A new study has found that large ecosystems, like the Amazon Rainforest, tend to shift more slowly than small systems. However, at the same time, they do so disproportionately faster.
Ultimately, this means that a large ecosystem will only take a few decades to disappear once the point of no return happens.
The Amazon Rainforest faces multiple problems that are all man-made. Some of these include climate change, deforestation, overfishing, and many other human activities.
What’s ironic about this entire situation is that the humans that are destroying the Amazon are the ones that will feel the full effect of it. There will be less food and raw resources available as a result of its disappearance.
What Is the Tipping Point for the Amazon Rainforest?
Unfortunately, this is the problem. In the future, we will be able to look back and properly determine exactly what the point of no return was if it occurs. However, it is not possible to know today.
One thing is clear, the Amazon Rainforest is changing. It has experienced multiple severe droughts in the last two decades and deforestation has become increasingly worse.
And just last year, the Amazon Rainforest lost 4.6 million acres of forest to the worst forest fire in its history.
Climate Change Will Be The Key
One thing that remains very clear, climate change will be the biggest factor in the destruction of the rainforest. If emissions stay at current levels or continue to rise, there is little doubt that the end of the Amazon will occur by the end of the century.
However, if emissions were to be significantly reduced and deforestation stopped overnight, the forest could make a full recovery. Unfortunately, this just isn’t likely to happen given our current trends.
Thus, the survival of the Amazon hinges entirely on the fight against climate change.
