The Amazon is at risk of what has been described as a ‘die-back circle’, where forest loss increases as a result of reduced rainfall and human activities such as logging. Crucially, that reduction itself leads to yet more drought conditions. Human induced climate change also threatens to further reduce rainfall, exacerbating the situation. Being able to predict which regions of the Amazon are susceptible to this loss is therefore critical to avoid worsening conditions.
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| The Amazon is at risk of being caught in a "die-back circle". |
Towards this end, researchers have recently reported that the presence of a variety of tree species are a good indicator of the likelihood of survival for forest regions. Reporting in the journal ‘Nature Communications’, the lead-author Dr. Delphine Clara Zemp of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, reminds us why this research matters by simply stating that, ‘The Amazon rainforest is one of the tipping elements in the Earth system.’
A self-sustaining but vulnerable system.
Read the Science and Technology Research News story - “Breaking the Cycle of Forest Loss in the Amazon.”
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