Amazon Rainforest Losses Impact on Climate Change

Human activity has removed more than one-tenth of trees and plants from the Amazon rainforest since the 1960s, a study shows.  Widespread removal of trees has contributed to a rise in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, increasing the potential impact of climate change, researchers say.

Deforestation of the Amazon accounted for 1.5 per cent of the increase in carbon dioxide levels seen since the mid-nineteenth century, the team says.
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Had this deforestation not taken place, the rainforest would store 12 per cent more carbon in its vegetation, and cover a much larger area than at present, the team adds.

The study is the first to show the extent of Amazon deforestation by determining the impact humans have had on the ability of the rainforest to store carbon.

Read more at Amazon Rainforest Losses Impact on Climate Change, Study Shows