Publication in the scientific journal “Nature” indicates that deforestation still causes precipitation to increase in the rainy season
Deforestation in the Amazon is causing changes in the climate regime of the region. A study published this week in the scientific journal shows that deforestation causes more rainfall in the rainy season and less in the dry season, when the forest more needs rainfall.
The researchers used climate simulations, meteorological data and satellite images from the 2000 to 2020 Amazon. During this period, “The rapid loss of forest in the Amazon region considerably affected a number of crucial services that support the global carbon cycle, climate change mitigation, social welfare and biodiversity”. This is the study in English (PDF – 8 MB).
According to the study, the interaction between deforestation and the water cycle “It is particularly remarkable“, then “It is an important determinant of the resilience and stability of ecosystems”.
The data collected indicated that at the wet station (from December to February), deforestation intensifies the transport of atmospheric moisture towards the deforested areas. With this, there is the increase of rainfall in these regions and the reduction of precipitation in other areas.
On the other hand, in the dry season (from July to August), evapotranspiration decreases in the deforested area, causing the reduction of rainfall in these places.
“Deforestation not only reduces evapotranspiration (ET), thus affecting precipitation in deforested and neighboring areas, but also causes changes through atmospheric and oceanic feedback”Read in the study.
“Due to its fundamental role in regulating the regional and global climate, continuous efforts are needed to protect the remaining forest in the Amazon, as well as to rehabilitate degraded lands. Understanding the relationship between deforestation and precipitation in the Amazonian region reported here requires dedicated forest management, taking into account reforestation and expansion of agricultural activities in areas of forest conversion to agricultural lands, as well as borders where deforestation can expand in the future”Says the document.
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