The ongoing deforestation process in Amazonia has led to intensified forest fires in the region, particularly in Brazil, after more than a decade of effective forest conservation policy. This study aims to investigate the recovery of two mature sub‐montane ombrophile Amazonian forests affected by fire in terms of energy, water and carbon fluxes utilizing remote sensing (MODIS) and climate reanalysis data (GLDAS). These two forest plots, mainly composed of Manilkara spp. (Maçaranduba), Protium spp. (Breu) (∼30 m), Bertholletia excelsa (Castanheira) and Dinizia excelsa Ducke (Angelim‐Pedra) (∼50 m), occupy areas of 100.5 and 122.1 km2 and were subject to fire on the same day, on September 12, 2010. The fire significantly increased land surface temperature (0.8°C) and air temperature (1.2°C) in the forests over a 3 years interval. However, the forests showed an ability to recover their original states in terms of coupling between the carbon and water cycles comparing the 3‐year periods before and after the fires. Results from a wavelet analysis showed an intensification in annual and seasonal fluctuations, and in some cases (e.g., daily net radiation and evapotrasnspiration) sub‐annual fluctuation. We interpreted these changes to be consistent with overall intensification of the coupling of energy balance components and drivers imposed by climate and solar cycle seasonality, as well as faster time scale changes, consistent with a shift toward greater forest openness and consequent reduction in the interception of incoming solar radiation by the canopy.

[Extract] The Brazilian Amazon—the largest tropical rainforest in the world—has reached its highest level of deforestation since 2008 (Display footnote number:1). In 2019, 10,897 km2 of land were deforested, a 50.7% jump over the previous year (Display footnote number:1). A combination of threats, including tens of thousands of forest fires (Display footnote number:2), expanding road networks (Display footnote number:3, 4), weakened environmental laws (Display footnote number:5, 6), and a failure to enforce environmental laws and regulations (Display footnote number:6), is responsible. Given the staunchly pro-development policies of Brazil’s current government, a coalition of key actors in the financial sector is needed to help protect the embattled Amazon rainforest.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is related to the use of fire to remove natural vegetation and install crop cultures or pastures. In this study, we evaluated the relation between deforestation, land-use and land-cover (LULC) drivers and fire emissions in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, Eastern Brazilian Amazon. In addition to the official Brazilian deforestation data, we used a geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach to perform the LULC mapping in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, and the Brazilian biomass burning emission model with fire radiative power (3BEM_FRP) to estimate emitted particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), a primary human health risk. The GEOBIA approach showed a remarkable advancement of deforestation, agreeing with the official deforestation data, and, consequently, the conversion of primary forests to agriculture within the Apyterewa Indigenous Land in the past three years (200 km2), which is clearly associated with an increase in the PM2.5 emissions from fire. Between 2004 and 2016 the annual average emission of PM2.5 was estimated to be 3594 ton year−1, while the most recent interval of 2017–2019 had an average of 6258 ton year−1. This represented an increase of 58% in the annual average of PM2.5 associated with fires for the study period, contributing to respiratory health risks and the air quality crisis in Brazil in late 2019. These results expose an ongoing critical situation of intensifying forest degradation and potential forest collapse, including those due to a savannization forest-climate feedback, within “protected areas” in the Brazilian Amazon. To reverse this scenario, the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices and development of conservation policies to promote forest regrowth in degraded preserves are essential.