A vast expanse of unique biological diversity hangs in the balance as the "lungs of the world" approach a tipping point from which there is no recovery. The Amazon Rainforest is losing its ability to regenerate, reported a peer-reviewed study, Monday, in Nature.
For 10% of all known species on Earth, that means the destruction of their only habitat with a profoundly amplifying effect on climate change. Over two-thirds of the size of the United States, the Amazon provides a critical "carbon sink," sequestering about 123 billion tons of carbon dioxide. As climate change and deforestation progress, the Amazon verges on outright collapse.
