The Amazon rainforest which was once referred to as the lungs of our planet are actually emitting more carbon dioxide than it absorbs, reveals a shocking study.
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Reported first by the Guardian, the emissions released from the rainforest result in a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. The rainforest that was regarded as the carbon sink for harmful emissions has now become its most powerful accelerator, say, researchers.
These emissions are originating from deliberately caused forest fires that are being done for beef and soy production. But even if you ignore the forest fires, hotter temperatures and droughts in the area indicate its transition from a sink that takes away CO2 to a source.
For this study, researchers took the help of small planes to measure CO2 levels up to 4,500 metres above the forest in the last decade. Here they took 600 vertical profiles of CO2 and carbon monoxide produced by fires from 2010 to 2018. It found that fires produced 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year with forest growth removing only 0.5 billion tonnes. The remaining 1 billion tons is equivalent to the annual emissions of Japan, which is also the world¡¯s fifth-largest polluter.
This study also revealed how the whole rainforest is transitioning. Earlier studies indicating Amazon¡¯s nature of exuding more CO2 has been revealed in the past but it was based on satellite data which can get affected by cloud cover or ground measurements of trees that can only cover a tiny part of the vast region.?
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Scientists highlight that the spike in CO2 emissions in areas that weren¡¯t on fire was more alarming. They feel this is primarily because of deforestation and fires every year making them more susceptible the following year. Trees are responsible for the rains in the region. Fewer trees equal warmer temperatures resulting in heatwaves and eventually forest fires.?
Luciana Gatti, at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil and who led the research explained, ¡°The first very bad news is that forest burning produces around three times more CO2 than the forest absorbs. The second bad news is that the places where deforestation is 30% or more show carbon emissions 10 times higher than where deforestation is lower than 20%.¡±
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She added, ¡°The worst part is we don¡¯t use science to make decisions. People think that converting more land to agriculture will mean more productivity, but in fact, we lose productivity because of the negative impact on rain.¡±
Calling for stricter norms for saving the Amazon, Gatti concluded stating, ¡°We have a very negative loop that makes the forest more susceptible to uncontrolled fires. We need a global agreement to save the Amazon.¡±