Floodplain forests have low resilience to repeated exposure to wildfires. As climate change increases the instances of fires, forests may transform to less productive grassland ecosystems.
Amazonia
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Upwind Forest Buffers Rondonia Cropland Against Regional Drought
During severe Amazonia droughts when oceanic supply of moisture failed, the magnitude of rainfall reduction over Rondonia was moderated by enhanced moisture supply from upwind forests.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Trans-Atlantic Dusts May Not Enrich Amazon as Much as Thought
New research indicates that nutrient loads delivered to South American ecosystems by dust originating in Africa are far lower than suggested in previous studies.
Posted inNews
Amazon Fires Contribute to Andean Glacier Melting
New research finds that black carbon emissions produced by fires in the Amazon cause glaciers in the Andes to absorb more sunlight and melt more.
Posted inNews
Deforestation Could Exacerbate Drought in the Amazon
Researchers use high-resolution satellite images to parse the effects of land use changes on the energy balance between the rain forest and the atmosphere.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Smoke Signals in the Amazon
Forest fires can occur naturally, but in the world's largest rain forest, fire can signal large-scale deforestation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Could Amazonian Deforestation Increase Cloudiness and Rain?
In trading trees for pastures, patchwork differences in vegetation heights increase cloudiness in downwind regions.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Uncertainty in Deforestation’s Effects on Amazonian Climate
The strength of land-atmosphere coupling in a given model influences how it represents deforestation’s effects.