Post-drought decline of the Amazon carbon sink

Yan Yang (), Sassan S. Saatchi, Liang Xu, Yifan Yu, Sungho Choi, Nathan Phillips, Robert Kennedy, Michael Keller, Yuri Knyazikhin and Ranga B. Myneni
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Yan Yang: University of California
Sassan S. Saatchi: University of California
Liang Xu: University of California
Yifan Yu: California Institute of Technology
Sungho Choi: Boston University
Nathan Phillips: Boston University
Robert Kennedy: Oregon State University
Michael Keller: California Institute of Technology
Yuri Knyazikhin: Boston University
Ranga B. Myneni: Boston University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Amazon forests have experienced frequent and severe droughts in the past two decades. However, little is known about the large-scale legacy of droughts on carbon stocks and dynamics of forests. Using systematic sampling of forest structure measured by LiDAR waveforms from 2003 to 2008, here we show a significant loss of carbon over the entire Amazon basin at a rate of 0.3 ± 0.2 (95% CI) PgC yr−1 after the 2005 mega-drought, which continued persistently over the next 3 years (2005–2008). The changes in forest structure, captured by average LiDAR forest height and converted to above ground biomass carbon density, show an average loss of 2.35 ± 1.80 MgC ha−1 a year after (2006) in the epicenter of the drought. With more frequent droughts expected in future, forests of Amazon may lose their role as a robust sink of carbon, leading to a significant positive climate feedback and exacerbating warming trends.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05668-6

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