THE AMAZON REGIONS’ IMPACT IS THAT THEY EMIT MORE CARBON THAN THEY ABSORB

Increased heat and deforestation turn the Amazon rainforest into a carbon sink, reversing its former role.

According to a new study, deforestation and climate change are affecting the Amazon rainforest’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

Significant areas of the world’s largest rainforest are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb.

According to scientists, the southeastern region is the most affected, with higher rates of tree loss and an increase in the number of fires.

During the hottest months, temperatures there have risen three times faster than the global average.

Sinks are areas of the planet that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit (for example, in the form of greenhouse gases like CO2).

The ability of the world’s lands and forests to absorb carbon has been critical in slowing the rate of climate change.

Since the 1960s, these sinks have absorbed approximately 25% of the carbon emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels.

The Amazon’s Function

The Amazon has played a critical role in absorbing and storing a large portion of this carbon. However, the growing effects of climate change and deforestation are wreaking havoc on this vital CO2 sponge.

Earlier this year, a study found that the Brazilian rainforest emitted roughly 20% more CO2 into the atmosphere than it absorbed between 2010 and 2019.

This new interpretation emphasizes that change, discovering that some areas of the forest were a “consistently increasing source” of carbon between 2010 and 2018.

A carbon source is a region of the planet that emits more carbon than it stores.

During the study years, researchers used aircraft to collect 600 air samples above specific areas of the forest.

They also discovered a distinct divide between the forest’s eastern and western halves.

“On the eastern side of the Amazon, which is 30 percent deforested, up to ten times more carbon is emitted than on the western side, which is around 11 percent deforested,” said Luciana Gatti, lead author of the study and researcher at the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.

“This has enormous ramifications. You are aware of this directly because we are emitting more CO2 into the atmosphere, which is hastening climate change; however, it is also causing changes in dry season conditions and stress on trees, which will result in even more emissions “..

“This is a terrible reaction that raises emissions far more than we realized.”

According to researchers, deforestation and climate change have had a significant impact on the southeastern Amazon.

Temperatures in this area have risen by 3.07oC during the warmest two months of the year. This is roughly the same as the increase seen in the Arctic and approximately three times the global average.

“It’s incredible,” Gatti said. “It’s a complete surprise for the world’s equatorial zone.”

Climate change, according to researchers, is also interfering with rainfall, which has immediate consequences in Brazil.

“This is terrible news for everyone, but particularly for Brazil,” Gatti said.

“We have many issues as a result of the lack of rain, such as an increase in electricity from hydroelectric power. Agriculture has also suffered significant losses “..

“We need to link this to Amazon deforestation and change behavior.”

Other researchers in this field have noted that the latest findings are consistent with changes that have already been demonstrated in a number of studies.

“Deforestation and degradation are increasing, while the carbon sink of intact forests is stable or slightly increasing,” said Jean Pierre Wigneron, a doctor at France’s National Institute of Agricultural Research.

“It’s not surprising to find a negative carbon balance,” he admits.

Nancy Harris of the World Resources Institute, a co-author of previous studies in the same field, added, “at the end of the day, debating whether the region is already a source of carbon, or whether it is precariously on the verge of becoming a source of CO2 is not the case.”

“The Amazon is clearly in trouble, according to science. For decades, the region has been plagued by high deforestation emissions. And the consequences of climate change, such as drought, fire, and heat-induced extinction, will become more common in the coming decade “.