Amazon Rainforest

The CoMet 3.0 Tropics campaign successfully conducted 18 flights over Brazil and Bolivia using the German research aircraft HALO to measure greenhouse gases such as methane and CO₂. The data supports the validation of satellite missions and helps distinguish between natural and anthropogenic sources of methane, which is crucial for global climate models. more

The hidden belowground recycling of phosphorus in the Amazon rainforest helps the forest continue to grow, but also makes the ecosystem potentially more vulnerable to climate change.
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The 2023-2024 El Niño caused the most severe drought ever recorded in the Amazon rainforest, along with heat waves and fires. But it also significantly affected the emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds through the Amazon rainforest’s vegetation and their uptake by soils. more

A new study reveals that leaf turnover strategies and heat stress in Amazonian trees affect atmospheric chemistry and carbon cycling: trees, and in particular brevideciduous trees, emit more and more carbon-rich volatile organic compounds as temperatures rise. more

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. more