High rainfall afforded resilience to tropical rainforests around 50 million years ago

Source: The post is based on the article “High rainfall afforded resilience to tropical rainforests around 50 million years ago” published in “PIB” on 17th November 2023

Why in the News?

Scientists at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) have discovered how equatorial forests survived in much warmer times on Earth. 

Background:

Around 50 million years ago, Earth was around 13°C warmer than present and carbon dioxide concentration was more than 1000 ppmv (parts per million volume).

This affected the survival of mid- and high latitude forests due to changes in the hydrological cycle.

But the equatorial forests survived successfully at that time.

How did equatorial forests survive successfully during this warm period?

Equatorial rainforests managed to survive this warm period due to high rainfall, crucial for their resilience.

The heightened rainfall likely boosted the water efficiency of plants, aiding their survival in warm conditions and high carbon dioxide levels.

What is the significance of these findings?

1.This will help in developing a tool to understand ancient tropical climates.

2.This study is also useful in understanding how climatic and biotic changes occur at present and in the future.

UPSC Syllabus: Geography in News