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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Large ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest, will collapse and disappear alarmingly quickly, once a crucial tipping point is reached, according to calculations based on real-world data.
Writing in Nature Communications, researchers from Bangor University, Southampton University and The School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, reveal the speed at which ecosystems of different sizes will disappear, once they have reached a point beyond which they collapse -- transforming into an alternative ecosystem.
For example, once the 'point of no return' is reached, the iconic Amazon rainforest could shift to a savannah-type ecosystem with a mix of trees and grass within 50 years, according to the work.
Some scientists argue that many ecosystems are currently teetering on the edge of this precipice, with the fires and destruction both in the Amazon and in Australia.
"Unfortunately, what our paper reveals is that humanity needs to prepare for changes far sooner than expected," says joint lead author Dr Simon Willcock of Bangor University's School of Natural Sciences.
"These rapid changes to the world's largest and most iconic ecosystems would impact the benefits which they provide us with, including everything from food and materials, to the oxygen and water we need for life."
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Gregory S. Cooper, Simon Willcock & John A. Dearing. Regime shifts occur disproportionately faster in larger ecosystems. Nature Communications, 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15029-x
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 14 2020, @03:14PM
The Brazilian government is ultimately the largest part of the problem. The current administration has been encouraging it and ignoring regulations.
The best way to solve the problem would be to find ways of cracking down on the import of resources generated by burning down the rainforests while finding ways of helping the local communities profit by preserving the rainforest as they were. Perhaps paying a fee for maintining and a smaller one for restoration efforts. Ecotourism is also often a great option where possible. You give up some measure of what was there originally, but you gain the revenue and resources necessary to preserve a larger section.