The Amazon, often referred to as the Amazon Rainforest or Amazon Jungle, is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, spanning over 5.5 million square kilometers across nine countries in South America, with the majority in Brazil. This vast region is known for its incredible biodiversity, containing about 10% of the known species on Earth, including numerous plants, animals, and insects that are not found anywhere else. The Amazon River, one of the longest rivers in the world, flows through the heart of the rainforest, providing water and life to the region. The forest plays a crucial role in regulating the Earth’s oxygen and carbon cycles, often being termed the “lungs of the planet” due to its capacity to produce oxygen and store carbon dioxide. The Amazon is also home to several million indigenous people who have inhabited the region for thousands of years, maintaining diverse cultures and deep knowledge of the forest ecology. However, the Amazon faces significant threats from deforestation, mining, and agricultural expansion, which pose risks to its biodiversity and the global climate.
A research team discovered that the Amazon rainforest’s drought response varies regionally, influenced by local environments and tree traits. Southern Amazon trees with shallow water…
A team of scientists on location with a film crew in the remote Amazon has uncovered a previously undocumented species of giant anaconda. Professor Bryan…
Huge understory fires are spreading throughout the state in northern Brazil as drought and heat turn the rainforest into tinder. Roraima—Brazil’s northernmost state—has a wet…
Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it toward partial or total collapse. Research…
The Amazon rainforest could approach a tipping point, which could lead to a large-scale collapse with serious implications for the global climate system. A new…
A new study estimates that over 10,000 Pre-Columbian archaeological sites remain undiscovered across the Amazon basin. Using remote sensing data and predictive spatial modeling, the…
Deforestation and water quality improved following intervention in the Madre de Dios Region of the Amazon. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a lifeline for…
The rich soil holds thousands of tons of carbon, sequestered over centuries by indigenous practices, a new study suggests. The Amazon river basin is known…
Research suggests future changes, including a reduction in Earth’s ability to store carbon. Certain sections of the Amazonian lowland rainforests, which are vital for carbon…
A new study recently published in Science reveals that the Amazon rainforest has been damaged to a much greater extent than previously thought, with over…
A new network analysis simulates the cascading impacts of rising droughts on South American ecosystems. In the Amazon rainforest, for every three trees that die…
Scientists record the highest levels of atmospheric mercury pollution in the world in a pristine patch of the Peruvian Amazon. If you had to guess…
Most of the methane gas emitted from Amazon wetlands regions is vented into the atmosphere via tree root systems – with significant emissions occurring even…
“Mystery plant” from the Amazon declared a new species after nearly 50 years of flummoxing scientists. In 1973, a scientist stumbled upon a strange tree…
Largest and most comprehensive study to date of the health effects of wildfires in Brazil reveals the serious health consequences of this burning, linking exposure…
Increasing numbers of deforestation fires are darkening skies in Rondônia and Amazonas. Since the 1970s, tree clearing in the Amazon basin has reduced the size…
Amazonian regions that have undergone the most extensive deforestation and have the greatest potential for large-scale forest recovery currently have the lowest levels of recovery….
A major drought and forest fires in the Amazon rainforest killed billions of trees and plants and turned one of the world’s largest carbon sinks…