Dossier
Amazon
The weather in the Amazon is more often dry nowadays and when it is, the world's biggest rainforest produces vast quantities of CO2. This may be the forest's death warrant, with serious consequences for climate. Wageningen researchers see both signs of stress and a surprising degree of resilience.
A lot of water combined with heat and sunlight provide ideal conditions for luxuriant plant growth. This becomes apparent when rain suddenly becomes scarce, as it did in 2005, 2010 and 2015. The vegetation grew at a slower pace and there were more forest fires.
The forest remains a tropical rainforest
Drought causes problems for trees and other plants which are used to a humid environment. The crowns of trees thin out and some trees die off completely. The response of forests to more frequent droughts is surprising: the forest may change in the composition of species present but it remains tropical rainforest, with more or less the same amount of biomass and of sequestrated CO2.
Research chair group Meteorology and Air Quality
Ingrid van der Laan-Luijkx, assistant professor at the Meteorology and Air Quality chair group, can see such effects from Wageningen by studying the air quality above the Amazon. Van der Laan's lab is working with Brazilian researchers who take regular air samples from a small plane at different altitudes above the Amazon.
Want to know more?
- What will the Amazon do? Wageningen World, 2016-4
- Regional atmospheric CO2 inversion reveals seasonal and geographic differences in Amazon net biome exchange, Global Change Biology, 28 April 2016
- Collecting air above the Amazon. Resource, 12 Feb 2015
News about the Amazon
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COP16: Protecting the Amazon with science and Indigenous knowledge
- As the UN Biodiversity Conference 2024 approaches, the spotlight turns to the Amazon—a vital ecosystem under threat. Wageningen University & Research is advocating for two pivotal strategies to reverse biodiversity loss: harnessing Indigenous peoples' knowledge and territories for conservation, and leveraging science and innovation to promote a sustainable bioeconomy. -
'Stickiness' of rarity and the universal dance of dominance
- In a revelatory exploration of biodiversity, a recent study has exposed the universal principles governing the dominance and rarity of species across ecosystems. The researchers unveil that a mere few percent of all species wield the lion's share of biomass, extending from the towering trees of the Amazon to the microscopic bacteria in our guts, the mushrooms in the forest, and beyond. -
How textural features can improve SAR-based tropical forest disturbance mapping
- An article of Johannes Balling, Martin Herold and Johannes Reiche: How textural features can improve SAR-based tropical forest disturbance mapping, has been published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Volume 124, November 2023, 103492. -
New research reveals global plastic pollution patterns in river basins
- Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is a critical environmental issue that demands urgent attention. A recent study published in Nature Communications has shed light on the complex dynamics of plastic pollution in river basins, offering valuable insights into the sources and types of plastics that contribute to the crisis. Its findings are poised to transform the way policymakers address plastic pollution. -
High Brazilian award for regional manager Ria Hulsman
- It is not often that Dutch nationals receive a prestigious foreign award. On Tuesday 4 July 2023, this honour befell Ria Hulsman, regional manager for Latin America and the Caribbean at Corporate Strategy & Accounts. Brazil's ambassador appointed her Knight of the 'Ordem do Rio Branco', an award comparable to the Dutch Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau. -
Collections in the spotlight: Flowers of the Brazilian forest
- In the Collection in the Spotlight series, we’re taking a closer look at exciting databases and hidden gems in our collections. This month, we’re discussing Flowers of the Brazilian forest, [31 paintings by Margaret Mee], a big favourite of Corrie Snijder, collection specialist at WUR Library.
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Marielos Peña-Claros appointed co-chair of Science Panel for the Amazon
- The Science Panel for the Amazon is the first high-level science initiative dedicated to the Amazon. The Panel was established to assess the current state of the Amazon ecosystems and its people, to examine trends and implications for the long-term well-being of the region. And also to explore opportunities and policy relevant options for the conservation and sustainable development of the Amazon. Options for conservation and sustainable development are urgently needed as widespread deforestation, forest degradation, and wildfires have intensified in recent years. Marielos Peña-Claros, personal professor in tropical forest management, recently started as co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA). -
MSc thesis topic: Relating Amazonian rainforest photosynthesis to clouds
- The MSc topic will deal with the interaction between the Amazonian rainforest and an atmosphere characterized by clouds. -
MSc thesis topic: Relating Amazonian rainforest structural propertiesto clouds
- The MSc topic will deal with the interaction between the Amazonian rainforest and an atmosphere characterized by clouds. -
Inter-comparison of optical and SAR-based forest disturbance warning systems in the Amazon shows the potential of combined SAR-optical monitoring
- An article of Juan Doblas Prieto, Lucas Lima, Stephane Mermoz, Alexandre Bouvet, Johannes Reiche, Manabu Watanabe, Sidnei Sant Anna, Yosio Shimabukuro: Inter-comparison of optical and SAR-based forest disturbance warning systems in the Amazon shows the potential of combined SAR-optical monitoring, has been published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing (volume 44, issue 1).
Projects about the Amazon
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The environmental sensitivity of plant and animal populations
- My research activities have included studies in tropical, temperate and arctic regions, and involved trees and fishes. Across these biomes and organisms, my focus has been on the relationships between environmental conditions and the vital rates of an organism, such as growth and recruitment. One of the main questions that intrigues me, is how the environmental sensitivity of such vital rates drive temporal change in populations. -
Oil palm agroforestry in theBrazilian Amazon
- The study aims to assess the potential for - and factors underlying - scaling of oil palm agroforestry by examining its social, ecological and financial feasibility, based on action research demonstration sites and learning on livelihoods/land use strategies in the wider landscape of Tomé Açu, Eastern Brazilian Amazon. -
AMAZON-FACE
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Optimizing plant based protein yield and quality in the post-harvest chain
- To prevent worldwide protein shortages it is important to optimize the recovery methods of proteins from new plant based biomass sources. The effects of post harvest conditions on the eventual yield and quality of extracted proteins is not yet known. -
The role of aquatic-terrestrial coupling in the resilience of Amazonian floodplain forests to fire (Brazil)
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Understanding the Resilience of Amazonian Forests
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How tenure rights affect forest management in the Peruvian Amazon
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AMAZON-FACE - impact of future elevated CO2 on the forests of Amazonia
- Amazon-FACE is a large and long-term initiative to study the direct impact of future elevated CO2 concentrations on the forests of Amazonia. The overarching question is whether increasing CO2 concentrations will stimulate biomass growth, or at least increase forest resilience against other detrimental effects of climate change, as a result of its stimulating effects on photosynthesis and water use efficiency. The most important scientific challenge is to determine the degree to which the poor soils, particularly extremely low phosphorus, will limit such stimulating effects. Whether or not the forests of Amazonia will suffer under climate change is crucial for the future of Amazonian society, South-American rainfall regimes and global climate. -
CLIMAX: Climate Services Through Knowledge Co-Production
- A Euro-South American Initiative for Strengthening Societal Adaptation Response to Extreme Events. -
Consequences of traditional agricultural intensification for secondary forest resilience and ecosystem services in the Central Amazonia
- Finding equilibrium between agricultural productivity, land use intensification and provision of ecosystem services is a large challenge for tropical agriculture and conservation.