It鈥檚 been used since 1979 to study the impact of logging and settlers on rainforest ecosystems. But this 鈥渟cientific Mecca鈥� in the Amazon is itself under threat.
The 1000-square-kilometre has shed light on how species will suffer as the forest breaks up. Now it too in danger of fragmentation, says William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Brazil (Nature vol 448, p 409).
The nearby town of Manaus has grown rapidly since being declared a free-trade zone in the 1970s, with a population of 1.7 million people. Settlers are now moving onto the land around the project and criminals raided a research camp last year. A fire lit by the new arrivals also destroyed several study plots.
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Laurance says the Brazilian government urgently needs to protect the project: 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 take a lot of encroachment to seriously undermine our project. There鈥檚 a lot to be lost by this very ill-advised development scheme.鈥�
鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 take a lot to seriously undermine our project. There鈥檚 a lot to be lost鈥�
