- Amazon faces severe degradation
- Deforestation, droughts threaten ecosystem
- Urgent restoration, action required
An international team of scientists announced today that nearly half of the Amazon Rainforest’s forests are projected to lose their integrity within the next sixteen years.
A new study concludes that fires, droughts, and deforestation threaten the rainforest, with 10 to 47 percent potentially entering a downward spiral of ecosystem decline by 2050.
The Amazon Rainforest, known as “the lungs of the Earth” for its oxygen production, depends on substantial rainfall. With declining moisture levels, these vital forests may transform into grasslands.
According to the study, 38% of the Amazon has been degraded by logging, canopy fires, and extreme drought, with road networks exacerbating the damage.
As a result, the Amazon, a key barrier against global warming, has become less resilient.
The study’s authors, Brazilian and European scientists, note that while the damage hasn’t passed the point of no return, that point approaches annually.
They explain that the replacement of natural environmental relationships with new ones is complicating survival for indigenous species and Amazon Basin residents.
Forest organisms, including humans, have adapted to the forest’s climate, but increased forest fires and droughts challenge their ability to adapt and survive.
Moreover, deforestation can trigger a “self-propelling feedback loop” of further deforestation, as detailed in Nature.
Forest loss also affects precipitation across South America, with the Amazon’s “flying rivers” playing a crucial role.
Boris Sakschewski from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) highlights the southeastern Amazon’s transition from a carbon sink to a source, underscoring the unsustainable human pressure.
Deforestation can precipitate further forest loss, creating a self-propelling feedback cycle of “tipping.”
Current droughts are the severest in fifty years, impacting major rivers like the Rio Negro.
The Amazon’s carbon sequestration, equivalent to 15-20 years of human CO2 emissions, is vital in mitigating global warming effects.
The study also examined disturbed forests to understand ecosystem consequences, noting that deforestation can lead to bamboo or ‘liana forests,’ which hinder large tree growth and forest canopy restoration.
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In some cases, forests remain in a combustible state with an exposed canopy, increasing the risk of fire spread.
The researchers aim to limit deforestation to 10 percent of the original Amazon Forest tree cover and restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, requiring the cessation of deforestation and restoration of at least 5 percent of the region’s forests.
Co-author Niklas Boers emphasizes the need for coordinated local and international efforts to preserve the Amazon within safe boundaries, highlighting the importance of halting deforestation and forest degradation while expanding restoration efforts and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
