'Fire Begets More Fires': Rainforests Slip Into Cycle of Destruction

As large tracts of Indonesia’s forest land go up in flames for the second time in five years, scientists are warning that the world’s rainforests risk becoming caught in a reinforcing cycle of destruction that could make them difficult to save.

Research in recent years has shown that the very nature of rainforests—from Southeast Asia to the Amazon—is changing as a result of extensive clearing for farms, pastureland and other use, making them much more vulnerable to further destruction.

“All the mechanisms essentially feed into a positive feedback loop,” said William Laurance, a research professor at James Cook University in Australia. “More fire begets more fires, more degradation begets more degradation.”

Deforested land dries out quickly in the sun and wind. Fires, both naturally occurring and man-made, can spread more easily from this degraded landscape into adjoining forest.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fire-begets-more-fires-rainforests-slip-into-cycle-of-destruction/ar-AAIP9UK?ocid=NL_ENUS_A1_20191020_7_2