Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Floodplain agriculture can prevent the disturbance of rainforests in Amazonia

As the pressure on Amazonian forests builds, the search for more sustainable agricultural development pathways has intensified. Access to floodplain soils can reduce pressure on upland forests and prevent them being cleared for agriculture. Floodplain farming can be a solution to enable both sustainable agriculture and forest conservation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: The method for determining the footprint in the forests around an Amazonian riverine community.

References

  1. Garrett, R. D. et al. Forests and sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon: history, trends, and future prospects. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 46, 625–652 (2021). A review article that identifies the trends and outcomes of deforestation and degradation in the Brazilian Amazon, highlighting the related development policies.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pinedo-Vasquez, M., Ruffino, M., Padoch, C. & Brondízio, E. (eds) The Amazon Várzea: The Decade Past and the Decade Ahead (Springer, 2011). A book that reviews conservation and development issues related to the Amazon floodplain.

  3. Junk, W. J. Amazonian floodplains: their ecology, present and potential use. Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop. 15, 285–301 (1982). A review article that argues for the importance of Amazonian floodplains and their potential for development.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Junk, W. J. et al. (eds) Amazonian Floodplain Forests: Ecophysiology, Biodiversity and Sustainable Management (Springer, 2010). A book that compiles studies of ecological functioning and the use of floodplain forests in Amazonia.

  5. Castello, L. et al. The vulnerability of Amazon freshwater ecosystems. Conserv. Lett. 6, 217–229 (2013). A review article that describes freshwater ecosystems in Amazonia, including the ecological services they provide, the drivers of degradation and management strategies to protect them.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Coomes, O. T. et al. Sparing of Amazonian old-growth forests with floodplain access. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00952-2 (2022).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Floodplain agriculture can prevent the disturbance of rainforests in Amazonia. Nat Sustain 5, 922–923 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00953-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00953-1

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene