A recent study has revealed that the global surge in greenhouse gases could reduce rainfall in the equatorial region, causing a shift in vegetation.
This change may transform India’s biodiversity-rich evergreen forests in the Western Ghats, northeast India, and the Andamans into deciduous forests.
During ETM-2, the Indian plate was positioned near the equator, providing a unique opportunity to study the vegetation-climate relationship in this region.
Published in Geoscience Frontiers, the study poses critical questions about the future of equatorial/tropical rainforests and biodiversity hotspots in the face of rising carbon emissions.
The findings could enhance our understanding of the CO2-hydrological cycle connection and support the conservation of biodiversity hotspots in the future.
A recent study has revealed that the global surge in greenhouse gases could reduce rainfall in the equatorial region, causing a shift in vegetation. This change may transform India’s biodiversity-rich evergreen forests in the Western Ghats, northeast India, and the Andamans into deciduous forests.
Deep-time hyperthermal events, which serve as analogues for future climate predictions, are primarily documented in mid and high-latitude regions, with a notable lack of quantitative data from equatorial or tropical areas.
Scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, utilized fossil pollen and carbon isotope data from the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM-2), a period of significant global warming around 54 million years ago, to assess the terrestrial hydrological cycle of that era.
During ETM-2, the Indian plate was positioned near the equator, providing a unique opportunity to study the vegetation-climate relationship in this region. Researchers chose the Panandhro Lignite Mine in Gujarat for their study due to the availability of ETM-2 fossils and collected fossil pollen from the site.
Their analysis indicated that when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels exceeded 1000 ppmv near the paleo-equator, there was a substantial decrease in rainfall, leading to the proliferation of deciduous forests.
Published in Geoscience Frontiers, the study poses critical questions about the future of equatorial/tropical rainforests and biodiversity hotspots in the face of rising carbon emissions. The findings could enhance our understanding of the CO2-hydrological cycle connection and support the conservation of biodiversity hotspots in the future.
