The Congo, the world's second largest rainforest, is losing its greenness, finds a new study published in Nature.

 

The research, based on analysis of NASA satellite data, reveals the impact of long-term drought that has affected the region in 2000. The study may help scientists forecast the Congo rainforest's future outlook.

 

"It's important to understand these changes because most climate models predict tropical forests may be under stress due to increasing severe water shortages in a warmer and drier 21st century climate," lead author Liming Zhou of the SUNY's University at Albany said in a statement.

 

Zhou and colleagues found strong evidence of long-term "browning" in the region, signaling a decline in water availability to plants consistent with the drought observed since the turn of the century. Surface temperatures in the region also increased, further stressing forests.

 

"Forests of the Congo basin are known to be resilient to moderate climate change because they have been exposed to dry conditions in the past few hundred years," said study co-author Sassan Saatchi of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "However, the recent climate anomalies as a result of climate change and warming of the Atlantic Ocean have created severe droughts in the tropics, causing major impacts on forests."