A portion of Amazonian lowland rainforest—areas critical to absorbing carbon dioxide and buffering climate change—may morph over time into dry, grassy savannas, according to a Rutgers-led study.
above and below ground, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Losing trees to a process the study described as"savannization" means the Amazon's ability to store carbon could be impacted.
"This study demonstrates the power of hydrology in explaining the structure and function of vegetation ecosystems," said Ying Fan Reinfelder, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and a co-author of the study."We argue that global change research can benefit from a sharpened focus on hydrological change."
Oceans and forests represent the two largest natural carbon"sinks," or absorbers, on Earth. Trees pull carbon out of the air during photosynthesis. Savannas, while vital sources of biodiversity, store far less carbon per acre. To reach their findings, the scientists looked to the science of hydrology, the study of the properties of the Earth's water on land. To simulate the Amazon region's water cycles in the present, they employed a complex computer model, essentially a series of equations representing various hydrological conditions—including river heights, soil moisture levels and evaporation rates.
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