More than a quarter of the Amazon basin is now releasing more carbon than it absorbs, according to a comprehensive study.Brazilian researchers flew an aircraft over the rainforest every two weeks for nine years, taking air samples from just above the canopy all the way up to 4.5km.
They found that the eastern side of the Amazon, which accounts for around 28% of the total area, is losing more carbon as a result of deforestation than is being removed from the atmosphere by the growth of trees.Some of the carbon is lost through fires, deliberately started to clear the …
