Tropical forests in South America lose their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere when conditions become exceptionally hot and dry, according to new research.
research networks, with more than 100 scientists measuring forests for decades across 123 experimental plots.These direct, tree-by-tree records showed that most forests had acted as a carbon sink for most of the last 30 years, with tree growth exceeding mortality. When the 2015–2016 El Niño hit, the sink shut down. This was because tree death increased with the heat and drought.
Prior to El Niño, the researchers calculated that the plots were storing and sequestering around one third of a metric ton of carbon per hectare per year. This declined to zero with the hotter and drier El Niño conditions.Writing in the paper, the researchers noted that the greatest relative impact of the El Niño event were in forests where the long-term climate was already relatively dry.
For Professor Oliver Phillips, an ecologist at the University of Leeds who supervised the research and leads the globalinitiative, the findings offered hope about the resilience of the South American tropical nature. "Where tree mortality increased was in the drier areas on the Amazon periphery where forests were already fragmented. Knowing these risks, conservationists and resource managers can take steps to protect them.
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