El Niño drought increased canopy turnover in Amazon forests

What is it about?

The ability of Amazon forests to survive drought periods will help determine whether tropical forests can survive in a warmer world. We provide the first assessment of carbon losses from canopy turnover in Amazon forests from drought using new airborne lidar data. Canopy turnover and carbon losses increased by more than 60% during the 2015-2016 El Niño drought in the Brazilian Amazon, confirming the impact of drought conditions on tropical forest structure and function.

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