Is the Amazon forest approaching a tipping point?

In the 21 century, parts of the Amazonian forests could reach a tipping point. A new study in Nature by an international team of authors including Utrecht University's Arie Staal and Hans ter Steege  reviews the state of knowledge about the possible transitions that the Amazon may undergo. The authors conclude that by 2050, between 10-47% of the forest becomes vulnerable to potentially irreversible local ecological changes. Critical transition. Every day, trees in the forest pump enormous amounts of water (up to 500 litres by a single tree) from the soil into the atmosphere, which makes the air more humid. Winds in the Amazon carry moisture over the Amazon where it comes down as rain. Forests create rainfall, and rainfall maintains the forests, and it has been this way for the last 65 million years.