The forest is not yet lost

Decades of deforestation and climate change have led to the southeastern Amazon becoming a carbon source region. Now, research shows that this carbon source region still sustains its own biomass production, but further degradation would decrease moisture recycling and amplify carbon losses to the atmosphere.

The water and carbon cycles are intimately connected via the biological processes that occur in the Amazon. Through photosynthesis, the trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass and in the soil, representing an important global carbon sink that helps offset anthropogenic emissions. At the same time, the pores in the leaves pump moisture into the atmosphere after the deep roots of the trees remove the water that has accumulated in the soil as a result of abundant rainfall. The released moisture then contributes to the rains that fall on local and downwind regions. This natural functioning acts as an important climate regulator, controlling air temperature and precipitation, and enabling a mild and humid climate in both nearby and remote areas.

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  1. Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil

    Gabrielle F. Pires

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  1. Gabrielle F. Pires
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Pires, G.F. The forest is not yet lost.
Nat. Clim. Chang. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01707-3

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  • Published: 19 June 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01707-3

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