Brazil to Count Every Tree in the Amazon
By Michael Frank on February 11th, 2013
It’s a daunting task, trying to count the trees in 60 percent of the Amazon, which is the percent of the world’s largest rainforest that is Brazilian. But the nation, once one of the worst deforesters in the world, is now at long last one of the most committed to saving what’s left of the Amazon. To do that Brazil is undertaking a massive tree census scheduled to take place over the next four years. Teams sent across Brazil’s 3,288,000 square miles, encompassing about half of the world’s remaining tropical forest, will sample about 20,000 points at 20-kilometer intervals. Researchers will log the number, height, diameter, and species of trees, along with soil types, biomass carbon stocks, and even local people’s interactions with the forest at each site. It’s an ambitious plan, one you can only hope will spark a “conservation race” with other nations in the Amazon basin. Via Fast Company.
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Tags: rainforest