Evapotra…wha?
Reuters reports today on another shocking fact concerning the rainforests of South America: they’re drying up. Its the worst drought the Amazon River basin has seen in 40 years adding to a list of challenges the region already faces, including wildfires, contaminated drinking water and millions of dead fish piling up in the puddles that were once roaring stream beds.
This reminded me of a piece I read many years ago about one of the cycles within rainforest ecology…one that every rainforest ecologist knows but few us normal activists really have ever heard of (if you have then you’re ahead of the game.)
Evapotranspiration is the process by which moisture is drawn up from the tree’s roots through its leaves and out into the atmosphere. This moisture, once in the atmosphere, does two important things: (1) it reflects the intense sunlight back out into space which in turn (2) cools the forests. This moisture is an essential element to the health of the rainforest. Even clearing out a small 50 meter patch one can immediately se the effects as a sudden lack of moisture becomes evident. This lack of moisture burns out the soils and makes it virtually impossible for tropical rainforests to regrow and establish themselves. Essentially, the land becomes wasted and after only a few years refuses to yield any crop, be it wheat, corn, soy or coffee. So, is this related to the sudden drought hitting the Amazon? Possibly. If anything it shows yet another vital piece to why removing vast swaths of rainforest are having deadly effects on the acreage that remains.
5 Responses to “Evapotra…wha?”
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October 17th, 2005 at 7:51 am
So in the process of deforestation, is there less light being reflected off the rainforest because all of the trees that should be giving out moisture are dead? And then is that causing more of the rainforest to be destroyed by the intense sunlight?
October 31st, 2005 at 10:10 am
Deforestation in the rainforest does have a doubling affect, but it has more to do with global warming than with light reflection. As rainforests are cleared, and particularly when they are burned, the forests’ ability to stabilize the climate is diminished. As the climate warms, tropical temperatures rise and rainfall diminishes, eventually turning today’s rainforests into tomorrow’s savannahs. More information can be found at:
http://www.ran.org/info_center/factsheets/04a.html
Thanks for your questions Eric and let us know if you’ve got anything else you’re pondering.
November 2nd, 2005 at 10:59 am
And this from one our esteemed forest folk….
July 12th, 2006 at 7:19 am
The Amazon
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Today we approved a US$505 million Programmatic Reform Loan for Environmental Sustainability to Brazil. Frankly, how could it be otherwise, when in fact we should be on our knees thanking a country like Brazil that with so many other problems commits to repaying 100% of principal plus interest of an environmental-sustainability loan that will benefit the whole world and all of us.
Honestly, I do believe the World Bank should occupy a stronger leadership in these matters from the very beginning, advocating for the cooperation of the rest of the world. If silly windmill projects can have access to carbon credits, the Brazilian environmental program should too.
For instance, if 20% of a loan like this were to be repaid by some international-support mechanism, this would not only motivate the Brazilian government to sell environmental protection locally, but it would also be a clear sign that in these matters, Brazil does not stand alone. Of course any external assistance would have to come with the clear understanding that it does not impose additional conditions on the country, as this is the best and perhaps only way to guarantee true sustainability and ownership of such programs.
This morning we had a two-hour discussion about the Development Committee agenda. Frankly, however, the issue of how the world can help in crucial global matters, as in the case of the Amazon—where the need of avoiding the very negative externalities of large deforestation have to compete with so many other urgent local needs, as well as with the rising opportunity costs of not exploiting the forests—should be a foremost issue. If it already is there—for instance hidden in a global taxation initiative—I very much welcome it but, if not, we should strive to put it there.
Last year at least 25,000 hectares were deforested in the Amazon. At a low carbon value of US$20 per hectare/year, this would indicate a value of about US$50 million a year if the program were successful at stopping deforestation. Add ten years of stopped deforestation, and the value of this would be—in approximate Kyoto terms—about US$500 million a year for the rest of the world. If this is so, how come we can spend so much time and money on expensive initiatives such as the Extractive Industry Review, and not come up with something more reasonable for the Amazon, than to have the Brazilians pay for it, 100%?
Per
Extract from Voice and Noise by Per Kurowski, BookSurge 2006.
http://voiceandnoise.blogspot.com/
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:37 am
Travis Edmonson read his thoughtful poem contemplating “The Time of Man” and afterwards before a joint session of Congress back in the 60’s.
He was writing about the nuclear threat (still not gone), but how prophetic and profound it is as we reflect on the future of the human and other species on this earth.
Read it at http://www.travisedmonson.com/time.htm