Animal-plant interactions in the Amazon, which is home to 25% of the world's terrestrial biodiversity, play a significant role in the resilience of the tropical forests.
Plant-Animal Impact on Amazon's Degrading Forests
In the agricultural frontier between Amazonia, which covers about 40% of the South American continent, and Cerrado in the South American savannas, climate change, defaunation, and fragmentation are degrading forests. One factor in the types of forests that will survive these threats is the interaction between animals and plants. A YSE-led team of scientists was awarded a $2.45 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study to these critical plant-animal interactions and how they impact the resilience of tropical forests.
As part of the study, the team, which includes Paulo Brando, associate professor of ecosystem carbon capture; Liza Comita, professor of Tropical Forest Ecology and co-director of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture; Craig Brodersen, professor of plant physiological ecology; and scientists from 13 institutions, will produce Amazon-wide modeling projections of how fragmentation and defaunation may impact the future trajectory of forests in the region.
The Amazon, home to 25% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, has already lost about 20% of its original area.
“If the animals were to disappear from tropical forests, how would that shape the future of those forests, as well as their capacity to provide key ecosystem services such as carbon storage and water cycling?” Brando said.
The findings of the study will have broader implications, including better quantification of the services that animal species provide in keeping forests healthy; the consequences of forest collapse on forest-dependent peoples; and how future development in the region may impact the biodiversity of Amazonian forests, Brando said.
February 06, 2024
Paulo Brando
Associate Professor of Ecosystem Carbon Capture
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Anthony Leiserowitz Named American Psychological Association Fellow
Anthony Leiserowitz, professor of climate communication, has been elected an American Psychological Association Fellow, effective January 1, 2027. Fellow status is awarded to those who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of psychology.
Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, was recognized for his work on climate and environmental psychology, which has helped shape how the public and policymakers understand the human dimensions of the climate crisis.
“I’m so honored to be named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Environmental and conservation psychology are more important to solving our shared global challenges than ever before, and I’m just glad I’ve had the opportunity to help advance the field,” Leiserowitz said.
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Satellites Can Track Amazon Forest Resilience — But Timing Matters
A new study led by Kexin Song, a postdoctoral associate at YSE, offers field-based evidence that satellite data can detect meaningful differences in how well Amazon forests recover from drought stress, rather than merely reflecting glitches caused by clouds, sensor quirks, or measurement timing. By cross-checking geospatial observations with physiological measurements from more than 342 trees representing 114 species, researchers confirmed that a satellite-derived resilience indicator capture real ecological signals. This finding strengthens the case for using satellites as early-warning tools for ecosystem transitions across hard-to-access regions such as the Amazon.
An important caveat that the study found, however, is that the observation timing must align with natural recovery rhythms. For instance sampling too frequently can hide recovery dynamics, but sampling too infrequently risks missing them. The study suggests that some earlier satellite-based resilience assessments warrant re-examination.
The paper, "Physiological fidelity of a satellite-derived forest resilience indicator in the Amazon," was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
July 21, 2026
