The enduring world forest carbon sink.

The uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by terrestrial ecosystems is critical for moderating climate change1. To provide a ground-based long-term assessment of the contribution of forests to terrestrial CO2 uptake, we synthesized in situ forest data from boreal, temperate and tropical biomes spanning three decades. We found that the carbon sink in global forests was steady, at 3.6 ± 0.4 Pg C yr-1 in the 1990s and 2000s, and 3.5 ± 0.4 Pg C yr-1 in the 2010s. Despite this global stability, our analysis revealed some major biome-level changes. Carbon sinks have increased in temperate (+30 ± 5%) and tropical regrowth (+29 ± 8%) forests owing to increases in forest area, but they decreased in boreal (-36 ± 6%) and tropical intact (-31 ± 7%) forests, as a result of intensified disturbances and losses in intact forest area, respectively. Mass-balance studies indicate that the global land carbon sink has increased2, implying an increase in the non-forest-land carbon sink. The global forest sink is equivalent to almost half of fossil-fuel emissions (7.8 ± 0.4 Pg C yr-1 in 1990-2019). However, two-thirds of the benefit from the sink has been negated by tropical deforestation (2.2 ± 0.5 Pg C yr-1 in 1990-2019). Although the global forest sink has endured undiminished for three decades, despite regional variations, it could be weakened by ageing forests, continuing deforestation and further intensification of disturbance regimes1. To protect the carbon sink, land management policies are needed to limit deforestation, promote forest restoration and improve timber-harvesting practices1,3.

A close look at above ground biomass of a large and heterogeneous Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest - Caatinga in North East of Brazil.

This work is focused on characterizing and understanding the aboveground biomass of Caatinga in a semiarid region in northeastern Brazil. The quantification of Caatinga biomass is limited by the small number of field plots, which are inadequate for addressing the biome's extreme heterogeneity. Satellite-derived biomass products can address spatial and temporal changes but they have not been validated for seasonally dry tropical forests. Here we combine a compilation of published field phytosociological observations with a new 30m spatial resolution satellite biomass product. Both data were significantly correlated, satellite estimates consistently captured the wide variability of the biomass across the different physiognomies (2-272 Mg/ha). Based on the satellite product we show that in year 2000 about 50 percent of the region had very low biomass (<2 Mg/ha) and that the majority of the biomass (86%) is concentrated in only 27% of the area. Our work confirm other estimates of biomass 39 Mg/ha (9-61 Mg/ha) and carbon 0.79 PgC. The satellite products together with ground based estimates has the potential to improve forest management in Caatinga and other seasonally dry tropical forests through improved approximation of spatial variability, how they relate to climate, and support numerical modeling experiments in semiarid regions.

The fate of Amazonian ecosystems over the coming century arising from changes in climate, atmospheric CO2, and land use.

There is considerable interest in understanding the fate of the Amazon over the coming century in the face of climate change, rising atmospheric CO2 levels, ongoing land transformation, and changing fire regimes within the region. In this analysis, we explore the fate of Amazonian ecosystems under the combined impact of these four environmental forcings using three terrestrial biosphere models (ED2, IBIS, and JULES) forced by three bias-corrected IPCC AR4 climate projections (PCM1, CCSM3, and HadCM3) under two land-use change scenarios. We assess the relative roles of climate change, CO2 fertilization, land-use change, and fire in driving the projected changes in Amazonian biomass and forest extent. Our results indicate that the impacts of climate change are primarily determined by the direction and severity of projected changes in regional precipitation: under the driest climate projection, climate change alone is predicted to reduce Amazonian forest cover by an average of 14%. However, the models predict that CO2 fertilization will enhance vegetation productivity and alleviate climate-induced increases in plant water stress, and, as a result, sustain high biomass forests, even under the driest climate scenario. Land-use change and climate-driven changes in fire frequency are predicted to cause additional aboveground biomass loss and reductions in forest extent. The relative impact of land use and fire dynamics compared to climate and CO2 impacts varies considerably, depending on both the climate and land-use scenario, and on the terrestrial biosphere model used, highlighting the importance of improved quantitative understanding of all four factors - climate change, CO2 fertilization effects, fire, and land use - to the fate of the Amazon over the coming century.

A expressão de conflitos psíquicos em afecções dermatológicas: um estudo de caso de uma paciente com vitiligo atendida com o jogo de areia / The expression of psychological conflicts in dermatological infections: a case study of a vitiligo patient treated by sandplay

Este artigo refere-se a um estudo de caso realizado com uma paciente portadora de vitiligo com o uso da terapia do jogo de areia (sandplay), a partir de um atendimento clínico breve. Apoiado no referencial teórico da psicologia analítica, que entende a doença como parte do movimento auto-regulador da psique, discute a natureza simbólica da pele e suas expressões patológicas. Ao longo das dez sessões realizadas, ocorreu uma evolução do quadro inicial por meio do deslocamento de sintomas e do incremento da capacidade imaginativa. Mediante a construção das cenas, aspectos sombrios da personalidade tornam-se mais conscientes. Características psicológicas descritas na literatura são observadas, como relação conflituosa com a figura materna, início dos sintomas após estresse emocional por perdas, dentre outros. No término das sessões, verificou-se a interrupção do desenvolvimento das manchas de vitiligo(AU)

A expressão de conflitos psíquicos em afecções dermatológicas: um estudo de caso de uma paciente com vitiligo atendida com o jogo de areia / The expression of psychological conflicts in dermatological infections: a case study of a vitiligo patient treated by sandplay

Este artigo refere-se a um estudo de caso realizado com uma paciente portadora de vitiligo com o uso da terapia do jogo de areia (sandplay), a partir de um atendimento clínico breve. Apoiado no referencial teórico da psicologia analítica, que entende a doença como parte do movimento auto-regulador da psique, discute a natureza simbólica da pele e suas expressões patológicas. Ao longo das dez sessões realizadas, ocorreu uma evolução do quadro inicial por meio do deslocamento de sintomas e do incremento da capacidade imaginativa. Mediante a construção das cenas, aspectos sombrios da personalidade tornam-se mais conscientes. Características psicológicas descritas na literatura são observadas, como relação conflituosa com a figura materna, início dos sintomas após estresse emocional por perdas, dentre outros. No término das sessões, verificou-se a interrupção do desenvolvimento das manchas de vitiligo