Climate change is changing all the patterns in the world's climate. Both in temperatures, as in the rainfall regime and others. Not all the world's ecosystems are equally vulnerable to the effects of climate change, nor are they affected in the same way.
In this case, we are going to talk about the looping effects caused by the decrease in rainfall over the Amazon rainforest. What causes climate change in the Amazon?
Decrease in rainfall
The first consequence of the decrease in rainfall in the Amazon is the increase in forest mortality. The Amazon rainforest has always been characterized by its abundant rainfall and high humidity. However, due to climate change, the rainfall pattern is lower.
Vegetation is almost responsible for 30% of cloud formation and, by decreasing the amount of forest mass in the Amazon, it is introduced in a loop. It rains less, more trees die, it rains even less because there are fewer trees and more trees die because it rains less. In addition, the decrease in the number of living trees worsens regional periods of drought, which in turn increases the death rate of vegetation.
The Amazon rainforest is a critical element of the global climate system. If its surface area continues to shrink at the same rate as in previous decades, this could lead to drastic changes in Earth's climate. Studies have been carried out on how this forest is reacting to the most extreme periods of droughts that are expected to be more common and intense due to global warming.
Of course, human actions in the jungle exacerbate this situation to extreme levels, since it is the main cause of deforestation in the Amazon. After a dry season in which rainfall is half normal, up to 10% of the forest can be lost. It may seem like little, but if the forest continues to disappear, so will the fertile soil, since all the nutrients of the Amazon are stored in the plants. Decreasing these would also have a devastating effect on CO2 absorption, causing a drastic change in the world's climate.