Puetz, SandroGroeneveld, JuergenHenle, KlausKnogge, ChristophMartensen, Alexandre CamargoMetz, MarkusMetzger, Jean PaulRibeiro, Milton Cezar [UNESP]Paula, Mateus Dantas deHuth, Andreas2015-03-182015-03-182014-10-01Nature Communications. London: Nature Publishing Group, v. 5, 8 p., 2014.2041-1723http://hdl.handle.net/11449/116847Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, as they store a large amount of carbon (C). Tropical forest deforestation has been identified as a major source of CO2 emissions, though biomass loss due to fragmentation-the creation of additional forest edges-has been largely overlooked as an additional CO2 source. Here, through the combination of remote sensing and knowledge on ecological processes, we present long-term carbon loss estimates due to fragmentation of Neotropical forests: within 10 years the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has lost 69 (+/- 14) Tg C, and the Amazon 599 (+/- 120) Tg C due to fragmentation alone. For all tropical forests, we estimate emissions up to 0.2 Pg Cy-1 or 9 to 24% of the annual global C loss due to deforestation. In conclusion, tropical forest fragmentation increases carbon loss and should be accounted for when attempting to understand the role of vegetation in the global carbon balance.8engArtigo10.1038/ncomms6037WOS:000343936000002Acesso aberto4158685235743119