Deforestation and Climate Change Could Split the Amazon Rainforest in Two, Study Finds

By Yessenia Funes

AP

Sigh, the Amazon Rainforest, people.

When I worry about the Amazon Rainforest, I typically worry about deforestation. Maybe I should start worrying about climate change, too. A new study out Monday shows that climate change plus deforestation equals disaster for the Amazon: The average number of tree species present in a given patch of rainforest could decline by up to 58 percent by 2050. What’s more, all the human-induced destruction may wind up effectively dividing the Amazon into two separate forests, one of which would be “severely fragmented.”

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