NAU research shows only 25% of tropical rainforests remain intact

A new study involving NAU found that 75% of tropical rainforests are degraded, threatening thousands of species. The facts will alarm you.

A groundbreaking global study has revealed an alarming reality for the world’s tropical rainforests: only 25% remain in high-integrity condition, posing a severe threat to thousands of animal species.

This comprehensive assessment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines advanced technology with extensive research to paint the most accurate picture yet of rainforest degradation and its impact on wildlife.

Unprecedented decline in rainforest integrity

The research, led by Rajeev Pillay from the University of Northern British Columbia and involving scientists from Northern Arizona University, utilized a combination of airborne laser profiling and satellite imagery to assess the condition of tropical rainforests worldwide. Their findings show that human activities have compromised approximately 75% of these vital ecosystems, affecting 16,396 vertebrate species that depend on them for survival.

Scott Goetz, Regents’ professor at NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, emphasizes the urgency of the situation: “With increasing human populations and with increasing access to natural areas, the pressures on tropical forests have mounted rapidly over the last few decades. … tropical forests and the animals that live inside them are in even more trouble than we realized.”

The Amazon: Last stronghold of high-integrity rainforest

Among all tropical regions studied, the Amazon emerges as the most pristine, largely due to its remoteness and limited road access.

“The Amazon is the largest forest basin in the world, and a lot of it is inaccessible to non-Indigenous people,” explains Patrick Jantz, assistant research professor at NAU. This isolation has helped protect local species from unsustainable hunting and other human-related threats.

Surprising impacts on wildlife

One of the study’s most unexpected findings was the uniformity of human impact across different animal groups. Contrary to previous assumptions, even highly mobile species like birds showed similar vulnerability to forest degradation as less mobile creatures. The research demonstrated that threatened and endangered species consistently showed declining population trends in areas with compromised forest integrity.

The study, supported by NASA grants, offers crucial insights for conservation efforts. As Jantz notes, “You can plant all the trees you want, but if you don’t also remove human pressure from these forests, you won’t be able to restore the biodiversity that keeps them thriving.”

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This story was generated in part by AI and edited by The Copper Courier staff.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.