. Between 2001 and 2020, nearly 189 000 hectares (∼7%) of the TIX became degraded by recurrent drought and fire events that were the main factors driving forest degradation, particularly in seasonally flooded forests. After three fire events, the probability of forest loss was higher in seasonally flooded areas (63%) compared to upland areas (41%). Given the same fire frequency, areas that have not suffered with extreme droughts showed a 24% lower probability of forest loss compared to areas that experienced three drought events. Distance from villages and human density also had a marked effect on forest cover loss, which was generally higher in areas close to the largest villages. In one of the most culturally diverse Indigenous lands of the Amazon, in a landscape highly threatened by deforestation, our findings demonstrate that climate change may have already exceeded the conditions to which the system has adapted.

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  • Estimates from the southern Amazon indicate that 5−6% of the landscape has already shifted into degraded open-canopy ecosystems due to deforestation and fires.

    “Estimates from the southern Amazon indicate that 5−6% of the landscape has already shifted into degraded open-canopy ecosystems due to deforestation and fires45,96.”

    From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Results report forest-cover loss in the Território Indígena do Xingu, with fire the most important predictor, and the Abstract describes degradation as reduced canopy cover. But the paper estimates approximately 7% for this specific territory, not 5–6% of the southern Amazon landscape. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In bistable regions of the Amazon forest with annual rainfall below 1,800 mm, shifts to degraded open-canopy ecosystems are relatively common after repeated disturbances by fire.

    “In bistable regions of the Amazon forest with annual rainfall below 1,800 mm (Extended Data Fig. 1b), shifts to degraded open-canopy ecosystems are relatively common after repeated disturbances by fire45,96.”

    From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that, after three consecutive fires, over half of the forests studied in the Território Indígena do Xingu entered a degraded state that could persist for years or decades. This supports the repeated-fire and degradation part of the claim, but the paper does not establish that such shifts are relatively common across Amazonian bistable regions. The 1,800 mm rainfall boundary is attributed in the citing sentence to its own Extended Data figure, not specifically to this source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • New fire regimes are burning larger forest areas, emitting more carbon to the atmosphere and forcing IPLCs to readapt.

    “As a result, new fire regimes are burning larger forest areas43, emitting more carbon to the atmosphere44 and forcing IPLCs to readapt45.”

    From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [45]

  • Although these ecosystem transitions have been confirmed only in the Negro river basin, floodplain forests in other parts of the Amazon were shown to be particularly vulnerable to collapse.

    “Although these ecosystem transitions have been confirmed only in the Negro river basin (central Amazon), floodplain forests in other parts of the Amazon were shown to be particularly vulnerable to collapse45,64,65.”

    From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [45]

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Authors
Silvério, D. V., Oliveira, R. S., Flores, B. M., Brando, P. M., Almada, H. K., Furtado, M. T., Moreira, F. G., Heckenberger, M., Ono, K. Y., & Macedo, M. N.
Affiliations
  • Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR)
  • Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (BR)
  • Fundação Renova (BR)
  • University of Florida (US)
  • Instituto Sócioambiental (BR)
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center (US)
Corresponding author
Silvério, Divino V
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Research Letters
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Published
2022-03-21
Volume
17
Issue
4
Pages
045012
ISSN
1748-9326 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/ac5713
OpenAlex
W4213389811
Cited by
32
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1
FWCI
2.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environmental Research Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (9957)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (442710/2018-6)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Forest Management and Policy
Keywords
forest degradation, forest loss, drought, shifting cultivation, indigenous territories, seasonally flooded forest, human population density, climate change adaptation, Amazon deforestation, forest fires

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