The research, recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reads that the world’s largest tropical forest, which is a biodiversity hotspot boasting off over 15,000 tree species and serves as the largest carbon sink, shows signs of a “critical slowdown” in plant activity.

The document Critical slowdown of the Amazon forest after increased drought warns that these signs are an early indicator that dynamic systems are approaching a critical threshold, beyond which the forest would function differently.

It further suggested that climate change may be a potential driver of large-scale ecosystem collapse.

This increasing trend could be considered an early warning indicator these areas are approaching a threshold for an extinction event, leading to an ecosystem state with qualitatively different functioning, the study said.

Scientists estimate that century-long droughts and these extreme events will become more severe due to climate change.

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