Amazon rainforest stores carbon for the world, but this carbon sink is at risk, a study finds
The Amazon rainforest contains almost two years of global carbon emissions, but is under threat as a carbon sink, according to a new study
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The Amazon rainforest stores the equivalent of almost two years of global carbon emissions, but its role as a carbon sink is under threat, according to a study released Monday.
The U.S. nonprofit Amazon Conservation used satellite data provided by the Planet company to calculate how much climate-changing carbon the Amazon forest stores. An analysis of the data concluded that with deforestation there's a danger the Amazon could start contributing more carbon than it absorbs from the atmosphere.
Researchers found Amazon trees held 56.8 billion metric tons of carbon above ground in 2022. They said that’s 64.7 million metric tons more than in 2013, making the Amazon a carbon sink over the last decade.
But it´s now a “very small buffer,” according to an analysis by Planet. “There’s reason to worry that the biome could flip from sink to source with ongoing deforestation.”
