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Amazon rainforest may be less vulnerable to climate change than expected
11/02/2009
British scientists have discovered that the Amazon rainforest may not be as vulnerable to global warming as once expected.
A new report, written in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, states that many projections of climate change underestimate the amount of rainfall there will be.
The scientists suggest that climate change could bring more seasonal rainfall, ‘the rainfall regime in eastern Amazonia is likely to shift over the 21st century in a direction that favours more seasonal forests rather than savannah.’
They claim that this shift could actually favour new species of trees and other plants and animals that thrive in seasonal conditions.
However, they were quick to point out that nations, including Brazil, will need to act to help reduce the drying out of the vulnerable areas, such as the eastern Amazonian forest.
This latest study contradicts earlier studies that concluded that the rainforests could dry out and be replaced by Savannah.
The scientists looked at 19 global climate models and found that almost all underestimated future rainfall in the Amazon forest, when looked at in terms of average current rainfall. They found that when rainfall was reduced by the projected amounts, there was still enough expected to sustain forest growth.
A new report, written in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, states that many projections of climate change underestimate the amount of rainfall there will be.
The scientists suggest that climate change could bring more seasonal rainfall, ‘the rainfall regime in eastern Amazonia is likely to shift over the 21st century in a direction that favours more seasonal forests rather than savannah.’
They claim that this shift could actually favour new species of trees and other plants and animals that thrive in seasonal conditions.
However, they were quick to point out that nations, including Brazil, will need to act to help reduce the drying out of the vulnerable areas, such as the eastern Amazonian forest.
This latest study contradicts earlier studies that concluded that the rainforests could dry out and be replaced by Savannah.
The scientists looked at 19 global climate models and found that almost all underestimated future rainfall in the Amazon forest, when looked at in terms of average current rainfall. They found that when rainfall was reduced by the projected amounts, there was still enough expected to sustain forest growth.
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