The study using satellite imagery, radio and microwave data to measure a variable like leaf foliage or stem thickness, which reflects how quickly plants recover from drought or human activity.
Loss of forest would result in billions of tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, reducing the planet’s ability to recycle greenhouse gas, and accelerating climate change.
This is an important sign of greater instability because it reveals that recovery processes are weakening.
Previous studies have shown that if you lose the forest, it affects the entire circulation of the atmosphere and as a result its negative influence on our climate as well.
A study in Nature in 2000 predicted mass plant erosion in the Amazon rainforest by the end of the 21st century, although the study released on Monday concluded the timescale might vary with GHG emission levels.
It is unclear when the critical turning point could be reached or how long it would take for the forest to move into the savanna following a tipping point, the authors argue.
Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute in Exeter and an additional report author, said that the loss of resilience seen in the Amazon area was “is quite pronounced and clear and statistically significant”
New field evidence from the #Amazonforest reveals that native savannas are expanding at the heart of the system due to forest #wildfires (a thread, 1/10). Open access at https://t.co/sIVlUIupXO pic.twitter.com/dTJb8XBY0S
— Bernardo M Flores (@BernardoMflores) March 4, 2021
