Why in the news?

  • Scientists in Brazil have initiated the AmazonFACE Project near Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon region.

AmazonFACE Project

  • What is it?:
    • The AmazonFACE Project is a field-based climate experiment conducted in an old-growth Amazon rainforest near Manaus, Brazil.
    • It aims to study how mature tropical forests respond to future levels of atmospheric CO₂ predicted for the coming decades.
    • This is the first large-scale experiment of its kind in a natural tropical forest, offering unique insights into climate–forest interactions.
  • Collaboration: The initiative is jointly supported by the Government of Brazil and the Government of the United Kingdom.
  • Technology Used:
    • The project employs Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) technology, which releases controlled amounts of CO₂ into open-air forest plots.
    • This setup helps scientists understand how elevated CO₂ affects the growth, carbon absorption, and resilience of tropical ecosystems under climate change scenarios.
  • Working Mechanism:
    • The experiment involves six large steel rings (each encircling 50–70 mature trees) built above the forest canopy.​
    • Three rings are subjected to elevated CO₂ levels, imitating concentrations expected by 2050–60, while the other three serve as controls.​
    • FACE technology releases controlled CO₂ into open sections of the forest, allowing real-time tracking of ecosystem responses without enclosing or isolating the area.​
    • Sensors continuously record data on CO₂ and water vapor exchange, oxygen release, photosynthesis, rainfall, and sunlight, giving high-fidelity measurements of changes.
  • Significance:
    • Provides indispensable insights into whether the Amazon can continue acting as a major carbon sink, or may lose this function under climate change.​
    • Informs global climate models, as tropical rainforests are critical to Earth’s carbon cycle and climate stability.​
    • Data from AmazonFACE is expected to support international climate policy discussions, including COP30, and guide forest conservation planning.​
    • The project is led by Brazil’s National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), with support from the Brazilian government and the United Kingdom.