AN EARLY warning sign for the loss of plants in the Amazon rainforest can be seen in the temperature difference between seasons, according to the latest climate models.
The sixth generation of these models, which were used to inform the 2021 climate reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, incorporates a wide range of data and environmental mechanisms. The models are the first to include dynamic vegetation, which looks at how plant populations change and interact over time.
Predicting forest dieback, where rainforest turns to savannah, is important because it could indicate when large volumes of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere.
Isobel Parry at the University of Exeter, UK, and her colleagues used six of these models to predict how the Amazon will change in response to rising carbon…
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New Scientist (Digital) - 1 Issue, 23-Apr-22