Amazon forests — the "lungs of planet earth" — could be pushed towards a "tipping point" as severe droughts converge with fires to bring about massive forest loss, a new study shows.
Climate change will likely increase regional temperatures while decreasing precipitation, and that means an increased likelihood of a perfect storm of conditions for causing massive tree-killing fires.
The team of researchers led by Paulo Brando of the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Carnegie Institution for Science and Woods Hole Research Center, did an 8-year study of three 50-hectare forest plots in southeast Amazonia to see how the trees within the plots responded to intentional burns.
One of the plots was left unburned, one was burned every three years, and the third was burned every year.
"Over the course of our experiment, 60 percent of the trees died with combined drought and repeated fire. Our results suggest that a perfect firestorm, caused by drought conditions and previous fire disturbance, crossed a threshold in forest resistance," said study co-author Jennifer Balch, assistant professor of geography at Penn State.
Included in their study was 2007, a year a severe drought took place. During droughts, not only is there less humidity but there is also more fuel in the way of fallen leaves and branches.
Complete story at - 'Lungs of the Earth' Could Get Pushed to 'Tipping Point' | Common Dreams
Climate change will likely increase regional temperatures while decreasing precipitation, and that means an increased likelihood of a perfect storm of conditions for causing massive tree-killing fires.
The team of researchers led by Paulo Brando of the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Carnegie Institution for Science and Woods Hole Research Center, did an 8-year study of three 50-hectare forest plots in southeast Amazonia to see how the trees within the plots responded to intentional burns.
One of the plots was left unburned, one was burned every three years, and the third was burned every year.
"Over the course of our experiment, 60 percent of the trees died with combined drought and repeated fire. Our results suggest that a perfect firestorm, caused by drought conditions and previous fire disturbance, crossed a threshold in forest resistance," said study co-author Jennifer Balch, assistant professor of geography at Penn State.
Included in their study was 2007, a year a severe drought took place. During droughts, not only is there less humidity but there is also more fuel in the way of fallen leaves and branches.
Complete story at - 'Lungs of the Earth' Could Get Pushed to 'Tipping Point' | Common Dreams
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