Month: November 2017

MAAP #74: Landslides in the Peruvian Amazon

Posted on by dcadmin
Image 74. Base Map. Data: SERNANP

In addition to the human-caused deforestation emphasized in MAAP, there is also natural Amazonian forest loss. The causes include meandering rivers, wind storms (see MAAP #70), and the subject of this report: landslides.

Amazon landslides may be caused by heavy rains in rugged areas. Many landslides occur in protected areas, which often include steep and unstable areas.

Here, we show satellite images of 3 recent examples of large landslides in protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon. We document the natural forest loss of 685 acres (280 hectares) in these examples, indicating that landslides are an important natural phenomenon in the Amazon.

Example A: Sierra del Divisor National Park
Example B: Cordillera Azul National Park
Example C: Bahuaja Sonene National Park

 

 

 

 

 

Example A: Sierra del Divisor National Park

Image 74a shows landslides within Sierra del Divisor National Park between October 2016 (left panel) and October 2017 (right panel). The natural forest loss is 74 acres.

Image 74a. Data: Planet

Example B: Cordillera Azul National Park

Image 74b shows landslides within Sierra del Divisor National Park between August 2015 (left panel) and October 2017 (right panel). The natural forest loss is 490 acres.

Image 74b. Data: Planet

Example C: Bahuaja Sonene National Park

Image 74c shows landslides within Sierra del Divisor National Park between September 2015 (left panel) and August 2017 (right panel). The natural forest loss is 120 acres.

Image 74c. Data: Planet

Natural Forest Loss in the Peruvian Amazon

The Resilient Amazon project, executed jointly by UNDP (United Nations Development Program) and the Peruvian protected areas agency (SERNANP), estimates that natural forest loss is around 2.95% of the total documented forest loss in Peru. This estimate is based on a detailed analysis in the central and southern Peruvian Amazon. If this finding is extrapolated to the entire Peruvian Amazon, there is an estimated natural forest loss of 11,365 acres (4,600 hectáreas) every year (based on the previous 5-year average of 159,000 hectares total forest loss).

Coordinates

Example A: -6.97, -73.85
Example B: -8.47, -75.85
Example C:  -13.65, -69.68

References

Planet Team (2017). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://api.planet.com

Citation

Finer M, Novoa S (2017) Landslides in the Peruvian Amazon. MAAP: 74.

MAAP #73: United States’ only National Tropical Rainforest ravaged by Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico)

Posted on by dcadmin
Image 73. Base Map. El Yunque National Forest is located in eastern Puerto Rico.

MAAP usually focuses on deforestation in the Andean Amazon region, but has a larger interest in tropical forests in general. Thus, we present this analysis in that larger framework.

The New York Times recently reported that Hurricane Maria “obliterated” the United States’ only national tropical rain forest as the powerful Category 4 hurricane (with 150 mph winds) passed over Puerto Rico on September 20.

Here, we present a series of fresh satellite images from October that indeed show the severe impact to nearly all 28,400 acres of El Yunque National Forest (see Base Map). El Yunque is managed by the United States Forest Service and is the only tropical rain forest in the US national forest system.

Throughout the article, click on each image to enlarge.

Photo from ” The Naked Landscape Presentation”, US Forest Service,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before and After Hurricane Maria

Image 73 shows the striking contrast within El Yunque National Forest before (left panels) and after (right panels) Hurricane Maria using two different satellite systems. The top row is high-resolution (3 meter) imagery from the company Planet, and the bottom row is medium-resolution (30 meter) from NASA/USGS. These images match reports in the New York Times and NPR that the rain forests of El Yunque have been largely “defoliated.”

Image 73. Data: Planet, NASA/USGS (Landsat 8)

Very High-Resolution Zooms

In addition, another satellite system, from the company DigitalGlobe, provides very high-resolution (0.5 meter) zooms of Hurricane Maria’s impact on the rain forests of El Yunque.

The following images show, in greater detail, the contrast before (left panels) and after (right panels) the hurricane event in three different locations within El Yunque National Forest (labelled A, B, and C).

 

 

 

Image 73a. Imagery source: © 2017 DigitalGlobe
Image 73b. Imagery source: © 2017 DigitalGlobe
Image 73c. Imagery source: © 2017 DigitalGlobe

Imagery Reference

Planet Team (2017). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://api.planet.com

DigitalGlobe (Nextview)

Citation

Finer M, Olexy T (2017) United States’ only National Tropical Rainforest ravaged by Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico). MAAP: 73.