Edge effects of more than 700m highlight that the outcomes of deforestation reach far beyond the deforestation itself

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We use forest structure indicators in a Bayesian framework to better understand the impacts that deforestation has beyond the area of deforestation. We did this for the Argentine Chaco, where we found stunning edge effects of >700m with reductions of up to 41% in our structure indicators, and 92.3 million tons of so far unquantified AGB losses.

Our study highlights the importance of protecting large-continuous patches of forests within a biodiversity-friendly agricultural matrix, in which silvopastures play a major role.

See the full paper here: Torrella, S., Baumann, M., Pratzer, M., Aguiar, S., Piquer-Rodríguez, M., Ginzburg, R., Gavier Pizarro, G. and Kuemmerle, T. (2026), Quantifying the Spatial Footprint of Agriculture-Driven Edge Effects in a Global Deforestation Hotspot. Global Change Biology 32, no. 2: e70737.