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Published on: December 27, 2017
Drought sensitivity of the Amazon rainforest.
Oliver L Phillips1, Luiz E O C Aragão, Simon L Lewis
1Ecology and Global Change, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. o.phillips@leeds.ac.uk
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 7, 2009
Summary
Amazon forests, vital for the global carbon cycle, are vulnerable to drying. A severe drought revealed significant biomass carbon loss, potentially accelerating climate change.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Science
- Forestry
Background:
- Amazon forests play a critical role in the global carbon cycle.
- Future drying of these forests could accelerate climate change via carbon release and altered energy balance.
- Understanding forest response to drought is crucial for climate change prediction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess Amazonian forest response to the intense 2005 drought.
- To quantify biomass carbon loss and understand its relation to water deficit.
- To evaluate the potential feedback of forest carbon loss on climate change.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from multiple long-term monitoring plots across Amazonia.
- Analyzed forest biomass changes in response to the 2005 drought event.
- Quantified carbon loss per hectare based on increased water deficit.
Main Results:
- The 2005 drought caused significant aboveground biomass carbon loss in Amazon forests.
- Forests experienced a reversal from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
- A 100 mm increase in water deficit resulted in a loss of 5.3 Mg C ha(-1).
- Total biomass carbon impact ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 petagrams.
Conclusions:
- Amazon forests are highly vulnerable to increased moisture stress.
- Significant carbon losses from forests can create positive feedback loops, accelerating climate change.
- The 2005 drought serves as an analog for potential future climate change impacts on the Amazon.
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