By 2050, Amazonian forests will shrink by 40% due to deforestation and fires

The researchers used records of 14,500 plant and vertebrate species to create maps

The authors then superimposed them on data that had been collected over 20 yearsback to find out the real extent of damage from fires and deforestation.

They found that since 2001, firesaffected from 103.5 thousand km² to 190 thousand km² of territory. They affected 95% of all plant and animal species and up to 85% of threatened species. 

In 2019, fires affected from 4, 1 thousand km² to 10, 3 thousand km² of territories: this is the most destructive year for the biodiversity of the region.

Now the Amazon contains about 40% of all tropicalforests This area is of great importance to the world's ecosystems: it removes carbon from the atmosphere and plays a vital role in regulating the Earth's climate. This area is also home to a huge amount of the planet's biodiversity: one in ten of all known species on the planet lives there. 

Since the 1960s, the Amazon has lost about 20% of itsforest cover due to logging and fires. Both of these processes often go hand in hand: deforestation increases the likelihood of forest fires.

According to forecasts, by 2050, the forests of the Amazon will lose 21-40% of their territories, and, according to the authors, this will have a large impact on the biodiversity of the region.

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