This growth is attributed to the increase in carbon dioxide (CO?) in the atmosphere, which acts as fertilizer.
• Largest Amazon trees: +3.2% per decade.• Atmospheric CO?: natural fertilizer that drives growth.• Forest giants: essential for capturing carbon and sustaining biodiversity.• Loss of mature forest: irreversible impacts.• Ecosystem connectivity: key to long-term resilience. Carbon drives unexpected growth in Amazon giantsIncreasing size average of trees in the Amazon, recorded at 3.2% per decade for at least 3 years, is reconfiguring the understanding of the behavior of tropical forests in the face of climate change. In a context where news about the Amazon usually revolves around fires, illegal logging and loss of biodiversity, this finding offers an unexpected insight: the forest, in its intact areas, responds vigorously to environmental alterations. Far from being a simple statistical fact, this widespread growth – observed in more than 188 permanent plots throughout the region – represents a direct response to the increase in carbon dioxide. of carbon (CO?) in the atmosphere, which acts as a natural fertilizer, enhancing photosynthesis and, with it, the accumulated biomass.Impact of carbon on the trees of the AmazonThis phenomenon of “carbon fertilization” had already been detected in other parts of the world, but the Amazon presents a unique scale: here, large trees can exceed 5 meters in height and store several tons of carbon each one. Collectively, the Amazon forests host nearly 12 billion tons of carbon in their vegetation alone. Each increase in their biomass strengthens their role as a carbon sink vital to global climate stability. In addition, taller trees not only capture more CO?, but also regulate the local microclimate, influence regional rainfall patterns, and support complex ecological networks, from epiphytes to arboreal mammals. Its expansion, therefore, has repercussions that go far beyond simple physical growth.Old giants with irreplaceable powerThe benefits of accelerated growth, however, should not be confused with an automatic solution to the climate problem. Ancient trees are not replaceable on human time scales. If a 4 -year-old tree falls due to deforestation or fires, there is no reforestation to compensate for its immediate loss in terms of carbon, biodiversity or ecological functionality. This becomes more relevant considering that many forest compensation policies still equate young plantations with old forests, ignoring the accumulated complexity that the latter represent. A eucalyptus monoculture is not a mature tropical forest, and the consequences of that confusion are already being felt in multiple poorly implemented projects. A forest that changes together Documented growth is not limited to a few exceptional trees. The study confirms that all sizes of trees, from the youngest to the colossi, have experienced significant increases in biomass. This implies a structural change in the entire forest: more competition for light, water and nutrients, and a redistribution of the balance between species, which could favor those more adapted to carbon-rich conditions, but also less resistant to droughts or fires. In the long term, this transformation could alter the role of the forest as a regional climate regulator, especially if vegetative growth is not accompanied by an improvement in the resilience of the ecosystem against water stress or extreme temperatures.Big trees, big risksGrowth does not immunize trees against growing threats. Large specimens, requiring more resources and depending on a stable ecological network, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change. Without biological corridors connecting forest areas, their ability to reproduce and adapt is compromised. In this context, the conservation of the continuous and functional forest becomes essential. To let the Amazon fragment is to allow its giants to fall, not only in the literal sense, but also as symbols of a system that is collapsing due to lack of ecological cohesion.
