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Structure and Character
Changing Times, Changing Forests
In 1997, the widespread fires in tropical rainforests around the globe illustrated that drought can affect rainforests,
especially those that have been degraded by logging and agricultural conversion. Such practices alter the forest
canopy coverage, subjecting the usually humid rainforest microclimate to penetrating sunlight that dries out the
forest interior. Grassy and bushy growth in recent forest clearings adds to the fire threat. The combination of
this forest degradation and the unusually strong el Nino of 1997-98 made 1997 the year of the forest fire in the
tropics. Studies by the Woods Hole Research Center indicate that as much as 50% of the Amazon rainforest is dangerously
flammable and could go up in smoke should agricultural fires spread. |
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