Amazon Rainforest Is Nearing Its Demise, Warns Study
A new study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications found that up to 40% of the Amazon Rainforest could transition into savanna in the years ahead due to the chronic stresses of deforestation and climate change.?
What it means?
The study pointed out that much of the rainforest is on the verge of losing its distinct nature and switching from a closed canopy rainforest to an open savanna with far fewer trees as a result of the climate crisis. More specifically, by the end of this century, 40 percent of the Amazon could become a grassland or woodland ¡ª and that would be devastating for our planet. The ongoing deforestation has disrupted the forest¡¯s capacity to self-regulate and could eventually lead to its demise, say researchers.?
Rainforests are massive systems that influence their own climates. The Amazon Rainforest, for example, generates its own rainfall by capturing and releasing moisture. But if a major part of a rainforest gets destroyed, its capacity to self-regulate declines, rainfall rates will go down making it susceptible to droughts, fires, and more, the study reports.?
According to the World Wildlife Fund, such a transition would have massive repercussions for the region and the planet as a whole, especially when the Amazon is a critical carbon sink that mitigates the effects of climate change.?
How much forest is lost each year?
Over the past decade, the Amazon rainforest has lost 24,000 square miles of forest cover, which is equivalent to 10.3 million American football fields worth of land, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Over the last 50 years, the forest as a whole has been reduced by 17%.
Food and Agriculture Organization's 2016 State of the Forests report revealed that 7 million hectares of forest are lost annually while agricultural land expands by 6 million with fires and deforestation adding to the distress.
Difference between rainforest & savanna?
A rainforest is a lush, biodiverse, tropical jungle with consistent warm temperatures and high rainfall, covered by a canopy of trees. Not just it creates oxygen, water, food, and shelter for millions of people, it¡¯s also home to at least 3 million species, making it a vital repository for biodiversity. It supposedly provides about 6 percent of the world¡¯s oxygen, while absorbing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.?
In contrast, a savanna is a grassland or woodland located in or adjacent to the tropics, falling in the middle of the spectrum of the desert biome to the rainforest biome. In a savanna, the trees are too spaced out for a closed canopy, and are instead loosely shielded by an open canopy of trees.?
What can be done?
If the forest gets drier and more flammable, more of the forest will go up in flames, further reducing its ability to generate rainfall, making it even more susceptible to droughts and fires. If this plays out, nearly half of the Amazon will disappear.?
The only way to prevent this scenario from unfolding is to curb deforestation in the region, invest in massive reforestation campaigns, and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change.
