Transparent, consistent, and accurate national forest monitoring is required for successful implementation of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programs. Collecting baseline information on forest extent and rates of forest loss is a first step for national forest monitoring in support of REDD+. Peru, with the second largest extent of Amazon basin rainforest, has made significant progress in advancing its forest monitoring capabilities.

Unprecedented wet conditions are reported in the 2014 summer (December–March) in South-western Amazon, with rainfall about 100% above normal. Discharge in the Madeira River (the main southern Amazon tributary) has been 74% higher than normal (58 000 m3 s−1) at Porto Velho and 380% (25 000 m3 s−1) at Rurrenabaque, at the exit of the Andes in summer, while levels of the Rio Negro at Manaus were 29.47 m in June 2014, corresponding to the fifth highest record during the 113 years record of the Rio Negro.

Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important limiting nutrients for the growth of oceanic phytoplankton and terrestrial ecosystems, which in turn contributes to CO2 sequestration. The solid-phase speciation of P will influence its solubility and hence its availability to such ecosystems.