Fire and drought may push Amazonian forests beyond tipping point

Monday, April 14, 2014 - 14:30 in Earth & Climate

Future simulations of climate in the Amazon suggest a longer dry season leading to more drought and fires. Woods Hole Research Center scientists Michael Coe, Paulo Brando, Marcia Macedo and colleagues have published a new study on the impacts of fire and drought on Amazon tree mortality. Their paper entitled "Abrupt increases in Amazonian tree mortality due to drought-fire interactions," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that prolonged droughts caused more intense and widespread wildfires, which consumed more forests in Amazonia than previously understood.

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