The Guiana Shield rainforests - guardians of South American climate?
LOCATION
Tropical forests are global climate regulators and it is known that large-scale deforestation in the Amazon basin is likely to have large regional and global impacts. The Guiana Shield forests, at the northern boundary of Amazonia, are strategically located at the start of two atmospheric rivers which carry moisture from the Atlantic Ocean across the South American continent. Although largely overlooked, our recent climate simulations show that the Guiana Shield forests have a large role to play in regulating this moisture flow. Our simulations show that relatively small-scale deforestation in the Guiana Shield, in areas currently under threat from mining, logging and agricultural activities, perturbs the water cycle across the continent with profound local changes in temperature and precipitation as far as 4000 km further south, impacting ecosystem services and societies. These impacts need to be understood and managed before large-scale deforestation takes place.
Tropical forests are global climate regulators and it is known that large-scale deforestation in the Amazon basin is likely to have large regional and global impacts. The Guiana Shield forests, at the northern boundary of Amazonia, are strategically located at the start of two atmospheric rivers which carry moisture from the Atlantic Ocean across the South American continent. Although largely overlooked, our recent climate simulations show that the Guiana Shield forests have a large role to play in regulating this moisture flow. Our simulations show that relatively small-scale deforestation in the Guiana Shield, in areas currently under threat from mining, logging and agricultural activities, perturbs the water cycle across the continent with profound local changes in temperature and precipitation as far as 4000 km further south, impacting ecosystem services and societies. These impacts need to be understood and managed before large-scale deforestation takes place.