News: According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, large ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest, may collapse and disappear quickly, once a critical point in their destruction is reached.
Facts:
Key takeaways:
- An ecosystem the size of the Amazon could collapse in approximately 50 years once a tipping point had been reached.
- For a system the size of the Caribbean coral reefs, collapse could occur in 15 years once triggered.
Additional information:
Amazon rainforest
- It is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America.
- The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil (60%), followed by Peru Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Caribbean Coral reefs:
- Most Caribbean coral reefs are fringing reefs.However, other important coral reefs are present in the Caribbean- Example:The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, stretching from the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico to the Bay Islands of Honduras, is the second-largest barrier reef system in the world.
