advertisement

BY Kristin Toussaint

Listen to this ArticleMore info 0:00 / 0:00

The Amazon rainforest has long been called the “lungs of our planet,” because of how it takes in and stores billions of tons of carbon dioxide.

But the Amazon has been losing that ability. Years of deforestation, drought, and fires have hindered just how much CO2 the rainforest can absorb.

Now, the Amazon rainforest often releases more carbon than it takes in, a new study finds. It’s only in the “wettest years” that the rainforest is nearly carbon neutral.

The study, published in the journal Nature , was led by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research and included an international team of researchers.…