The Amazon Rainforest Is Heading Towards A Critical Point

The Amazon Rainforest Is Heading Towards A Critical Point
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The degradation of the Amazon rainforest will reach a critical point if deforestation exceeds 20% of its initial area, according to an article published in Science Advances.

Thomas Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre have researched “how much deforestation will be needed for the hydrological cycle to degrade until it is no longer able to support the ecosystems of the tropical forests”.

Researchers think the wrongly-practiced democracy in Brazil is the culprit

“By climate change – deforestation and global warming – there is a risk that more than 50% of the Amazon forest will become a degraded savanna. The fact that continuous deforestation is a small demonstration of the difficulty or the bankruptcy of the representative democracy in our countries, here in South America. Representative democracy is no longer functioning in Brazil because the will of the majority of the Brazilian population to preserve the Amazon has no correspondence in the political actions we see coming from the Brazilian state,” explained Carlos Nobre.

The Amazonian hydrological cycle is in danger

The research team has concluded that deforestation has reached about 17% of the vegetation in the last 50 years and that only three percent more would lead to a critical point. If that “point of no return” is passed, saving the Amazonian jungle would be almost impossible.

Biologists say climate change, deforestation and the widespread use of fire are factors that will influence the natural cycle of water in the region.

Studies suggest that negative interactions between these elements will lead to a change in the Amazonian hydrological cycle. The cycle is described as “fundamental to human welfare in adjacent Brazil and South America”.

The Amazonian jungle has been nicknamed “Lungs of the Planet”. So, you can picture for yourself what disastrous consequences its “death” would have on the Earth.

Researchers and environmental activists have triggered alarm signal for some years now but no positive feedback from South American countries has been received. All this carelessness will most probably lead to the Amazon rainforest towards the critical point mentioned by Thomas Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre.


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Jeffrey likes to write about health and fitness topics, being a champion fitness instructor in the past.

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