. Carbon and biodiversity. A demonstration atlas. Carbon and biodiversity The Neotropics The terrestrial ecosystems of the Neotropics cover million km- of land and contain 321 Gt of carbon (GtC). The vast majority of this store is in the humid tropical forests, where high deforestation rates accounted for approximately 60 per cent of deforestation across the whole humid tropical forest biome between 2000 and 2005 (Hansen ef at 2008]- The high deforestation in this region reflects both the large total remaining forest area and the high land use pressures acting upon it. Both the high carbo
. Carbon and biodiversity. A demonstration atlas. Carbon and biodiversity The Neotropics The terrestrial ecosystems of the Neotropics cover million km- of land and contain 321 Gt of carbon (GtC). The vast majority of this store is in the humid tropical forests, where high deforestation rates accounted for approximately 60 per cent of deforestation across the whole humid tropical forest biome between 2000 and 2005 (Hansen ef at 2008]- The high deforestation in this region reflects both the large total remaining forest area and the high land use pressures acting upon it. Both the high carbon stocks and the biodiversity values of the Neotropics are threatened by this deforestation, which is largely driven by pasture expansion (Chomitz ef al. 2006, Nepstad ef at 20081. Recently, large scale soybean production has also become a very important contributor to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon ICern et al. 20071. In addition to containing a large carbon store, the Neotropics are extremely high in biodiversity. The tropical Andes is the richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot in the world IMittermeier ef al. 20041; and the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest continuous rainforest area, is estimated to host a guarter of the world's terrestrial species. Six of the world's 17 'megadiversity' countries IMittermeier ef at 1997] are in the Neotropics. Areas of high biodiversity value, where at least four global biodiversity priority schemes overlap, are shown on the map in green. These areas, which are largely concentrated over the tropical Andes and Amazon River, cover million km- and Total carbon 321Gt Total land area 15,759km2 138 9,206 148 4,882 21 14 ^ 1 High carbon High carbon & hi gh biod versity High biodiversity Lower carbon. contain an estimated 35 GtC, accounting for 11 per cent of the total regional carbon stock. The Alliance for Zero Extinction sites (AZEs] shown on the map are the last refuges for endangered and critically endangered species
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