title: High resolution analysis of tropical forest fragmentation and its impact on the global carbon cycle.
abstract: Deforestation in the tropics is not only responsible for direct carbon emissions but also extends the forest edge wherein trees suffer increased mortality. Here we combine high-resolution (30 m) satellite maps of forest cover with estimates of the edge effect and show that 19% of the remaining area of tropical forests lies within 100 m of a forest edge. The tropics house around 50 million forest fragments and the length of the world's tropical forest edges sums to nearly 50 million km. Edge effects in tropical forests have caused an additional 10.3 Gt (2.1-14.4 Gt) of carbon emissions, which translates into 0.34 Gt per year and represents 31% of the currently estimated annual carbon releases due to tropical deforestation. Fragmentation substantially augments carbon emissions from tropical forests and must be taken into account when analysing the role of vegetation in the global carbon cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.|Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brinck
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.
authors.forename: Rico
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Groeneveld
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.
authors.forename: Mateus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dantas De Paula
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pütz
authors.affiliation: Department of Geographical Sciences, Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland, 4321 Hartwick Building, College Park, Maryland 20740, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Sexton
authors.affiliation: Department of Geographical Sciences, Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland, 4321 Hartwick Building, College Park, Maryland 20740, USA.
authors.forename: Danxia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ Leipzig, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany.|German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany.|Department of Mathematics/Computer Science, Institute for Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huth