AMAZON BASIN: No longer a carbon sink, now a  carbon sourceAccording to a new study in&nbs

AMAZON BASIN: No longer a carbon sink, now a  carbon source

According to a new study in Nature, parts of the Amazon, home to the world’s largest tropical rainforest, are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb. Historically, the Amazon has played a crucial role in absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon but the combination of deforestation and climate change have dramatically altered the rainforest’s ability to absorb carbon. 

The new study estimates the Amazon is emitting a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, accelerating climate change, causing dramatic environmental impacts on the planet, and indicating emissions cuts are increasingly critical. This map depicts spatial distributions of aboveground biomass (AGB) and (FAF) from a study in Nature of the Amazon’s CO2 emissions.

Further Reading:The Guardian,BBC,Mongabay,NPR, American Geographical Society (AGS)

Graphic Source:Nature