Scientists Warn That 40% Of The Amazon Rainforest Is At Risk Of Dying

Aerial View Of The Amazon Rainforest

Scientists are warning that 40% of Amazon rainforest is at risk of dying.

A significant part of the Amazon rainforest is at risk of dying because there is a risk that the rainforest could change from being a tropical rainforest ecosystem, into a savanna ecosystem.

Almost half of the Amazon rainforest is at risk of becoming a savanna due to deforestation and climate change.

The earth's climate has tipping points and so does the earth's ecosystems. Tipping points in the earth's ecosystem often mean that the damage done to particular ecosystems becomes irreversible. For example, the Amazon rainforest has a tipping point. If so much of the Amazon rainforest is destroyed it would mean that a tipping point has been reached. This tipping point in the Amazon rainforest being reached would mean that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest has got to a particular stage where the damage to the rainforest is irreversible.

Once the damage is irreversible and the tipping point in the Amazon rainforest has been reached, it means that we could no longer save the Amazon rainforest and the Amazon rainforest would effectively die.

When Will This Tipping Point Be Reached?

Macaw

When Will This Tipping Point Be Reached?

The journal 'Nature Communications' published its findings recently on when they believe that the Amazon rainforest will reach this tipping point.

In their paper called 'Hysteresis of tropical forests in the 21st century', the paper said that the Amazon rainforest could partially recover from deforestation, but, that later in the century the Amazon rainforest could ''lose [its] resilience''. In other words, the Amazon rainforest would lose its ability to recover from deforestation later in the century, if deforestation keeps happening to the rainforest.

What Are The Risks To The Amazon Rainforest?

There are several risks to the Amazon rainforest today.

The biggest threat right now to the Amazon rainforest is the destruction of the Amazon rainforest by people.

This destruction can happen in several ways - from forest fires being deliberately started by people to clear the Amazon rainforest so that they can use the land, to things like logging and mining. Another major threat to the Amazon rainforest is climate change.

These threats towards the Amazon rainforest puts the Amazon rainforest at risk of dying and becoming an extinct ecosystem.

If the Amazon rainforest dies, then the animals that live within the Amazon rainforest and call the Amazon rainforest their home will die too, and, likely most of the species that live within the Amazon rainforest today would become extinct if we lose the Amazon rainforest.