Droogte: Amazonewoud van CO2-sink tot source

Door Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 8 februari 2011

New research shows that the 2010 Amazon drought may have been even more devastating to the region’s rainforests than the unusual 2005 drought, which was previously billed as a one-in-100 year event.

(...) the carbon impact of the 2010 drought may eventually exceed the 5 billion tonnes of CO2 released following the 2005 event, as severe droughts kill rainforest trees. For context, the United States emitted 5.4 billion tonnes of CO2 from fossil fuel use in 2009.

(...) Droughts co-occur with peaks of fire activity. Such interactions among climatic changes, human actions, and forest responses represent potential positive feedbacks that could lead to widespread Amazon forest degradation or loss
(...) If drought events continue, the era of intact Amazon forests buffering the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide may have passed.

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Bossen kunnen CO2 gaan uitstoten in plaats van opnemen