Browsing by Subject "Amazon"
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Item Assessing impacts of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon Fluvial Basin(2015-05) Wight, Charles Edward; Latrubesse, Edgardo; Arima, EugenioThe amount of water the Amazon River delivers to the Atlantic Ocean every day is enough to supply New York City's fresh water needs for 9 years. This is soon to change with the race to choke the Amazon Basin with large hydrologic dams. Although studies investigating single dams can provide great analysis on a couple key issues, they often fail to consider these effects on the systems entirety. Without linking the physical and social components, one fails to fully understand the impacts of hydroelectric dams and therefore the vulnerability of the basin. The focus of this study is based on three forms of investigation: 1. a comprehensive literature review including scholarship on hydroelectric dams, basis characteristics, protected areas, and political characteristics within the respective countries; 2. data procurement of the physical geography of 20 sub-basins, 1,100 tributaries, and land use-land change (LULC) data; and together 3. the creation of a multivariable database integrated with GIS (geographic information systems) in order to better interpret human/nature complexities. Combined, this database will be a powerful tool to assess vulnerability and risks associated with individual dams sites within a larger system. In addition, this database can be adjusted in the future such that when impacts of planned dams are actualized they can be recorded, and based of shared attributes of other dams in the database, this information can be correlated to make better predictions of new environmental and social impacts.Item Biogeography of upland bird communities in the Peruvian Amazon(2009-12) Pomara, Lazarus Yates; Young, Kenneth R.; Barth, Robert H.; Dull, Robert A.; Miller, Jennifer A.; Ruokolainen, KalleThe western Amazon is known to be one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, yet information about the spatial distribution of that biodiversity and the processes governing its distribution remains scarce. An improved understanding of those biogeographic patterns and processes can inform conservation and development planning in areas where anthropogenic landscape change is ongoing. Spatial components of biodiversity are known to be influenced by historical and present-day physical and human geographic processes. There is evidence that major Amazonian rivers form the boundaries of biological regions, at least for birds. Other factors that may influence bird species composition include the dispersal limitations of individual species, forest plant species composition and structure, topography, forest fragmentation, and hunting. Sites where bird species composition was measured in this study represented mature, upland forest on both sides of the Amazon River, and a range of non-flooded forest types, as indicated by soil and plant surveys. Bird species compositional variation was closely correlated with variation in plant species composition, human disturbance associated with forest fragmentation, and position north or south of the Amazon River. The strongest differences were between opposite sides of the river, even though local environments, including plant composition, were not different on the two sides. This strongly suggests that historical biogeographic factors, rather than present-day environmental gradients, are responsible for bioregional boundaries at Amazonian rivers. The difference between plant and bird distributions at this scale underscores the pressing need to re-evaluate general notions of bioregional complexity and pattern in the Amazon basin. Locally, the influence of habitat fragmentation on animal communities, including reduced species richness, was confirmed. The influence of local floristic variation is of particular importance due to its ubiquity across western Amazonia. Thus, understanding the distributions of soils and vegetation is critical for explaining Amazonian animal diversity. The use of these factors to model bird community heterogeneity contradicts assumptions that the processes shaping Amazonian animal community diversity are too complex to measure efficiently, and their use contributes a new understanding of the dimensions of that diversity.Item Cranial Variability in Amazonian Marmosets(2011-02-22) Aguiar, John MarshallThe family Callitrichidae encompasses the marmosets and tamarins, the smallest of the anthropoid primates and one of the most species-rich of platyrrhine families. Seven new species of Amazonian marmosets (Callithrix, Callitrichidae) have been discovered in recent years, as well as the exceptional dwarf marmoset Callibella humilis. Most of these species were described on the basis of their pelage and presumed separation by major rivers. I performed analyses of craniometric variables by taxa and by river basins, in order to determine if there are significant cranial distinctions between taxa separated by rivers. I analyzed quantitative cranial and mandibular characters of Callibella humilis to determine if it could be distinguished from other callitrichids. I found that Callibella is clearly distinct from all other genera of marmosets and tamarins, in particular in the morphology of the lower jaw. I also analyzed representative species of Amazonian Callithrix and found support for the theory of separation by river-barriers. In my analyses the Amazonian marmosets were divided into three separate species groups, with the easternmost species (Callithrix argentata and C. leucippe) strongly distinct and separated from the others by the broad Rio Tapajos. Two additional species, C. chrysoleuca and C. saterei, formed a discrete group in the central Amazon, and the westernmost species - C. melanura, C. nigriceps and the Rondonia marmoset - formed a third distinct group. These results from cranial morphology align with recent genetic studies indicating that the Amazonian marmosets are strongly divided by the Rio Tapajos, and offer additional support to the theory of river-barriers. Although these species are typically considered to be of low conservation priority, many of them are found in areas experiencing accelerated deforestation. An initial analysis of protected-area coverage for the Amazonian marmosets demonstrates that while some species may be found in a number of protected areas, others are virtually uncovered, and the lack of comprehensive information on their distributions may preclude an effective conservation strategy. The dwarf marmoset Callibella is known from an exceptionally restricted range, with almost no protected areas, and this unique species should be a conservation priority.Item Environmental governance and implications of small-scale logging: the case of the indigenous groups in the Ampiyacu Basin in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon(2009-08) De La Rosa Tincopa, Carolina; Young, Kenneth R.; Sletto, Bjørn; Doolittle, William Emery; Knapp, Gregory W.Small-scale logging by indigenous people in Amazonia remains little studied despite the importance of this activity to forest communities and its relevance to the implementation of conservation initiatives. Previous studies in the region have given an overview of small-scale logging and the role of local institutions in the management of timber resources. This study provides insight into the local institutions that govern the use of timber resources and the timber extraction practices of indigenous communities in Amazonia. Timber extraction was examined through a regional case study of indigenous people along the Ampiyacu River, an affluent of the Amazon near Iquitos, Peru. An analysis of the actors within and outside of the Ampiyacu Basin involved in timber harvest and the local institutions for regulating access to forest resources provides the context for examination of local arrangements in small-scale logging. Detailed information about local institutional arrangements was collected through a mixture of qualitative methods, including archival research, focus groups, structured interviews, and direct observation. An analysis of timber practices and the sustainability thereof in extraction areas for the 13 villages of the region allowed a characterization of small-scale logging practices and revealed the most relevant factors in timber extraction strategy and economics. Local arrangements were explained by policy, proximity to an urban market, and access to funding. Most loggers are poor, earning less than $ 496/year in cash, although income levels varied widely within type of funding. The higher income loggers are specialists who log more than the permissible quota and have greater access to funding. Timber was the central economic activity of all local residents. The implications of these findings are discussed for local arrangements and future research on small-scale logging by indigenous peoples of Amazonia.Item The extent of reductions to protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon: case study of Amazon National Park(2014-05) Laue, Justin Edward; Arima, EugênioOver the past several decades, the preservation of Brazil's natural landscapes and traditional cultures has received significant global attention; the focus of which has been primarily on the Amazon Basin. In order to safeguard the Amazon's unique biodiversity, natural resources, and traditional cultures, Brazil's state and federal governments have designated hundreds of thousands of square kilometers as conservation units with legally protected statuses. To effectively accomplish conservation objectives, it is necessary to maintain the permanence of protected areas. However, over the past decade, a host of circumstances has plagued Brazil's protected areas. Due to land use and economic pressures, the sizes of many protected areas throughout the Amazon are being reduced. Understanding the drivers and outcomes of reductions to protected areas is essential for the long-term preservation of ecosystem services. To that end, the objectives of this thesis were to understand why and how quickly a national park in the Legal Brazilian Amazon was being reduced in size by the Brazilian government. Interviews with key informants demonstrated that the park historically lacked legitimacy amongst newly arrived migrants which influenced the colonization amongst its borders. Moreover, inept governance regimes facilitated settlements within the park. Satellite imagery was used to detect and quantify the substantial rise in deforestation within the park. Spontaneous settlement in the region and a governance structure that did not enforce the park’s legality played a significant influence on the downsizing of Amazon National Park. In addition, domestic energy demands prompted the federal government to embark on a national energy strategy centered on hydropower construction that has directly impacted the park’s conservation effectiveness of maintaining natural forest cover. Together, these two drivers have united to considerably reduce both the size and the effectiveness of Amazon National Park.Item Forest diversity and conservation in the western Amazon based on tree inventory and remote sensing data(2011-12) Wang, Yung-ho Ophelia; Young, Kenneth R.; Crews, Kelley A.; Miller, Jennifer A.; Sarkar, Sahotra; Pitman, Nigel C.This dissertation contributes to debates in conservation biogeography by examining the spatial heterogeneity of local and regional tree diversity feature using ground and remotely sensed data, and by taking approaches to design a spatially explicit landscape zonation map for future conservation planning in western Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Fine scale tree diversity and conservation-related studies took place in tropical rainforests in southeastern Ecuador, whereas coarse scale tree diversity research was conducted using data from eastern Ecuador and northern Peru. The lack of species assemblages within three 1-ha tree inventory plots in southeastern Ecuador and the weak correlations with biophysical environment implied that neutral processes may contribute to species diversity. In contrast, differences in species assemblages between plots corresponded to relative geographic locations of the plots, indicating that geographic distance or dispersal limitation may play an important role influencing diversity patterns at a regional scale. Species of high local abundance was found in 1-ha tree inventory plots in western Amazon. Changes in density of locally abundant species between western and eastern plots indicated that some species may have limited distributions. Shifts in species dominance and the significant relationship between floristic variation and geographic distances between plots implied dispersal limitation. Variation in rainfall showed significant relationship with species composition. Therefore, dispersal limitation and precipitation seasonality are potentially the most significant factors that contribute to spatial differences in tree diversity in western Amazon. Characteristics of canopy shadows and palm stem density based on fine-resolution aerial photographs were characterized as exploratory analyses to extract alpha and beta diversity features using remotely sensed data. A zonation map design using multispectral habitat classification and other remote sensing data performed well in its spatial arrangement when potential indigenous land use was integrated. Based on the results of analyses for conservation biogeography, this dissertation concludes that local and regional tree diversity may be influenced by dispersal limitation and seasonality, and that the application of remote sensing for biodiversity conservation is feasible in very species-rich forests.Item How access, values, and history shape the sustainability of a social-ecological system : the case of the Kandozi indigenous group of Peru(2010-12) Montoya, Mariana; Young, Kenneth R.; Crews, Kelley A.; King, Brian H.; McClain, Michael E.; Sletto, BjornThis research examines how the Kandozi indigenous group governs access to fish and timber, how access contributes to their well-being, and if the Kandozi’s natural resource use and socio-ecological system are sustainable. The Kandozi occupy a biodiverse tropical forest in the northern Peruvian Amazon with lakes and seasonally flooded areas. This indigenous group has livelihoods that are dependent upon securing access to natural resources that contribute to their well-being; hence it represents a good case study to investigate access and its relation with social-ecological sustainability. Access is defined here as the ability to derive benefits from natural resources. The analysis of sustainability was done by integrating research on both access and well-being. Multiple methods and a comparative examination of access to fish and timber were used to explore historical processes that shape access. The analysis of qualitative data on well-being and quantitative data based on income from fishing activities in 2009, helped evaluate if the Kandozi benefited from the use of resources and clarified the evolution of their quality of life. Hypotheses regarding how spatiality shapes access and how sustainability depends upon access to natural resources were tested. Results indicate that factors such as heterogeneity, kinship, land tenure, the legal framework and knowledge all shape access to natural resources. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in particular is a critical factor because it determines resource availability. Furthermore, this study shows how benefits from the use of resources contribute to the Kandozi’s perception of well-being, defined by them as living without worries, which includes meeting economic, social and cultural needs. Results from this study indicate that perceptions of well-being depend on human values and change over time, consequently the sustainability of the social-ecological system fluctuates. This research concludes that sustainability of this and similar systems are dependent upon the moment at which the analysis is done, because of the changing needs of people over time. This study demonstrates that the range of relations and interactions among different processes that shape access, and the historically contingent characteristic of access and its evolution over time, help better understand complex social ecological systems.Item Informing the carbon frontier : economics and landscape in the western Amazon(2016-08) Tasker, Kaitlin Allison Arford; Arima, Eugenio; Young, Kenneth RIn recent years, forestry carbon offset projects have been on the rise. While praised for their ability to offset emissions inexpensively, these programs are also criticized for their tendency to overlook other important social, environmental and economic processes. This thesis examines the site of a major carbon offset program in the western Amazon of Peru as a case study for multi-objective conservation planning. Using a recently released high resolution carbon dataset, this study first identifies areas of highest above ground carbon density. It then innovates by generating models for two additional conservation measures: forest connectivity and deforestation probability. While the forest connectivity model is informed by landscape ecology and is a more simple modification of least cost path, the deforestation model uses principles of economic rent to produce spatially explicit probabilities. By incorporating concepts of landscape ecology and economic rent, this work presents new models for the study area and adds to the theory surrounding multi-objective conservation planning. It also identifies if, how, and where three distinct conservation criteria can find commonalities. Unsurprisingly, the three criteria result in distinct spatial patterns. When all three are prioritized, less than 3% of the study area qualifies for priority. However, while this analysis highlights the difficulty of simultaneously prioritizing all three criteria, it also offers hope. Landscape-level analyses can help policymakers and conservation practitioners prioritize these limited areas while household-level and broader contextual information can help inform how initiatives are ultimately implemented. Given the limited area under all three criteria, stakeholders can strengthen efforts by encouraging connectivity-enhancing land use practices, incorporating areas where two criteria are met, or further facilitating nearby community involvement. As pressures to marry social, environmental and economic continue, incentive schemes will need to rethink these strategies and innovate, and further research should be conducted.Item Into and out of the forest : change and community in Céu do Mapiá(2013-05) Lowell, Jonathan Thomas; Adams, Paul C.Céu do Mapiá is a community of people living in the rainforest in the southwestern quadrant of Brazil. It was founded in 1983 by ex-rubber tapper Sebastião Mota de Melo and a collection of followers of the religion known as “Santo Daime.” These men and women were seeking to create a “New World,” separating themselves from a society that was undergoing a great deal of upheaval as the period marked the initial phases of major deforestation in the Amazon. The community, therefore, offered a chance of escape from the devastation around them and the freedom to practice their religious beliefs. ‘The Holy Gift,’ as it translates in Portuguese, Santo Daime is a religion that melds together popular Roman Catholicism and indigenous ayahuasca use, as well as Afro-Brazilian spirit possession, Amazonian encantaria, and most recently, New Age beliefs and concepts. Ayahuasca is a concoction of two plants, B. caapi and P. viridis, that produces psychotropic effects and has been widely consumed among indigenous tribes in the Amazon. However, in the context of Santo Daime, it has been deemed a kind of sacrament, the central force of a religious movement that has expanded from its corner in the Amazon into urban centers across Brazil and into Europe, North America, and Japan. Though maintaining a fairly small following of 10,000, Santo Daime has become a global religious movement. This thesis attempts to unravel two seemingly contradictory processes embodied in the community of Céu do Mapiá: separation and expansion. First, I outline the trajectory of the community from its initial ideals to its later entanglements with state and other international actors. Second, I trace the network of people, ideas, and goods that have become a part of Santo Daime’s international expansion. Third, I discuss the contemporary everyday rhythms in the communities and how they have been shaped by the various relationships that have developed through this expansion, positing that place is a nexus of relations.Item On the predictability of rainfall anomalies over the Southern Amazonia : a comparison between NMME and statistical models(2016-12) Zhang, Kai, M.S. in Statistics; Daniels, Michael JosephPrediction of rainfall over the Amazonian rainforest during wet season is fundamental to assess the regional water and energy balance and global carbon-climate feedbacks. Previous observational analysis has identified some large-scale atmospheric dynamic and thermodynamics conditions that can influence the rainfall anomalies during the wet season. Based on these observed persistent conditions that started between June and August (JJA, dry season), we have developed and evaluated several statistical models to predict rainfall conditions during September to November (SON, early wet season) for the Southern Amazonia (5-15oS, 50-70oW). Multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) Analysis is applied to the following four fields during JJA from the ECMWF Reanalysis (ERA-Interim) spanning from year 1979 to 2015: geopotential height at 200 hPa, surface relative humidity, convective inhibition energy (CIN) index and convective available potential energy (CAPE), to filter out noise and highlight the most coherent spatial and temporal variations. The first 10 EOF modes are retained for inputs to the statistical models, accounting for at least 70% of the total variance in the predictor fields. Then the 12-fold cross-validation method is used to estimate the tuning parameters used in the regression algorithms. Ridge Regression and Lasso Regression are able to capture the spatial pattern and magnitude of rainfall anomalies. Compared with the seasonal prediction based on dynamical models, this statistical prediction system has better predictions than the seasonal predictions of the dynamic climate model. The statistical models show longer and more accurate predictive persistence of the rainfall anomalies. In addition, we use Logistic regression and Neural Networks to predict the categorical states of rainfall over the Southern Amazon by classifying the rainfall states into two categories, i.e., dry and wet. Our statistical models show overall better predictions of categorical rainfall states than the magnitudes of rainfall in our study region. The accuracy of the statistical prediction based on Neural Networks method can reach greater than 90%, which is much higher than the simple logistic regression method, indicating the non-linearity of the atmospheric processes. Both predictions of the magnitudes and states of rainfall anomalies can be combined to provide more accurate information. The models we have developed have broad implications on the future development of seasonal climate prodictions and can be used for real-time forecasts in the future.Item Payments for ecosystem services : opportunities and challenges in the Brazilian Amazon(2013-05) Marquez, Mayra; Arima, Eugenio; Gamkhar, ShamaBrazil has committed to reducing deforestation in the Amazon and has identified target goals for 2020. A variety of environmental policies and tools are used to reduce deforestation in the region, including payments for ecosystems services (PES). This report analyzes whether payments for ecosystem services are a viable option for supporting conservation and socio-economic goals in the Amazon. PES schemes provide economic incentives in exchange for meeting an environmental goal. They have been relatively successful in developed countries but have had limited applications or success in developing contexts. This report identifies the agents and activities that drive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and determines which of these may be suitable for PES applications. It also provides a framework for analyzing current PES schemes in order to draw out best practices and lessons learned which may be applied to future program. PES schemes do have a role to play as one of the tools used in addressing deforestation in the Amazon. They can be cheaper than indirect approaches but do face some challenges in evaluation. Future PES applications may benefit from the lessons learned in the early applications of these programs.Item Settler colonialism, knowledge articulation, and the politics of development in the TIPNIS indigenous territory and national park in Amazonian Bolivia(2015-12) Beveridge, James Michael; Speed, Shannon, 1964-; TallBear, KimberlyThis thesis examines how the dispute over the Bolivian government’s plan to construct a highway through the TIPNIS indigenous territory and national park in Amazonian Bolivia crystallizes the divergent visions and politics at play in realizing development projects in the TIPNIS. While progressive indigenous and environmental rights were inscribed in the 2009 Bolivian constitution, I argue that the government’s plan to impose the TIPNIS highway is a settler colonial project to dispossess the TIPNIS communities of their lands. This is facilitated by a national government—civilian colonist complicity that undermines the TIPNIS sovereignty and brings the TIPNIS territory under increasing governance and regulation under a post-frontier governance regime. I furthermore employ a framework I call knowledge articulation to examine the struggles of different actors to resist and/or implement varying development visions, which sometimes overlap and at other times compete with each other, in the TIPNIS. All of these projects demonstrate that the Bolivian decolonial path is fundamentally an amalgam: articulated knowledges, hybrid economies, and development outcomes that are resisted, contested, and negotiated configurations of various actors’ uneven authority, expertise and power.Item Temporal and spatial analysis of suspended sediment distribution in the Amazon River using satellite imagery(2013-05) Park, Edward; Latrubesse, EdgardoPatterns of surface sediment concentration distribution in rivers are significant for understanding the broad ranges of fluvial environmental systems. In the case of the Amazon Basin, the complexity in the sediment pattern distribution is affected by the anabranching channel pattern of the Amazon River, the input by tributaries (some of which are among the largest rivers on earth) and the existence of huge and complex floodplains. Until recently, the assessment of sediment fluxes has been concentrated on hydro-sedimentological techniques in the Amazon Basin; however, efforts on characterizing the patterns of sediment transport have been neglected. This study aims to improve the understanding of the pattern of sediment distributions over a large scale in the Amazon River by estimating surface sediment concentration with remote sensing techniques. Field acquired surface sediment concentration values were supplied from three gauging stations representing the upstream, midstream and downstream sections of the Amazon River from 2000 to 2010 and calibrated with MODIS surface reflectance products (N=207, 232, 313, respectively). Empirical models were derived with robust causalities (0.63Item Understanding rainfall variability and extremes over the Amazon to improve their future projection(2015-05) Yin, Lei, Ph. D.; Fu, Rong (Professor); Dickinson, Robert E.; Jackson, Charles S.; Yang, Zong-Liang; Myneni, Ranga B.The Amazon, as the world's largest rainforest region, is important for global carbon cycle, climate change, and ecosystem. This dissertation aims to investigate rainfall variability and the related atmospheric and land processes in tropical South America using both observations and climate models. The first two studies concern the changes and variability of the dry season over the southern Amazon, a domain with vulnerable tropical rainforest. Ground-based observation from 1979 to 2011 indicates the dry season length (DSL) has increased at a rate of 6.5 ± 2.5 days per decade, mainly caused by a delay of the dry season ending (DSE). A delay of the DSE has a clear impact on fire counts in austral spring. Moreover, the DSE also has large interannual variation and thus has a strong impact on drought and flood. Three dry season conditions are crucial for determining its trend and interannual variation. (i) A poleward shift of the subtropical jet over South America (SJ[subscript SA]) can prevent cold frontal systems from moving northward into the Amazon. This delays cold air incursion and results in late DSE over. (ii) An anomalous anticyclonic center, which enhances westerly wind at 850 hPa (U850) and the South American Low Level Jets (SALLJs), leads to moisture export from the southern Amazon to La Plata basin and reduces convective systems that provide elevated diabatic heating. (iii) Smaller convective available potential energy (CAPE) and larger convective inhibition energy (CIN) limit local thermodynamically driven convection. However, global climate models can capture neither the drying trend nor the variability of the DSL and DSE. Thus, the third and fourth studies deal with understanding the reported systematic dry bias over the Amazon in climate models. Our evaluation of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) models indicates the positive feedback between reduced cloudiness, too much surface solar radiation, high Bowen ratio, and suppression of rainfall appears to cause the dry bias. A further investigation on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) models demonstrates the Amazon dry season dry bias origins from biases in complicated processes, highlights the importance of the northern Andes on moisture flux convergence over the Amazon in the dry season, and suggests using at least 1° atmosphere-only model to understand the remaining dry season dry bias. The fifth study proposed a new method to assess CMIP5 climate projections for rainfall extremes. The results indicate future heavy rainfall changes in the Amazon due to anthropogenic forcing may be underestimated by multi-model ensemble mean.Item Using Ungulate Occupancy to Evaluate a Biosphere Reserve Design in Tambopata, Peru(2010-10-12) Licona, Miguel M.Conservation areas in tropical forests protect the most diverse and threatened ecosystems on the planet. In the Amazon, ungulates are important to forest structure and diversity, but are also food for rural people. I estimated occupancy of white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), collared peccary (T. tajacu), lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and red brocket deer (Mazama americana) in Tambopata, Peru to evaluate how different management designations along with anthropogenic and habitat factors influenced the distribution of these species. I used track surveys (n = 258) and camera surveys (n = 256) to estimate ungulate occupancy and detection at 55 sites in a national reserve, a native community, and adjacent buffer areas from May 2008 to March 2009. The best approximating model for white-lipped peccary, lowland tapir, and red brocket deer included only a variable of travel time from the nearest city (a measure of an area's accessibility). Management designation also had some influence on occupancy. I found significantly higher occupancy for collared peccary and red brocket deer in reserve and buffer areas than in the native community but there was no significant difference in occupancy between the reserve and buffer. These results indicate that passive protection might be an adequate management strategy for inaccessible areas of this region. However, as the Amazon continues to be developed, more active enforcement of park boundaries and regulations should be enacted if wildlife conservation is to be effective.