A new study shows that drought stress reorganizes soil carbon sources in Amazon white-sand forest soils, increasing ecosystem stress and affecting carbon and nutrient cycles.
Thunderstorms regularly reshape weather over the Amazon. Using high-frequency data from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, researchers cataloged 410 storms (Aug 2021–Dec 2023) and found they strike about every other day, mostly from midafternoon to evening and April–September. The forest canopy mutes most gusts below it, while above-canopy airflow matches textbook storm patterns—insights that improve models of energy, aerosol, and greenhouse gas exchanges for better weather and climate predictions.
The Amazon rainforest experienced unusually high temperatures and atmospheric dryness in 2023. Observations from ATTO and further data revealed that the vegetation’s uptake of carbon was above average early in the year, but drastically reduced during the drought season, leading from a carbon sink into a source.
New study by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry shows: The ratio of certain forest scent molecules provides precise insights into the stress state of the rainforest.
A new study by Robin et al. shows: tree growth strategies influence BVOC emissions in the Amazon, with surprising differences between isoprene and monoterpene producers.
