More than 75% of Amazon rainforest near tipping point, may transform into dry savanna: Study

What is the News?

According to a study, more than 75% of the Amazon rainforest has been heading towards a tipping point since the early 2000s.

What is the Amazon Rainforest?

It is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America.

The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil (60%), followed by Peru Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Why is the Amazon Rainforest important?

Amazon’s rainforest is home to 30% of the world’s species, comprising 40,000 plant species, 16,000 tree species, 1,300 birds and more than 430 species of mammals.

The rainforest is also a carbon sink — a place that absorbs more carbon dioxide than it releases. It plays an essential role in combating climate change.

What is happening with the Amazon Rainforest?

The Amazon Rainforest is getting impacted by activities such as Deforestation, increase in temperature and other human-induced activities.

Due to this, it is losing its ability to bounce back from damage caused by droughts, fires and deforestation.

The study has also warned that the rainforest may become a dry savanna-like ecosystem. This means that it could transform into a carbon source: Places that release more CO2 than they absorb.

Source: This post is based on the article “More than 75% of Amazon rainforest near tipping point, may transform into dry savanna: Study” published in Down To Earth on 10th Mar 2022