The fate of flying rivers could decide Amazon ‘tipping point,’ report says

cross-posted from: slrpnk.net/post/28047818

• The Amazon’s “tipping point” refers to the transition of the rainforest into a drier, savanna ecosystem. The rainforest’s ecological balance depends on the transport and recycling of moisture, but deforestation has been shown to disrupt the region’s water cycle.
• Moisture moves east to west, from the Atlantic Ocean across the Amazon Basin via what scientists call “aerial” or “flying rivers,” a critical mechanism in the region’s water cycle.
• A new report from Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Project identified areas of deforestation that disrupt these flying rivers from hundreds of miles away. It also found that not all parts of the Amazon have the same tipping point.
• The researchers stressed the need for regional, transboundary conservation efforts that account for varied threats in different parts of the Amazon.

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