Ecosystems: What’s Going on with our Rainforests?

Throughout my last few blog posts, I refer to “human-induced climate change” quite often. What does this phrase mean to you? Do your thoughts tend to lead towards the burning of fossil fuels, the release of carbon emissions, or greenhouse gases? Those few topics are the main ideas that are stressed to humankind when it comes to our impact on Earth’s climate. However, there are other human-induced factors that play into climate and our planet’s ecosystems. Deforestation is just one example of an act that causes our ecosystems to face major consequences on top of the change in climate we are already facing. Rainforests and their unique species face many risks when it comes to the removal of greenery. In this post, I will put my focus on addressing deforestation, its impacts on climate change, and how climate change in general is impacting rainforests.

How Problematic is Deforestation?

When speaking in terms of preserving wildlife, most think of animals that wander among our planet. While these creatures are very important to Earth, its ecosystems, and life in general, vegetation must be considered as well. Forests serve as a great buffer from climate change, and it is imperative that humankind is able to comprehend this concept in order to preserve the lives of animals. As mentioned above and in my previous posts, carbon emissions are a vast contributor to climate change. With trees and plants feeding off of carbon dioxide, we must preserve forests, vegetation, and greenery as well as promote new growth. When regions are stripped of their trees, more carbon dioxide is allowed to linger throughout our atmosphere, whereas, trees absorb this gas and emit rich oxygen that we need to sustain life. Statistically speaking, deforestation is known to cause 15% of carbon emissions. For a single act that seems so small, this is an eye-catching number that should serve as a catalyst for action to be taken against deforestation, especially within our planet’s rainforests. 

Additionally, trees within a rainforest allow for a circulation of moisture throughout the ecosystem. Furthermore, the removal of forestry also removes moisture, which puts rainforests at a greater risk for experiencing a drought (we will discuss this in greater detail a little later).

Climate Change and Rainforests

The outlook for rainforests in the near future is relatively dry, which can bring forth multiple consequences in terms of the future. At this current time, models display a 2-3℃ increase by the year 2050 approaches. Due to this estimation, rainforests are more likely to experience droughts. A study that was based off of the Amazon River provided results of a 10-20% reduction in precipitation with the forecasted temperature increase. With rainforests already receiving less and less precipitation each year, their outlook can only get worse. Forest fires, food shortages, and endangerment of species are all concerns of this matter that we should lend our attention to. As you can see, these habitats are already facing so much with climate change alone. Adding in the factor of deforestation causes the level of devastation to increase astronomically.

Rainforests without the Rain?

Less rainfall can easily lead to the promotion of more forest fires occurring within rainforests. As mentioned above, the reduction of greenery leads to less internal moisture within the rainforest setting. The trees allow for moisture to circulate throughout the ecosystem, and in return, this regulates the temperatures and moisture of the area. Therefore, tree removal could easily cause forest fires due to the introduction of dry conditions that follow it. 

Scientists fear that this balance will be disrupted in the Amazon Rainforest and hit a point where it becomes irreversible. If this were to transpire, the rainforest would dry out and be degraded to a savanna (click here for more information). So, as crazy as it sounds, our rainforest population is in danger as well as its residents.

Amazon Rainforest and Wildfires

Most have heard about the wildfires that occurred throughout most of 2019 and how devastating these fires were. The Amazon Rainforest spreads across 9 countries within South America, but the majority of it resides in Brazil. As of August 29, 2019, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported more than 80,000 fires, which is nearly an 80% increase in fire activity since 2018. This tragedy was undoubtedly related to deforestation. It was thought that the Amazon Rainforest faced intruders that approached deforestation with a “slash and burn” method. This entails clearing forestry and burning the remains (click here to learn more). As mentioned above, clearing vegetation triggers dryness that causes these environments to become more prone to forest fires. With this being said, the slash and burn method is a recipe for disaster. 

On August 24, 2019, president Jair Bolsoaro deployed the military into the rainforest. More than 10,400 firefighters were present within an area of 5.5 million square kilometers to help save the rainforest as well. A supertanker plane also helped to douse the flames. After September 2019, Bolsonaro, announced a 60 day ban on setting fires to clear agriculture and land. His action caused a decrease in the observed blazes (click here to learn more).

Final Thoughts

Not only are increased carbon and greenhouse gas emissions causing devastation to ecosystems, but the further decisions made by humankind are as well. Understandably, it is difficult to think of every possible consequence that accompanies our actions and how it will impact multiple parameters. On the other hand, I believe that deforestation and its negative impacts are fairly obvious. Either way, it is imperative that we begin to spread awareness of these negative effects and modify our actions accordingly. 

As we saw earlier in this post, climate change alone already poses many threats to these beautiful grounds in the sense that precipitation, a necessity, is becoming more sparse. Additionally, the act of deforestation is beyond destructive, so when the two concepts are put together, there is no chance for a reversal without society making a realization and acting upon it. Together, let’s bring more awareness to these unique ecosystems and save them while we can!

Signing off

-Shannon