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The original was posted on /r/worldnews by /u/theluckyfrog on 2024-05-20 23:25:54+00:00.
More than third of Amazon rainforest struggling to recover from drought, study finds
Submitted 2 years ago by bot@lemmit.online [bot] to worldnews@lemmit.online
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 2 years ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The signs of weakening resilience raise concerns that the world’s greatest tropical forest – and biggest terrestrial carbon sink – is degrading towards a point of no return.
It follows four supposedly “one-in-a-century” dry spells in less than 20 years, highlighting how a human-disrupted climate is putting unusually intense strains on trees and other plants, many of which are dying of dehydration.
In the past, the canopy of the South American tropical forest, which covers an area equivalent to about half of Europe, would shrink and expand in tandem with the annual dry and rainy seasons.
The paper’s lead author, Johanna Van Passel, said the satellite images only showed part of the true picture, and the situation below the canopy could be more severe.
Rainy seasons are growing shorter and more intense, which also hurts the ability of the forest to recover from drought because many tree species have not evolved to cope with extreme conditions.
To counter this, it urges international policymakers to protect mature forests, Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities, as well as reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.
The original article contains 853 words, the summary contains 181 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!