Fate of Floodplain Forests in a Changing Amazon
摘要
The Amazon basin is undergoing an unprecedented transformation during recent decades driven by anthropogenic-dominated disturbance regimes and increasing hydroclimatic extremes. This affects the large Amazonian river-floodplains influenced by annual, regular and predictable flood pulses with high amplitudes, the várzeas and igapós, which cover an area of more than 750,000 km2. These ecosystems are densely forested with varying environmental conditions, distinct species composition, and different levels of resilience and vulnerability which we summarize and discuss in this chapter. We provide an overview of the influence of large-scale coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomena from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at high (interannual) and low (multidecadal) frequencies on the river-floodplains. The impact of hydroclimatic variability and extreme events on the large river-floodplains and their human populations are discussed. Disturbances caused by land-use changes on large river-floodplains are shown in case studies highlighting hydropower dams and fires. We finalize with an overall synthesis about the fate of floodplains in the changing Amazon basin indicating recommendations for conservation.