Pronounced loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since the early 2000s
TLDR
In this article , the authors quantify changes of Amazon resilience by applying established indicators (for example, measuring lag-1 autocorrelation) to remotely sensed vegetation data with a focus on vegetation optical depth (1991-2016).Abstract:
Abstract The resilience of the Amazon rainforest to climate and land-use change is crucial for biodiversity, regional climate and the global carbon cycle. Deforestation and climate change, via increasing dry-season length and drought frequency, may already have pushed the Amazon close to a critical threshold of rainforest dieback. Here, we quantify changes of Amazon resilience by applying established indicators (for example, measuring lag-1 autocorrelation) to remotely sensed vegetation data with a focus on vegetation optical depth (1991–2016). We find that more than three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has been losing resilience since the early 2000s, consistent with the approach to a critical transition. Resilience is being lost faster in regions with less rainfall and in parts of the rainforest that are closer to human activity. We provide direct empirical evidence that the Amazon rainforest is losing resilience, risking dieback with profound implications for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate change at a global scale. read more
Citations
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Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points
David I. Armstrong McKay,Arie Staal,Jesse Abrams,Ricarda Winkelmann,Boris Sakschewski,Sina Loriani,Ingo Fetzer,Sarah Cornell,Johan Rockström,Timothy M. Lenton +9 more
TL;DR: This paper provided a revised shortlist of global core and regional impact tipping points and their temperature thresholds, including the tipping point thresholds, time scales, and impacts of climate change, and provided an updated assessment of the most important climate tipping elements and their potential tipping points.
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Empirical evidence for recent global shifts in vegetation resilience
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors quantify vegetation resilience globally with complementary metrics based on two independent long-term satellite records and empirically confirm that the recovery rates from large perturbations can be closely approximated from internal vegetation variability across vegetation types and climate zones.
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Scientists' warning to humanity on tree extinctions
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Amazon fires in the 21st century: The year of 2020 in evidence
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References
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