Elevated rates of gold mining in the Amazon revealed through high-resolution monitoring
Elevated rates of gold mining in the Amazon revealed through high-resolution monitoring
复制标题
DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1318271110
复制
发表时间：
2013-11-12
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Raez Luna, Ernesto
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Asner, Gregory P.;Llactayo, William;Raez Luna, Ernesto
亚马逊河流域西部的金矿开采迅速增加，但对采矿的速度和生态影响仍然知之甚少，而且可能被低估。我们结合实地调查、机载测绘和高分辨率卫星成像，评估了1999年至2012年秘鲁亚马逊地区马德雷德迪奥斯地区的道路和河流金矿开采情况。在此期间，黄金开采的地理范围增加了400%。2008年，在全球经济衰退之后，由于黄金开采而造成的森林平均年损失率增加了两倍，这与黄金价格上涨密切相关。小规模的秘密开采活动现在占整个区域所有黄金开采活动的一半以上。这些黄金开采率远远高于以前基于传统卫星测绘技术的估计。我们的研究结果证明，金矿开采的增长速度比以前想象的要快，需要高分辨率的监测方法来准确量化人类对热带森林的影响。
Gold mining has rapidly increased in western Amazonia, but the rates and ecological impacts of mining remain poorly known and potentially underestimated. We combined field surveys, airborne mapping, and high-resolution satellite imaging to assess road-and river-based gold mining in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon from 1999 to 2012. In this period, the geographic extent of gold mining increased 400%. The average annual rate of forest loss as a result of gold mining tripled in 2008 following the global economic recession, closely associated with increased gold prices. Small clandestine operations now comprise more than half of all gold mining activities throughout the region. These rates of gold mining are far higher than previous estimates that were based on traditional satellite mapping techniques. Our results prove that gold mining is growing more rapidly than previously thought, and that high-resolution monitoring approaches are required to accurately quantify human impacts on tropical forests.