savanna

In Brazil, huge swaths of the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savanna have been lost to pastures and fields that produce beef and soybeans.

"We must act to save our rivers, oceans, savannas, mangroves and forests, as well as the communities that protect and live alongside them," he said.

In recent weeks, blazes exacerbated by climate change consumed large sections of the Amazon rainforest, Pantanal wetlands and Cerrado savanna, as well as the southern state of São Paulo.

During the study researchers visited 10 forest fragments that had become isolated from each other by the cattle pastures, the San Juan River and natural savanna.

As a result, tropical forests, savannas and grasslands in those areas tend to wither and die and burn in wildfires, contributing to additional CO2 emissions.