Dry times in the Amazon add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

As the climate changes, the Amazon Basin may release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs, according to a new study published . An international team of scientists, co-led by Professor Emanuel Gloor from the University of Leeds, found that during a dry year the Amazon Basin’s ecosystems ‘exhaled’ more carbon dioxide (through vegetation fires) than it ‘inhaled’ (through photosynthesis). During a wet year, the region was carbon neutral, with roughly equal amounts of carbon dioxide exhaled to the atmosphere and inhaled into ecosystems. “We know that the Amazon undergoes a warming trend similar to the rest of the globe. There is also an increase in both droughts and severe floods. It is unclear how the Amazon forests will change in the future,” said Professor Gloor, one of three lead authors on the new paper. “For the first time we have observed the Basin-wide carbon balance during a very dry and a wet year, which gives us an indication of what changes to expect.