A team of scientists, lead by Professor Luciana Gatti from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, have been measuring greenhouse gasses over parts of the Amazon basin every two weeks for the last 10 years. The team fly aircrafts equipped with specific sensors according to the BBC.
Preliminary results from the unpublished study have revealed that 20% of the Amazon basin has become a net source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An increase in deforestation over the last decade as well as annual forest wildfires has resulted in the loss of millions of trees are causes of this increase in carbon emission.
The team of scientists have suggested that the Amazon rainforest may potentially become a source of carbon emission faster than expected. Dead trees release carbon dioxide that was absorbed while still alive back into the atmosphere.
Forests ordinarily act as a sink that stores carbon and decreases the rate of global warming. It is possible that the reverse happens and forests affected by deforestation become a source of carbon.
Parts of the rainforest are still able to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide. The research suggests, however, a specific region that has been heavily impacted by tree felling seems to have lost this capability.
Scientists have warned of an Amazon ‘tipping-point’ for decades. This is essentially a point in time when the forest is unable to regenerate and renew itself and loses its ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Rather it begins to release more carbon than it can take in.
Professor Nobre, Brazil’s leading expert on the Amazon and also a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo’s Institute for Advanced Studies spoke to BBC and said: ‘The Amazon used to be, in the 1980s and 90s, a very strong carbon sink, perhaps extracting two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere. Today, that strength is reduced perhaps to 1-1.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.’
He continued: ‘In our calculations, if we exceed that 20-25% of deforestation, and global warming continues unabated with high emission scenarios, then the tipping point would be reached. Today we are at about 17%.’
Image: Unsplash
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