The Amazon basin is a key component of the global carbon cycle. The old-growth rainforests in the basin represent storage of ~ 120 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) in their biomass. Annually, these tropical forests process approximately 18 Pg C through respiration and photosynthesis. This is more than...

The Amazon basin is a key component of the global carbon cycle. Not only is the old-growth rainforests in the basin huge carbon storage with about 120 billion metric tons of carbon in their biomass, but they also process annually twice the rate of global anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions...