Science/Tech

More than Half of the Amazon Could Disappear

By Dustin Braden | Update Date: Nov 23, 2015 10:00 AM EST

Nearly half of all the tree species in the Amazon Rainforest may go extinct as a result of deforestation.

A new study published in the scientific journal Science Advances found that anywhere from 36 to 57 percent of the Amazon's tree species could go extinct if deforestation activity continues to take place at its current pace, according to The New York Times.

The researchers behind the study, made up of more than 150 scientists from more than 100 countries, looked at maps of projected deforestation and compared it with data collected from the forest itself. It is said to be the most complete picture of the risks of deforestation to date.

The data collected from the forest came from 1,485 different locations of two acres.

The scientists then ran the collected data through two different, computer-generated scenarios. One involved no change in the rate of deforestation and increased governmental responses to the crisis. In this scenario, 40 percent of the original Amazon rainforest will have disappeared by 2050.

If governments and businesses decided to try and slow the rate of deforestation, 21 percent of the forest will have disappeared by 2050.

If the researchers are correct, the percentage of plant and tree species that are in danger of going extinct would increase by 22 and 36 percent, respectively.

If any of these scenarios panned out, they would have enormous consequences for the thousands upon thousands of species that rely on the Amazon to support their life and lifestyles, not the least of which includes humans.

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