Dry conditions have delayed planting of the 2014-2015 soybean crop, threatening Brazil's goal to reach an output record for a third straight year.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ironically, soybean production, as well as cattle ranching and logging, are responsible to a great deal of Amazon deforestation, scientists say.
RISING DEFORESTATION
Deforestation jumped by 29 percent in the last officially recorded period, between August 2012 and July 2013, marking the first increase since 2008.
A survey produced by INPE using satellite imaging showed that the Amazon lost 5,891 square kilometers, or 2,275 square miles, of forests in that period, an area almost five times the size of the city of New York.
With fewer trees, the Amazon's capacity to work as a water pump, absorbing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and releasing millions of liters of humidity into the air, is being reduced, scientists say.
Brazilian meteorologist José Marengo, who has contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, coined the term "flying rivers" in the 1990s to describe air currents that carry water vapor - rising from the Amazon and blocked to the west by the Andes mountains - to central and southeast Brazil and all the way to northern Argentina.
About 20 billion tonnes of vapour evaporate from the Amazon region every day. A big Amazonian tree, with a crown measuring 20 meters, can evaporate up to 300 liters a day, compared with one liter evaporated by a square meter of ocean, according to Nobre.
In January and February this year, when rain is usually abundant in central and southern Brazil, the flying rivers failed to flow south, according to data from INPE's Center for Weather Forecasts and Climate Research.
"What's happening now highlights the importance of preserving and replenishing the Amazon if we want to prevent São Paulo from becoming a desert," Nobre said. (Reporting By Adriana Brasileiro; Editing by Laurie Goering)
What do u think will happen if a city of 21 million runs out of water? Use your imagination.
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Transpiration: Transpiration- The Water Cycle
Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves. Transpiration also includes a process called guttation, which is the loss of water in liquid form from the uninjured leaf or stem of the plant, principally through water stomata.
Atmospheric factors affecting transpiration
The amount of water that plants transpire varies greatly geographically and over time. There are a number of factors that determine transpiration rates:
Temperature:Transpiration rates go up as the temperature goes up, especially during the growing season, when the air is warmer due to stronger sunlight and warmer air masses. Higher temperatures cause the plant cells which control the openings (stoma) where water is released to the atmosphere to open, whereas colder temperatures cause the openings to close.
Relative humidity: As the relative humidity of the air surrounding the plant rises the transpiration rate falls. It is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into more saturated air.
Wind and air movement: Increased movement of the air around a plant will result in a higher transpiration rate. This is somewhat related to the relative humidity of the air, in that as water transpires from a leaf, the water saturates the air surrounding the leaf. If there is no wind, the air around the leaf may not move very much, raising the humidity of the air around the leaf. Wind will move the air around, with the result that the more saturated air close to the leaf is replaced by drier air.
Soil-moisture availability: When moisture is lacking, plants can begin to senesce (premature ageing, which can result in leaf loss) and transpire less water.
Type of plant: Plants transpire water at different rates. Some plants which grow in arid regions, such as cacti and succulents, conserve precious water by transpiring less water than other plants.
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Higher temperatures and humidity combined with increasing deforestation are altering the water cycle of this region and causing an evaporation of water. This is grade school science and yet people seem to have become unable to remember the balance we need in order to live. Like our bodies when we over-stress them the Earth reacts the same way. We need to be planting trees not cutting them down. Sao Paulo, California, Australia, and yes, West Africa where the Ebola virus began are all areas water stressed due to excessive human behavior. It is time to connect the caring for the body the same as caring for the Earth. The Amazon is the lungs of our planet. Would you cut your own lungs out thinking you have any chance of continuing to breathe?
Also on edit, Brazil should also stop deforesting land to plant MONSANTO GMO seed to benefit corporate profits and start thinking about sustainable agriculture that feeds the soil and its people.
Also see:
Brazil Drought Crisis Leads To Rationing and Tensions
Extreme Drought Causes Environmental Crisis In Colombia
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Now look at this example that we should all follow. When you give more than you take and work with nature, you prosper and so does Earth and our water:
How A 20-Something Persuaded Thousands Of Kenyan Farmers To Save Their Land By Growing Trees
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