In 2024, the Brazilian Amazon faced one of the worst fire seasons in its history: 15.6 million hectares (38.5 million acres) were burned, an area the size of Portugal, of which 43% consisted of forest vegetation. According to data from MapBiomas, a collaborative network mapping land use in Brazil, the area destroyed by flames was 117% higher than the historical average. Now, a group of scientists has found a surprising capacity for forest regeneration after fires, although biodiversity loss persisted. The results were presented in a two-decade study in the southeastern Amazon that attempts to predict the risks the world’s greatest rainforest faces as deforestation, reduced precipitation and long-term droughts become more frequent. “Our study brings a message of hope,” said lead author Leandro Maracahipes, a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) in Brazil and at Yale University in the U.S. “It demonstrates that a highly degraded forest can recover even after many disturbances.” Maracahipes emphasized, however, that this regeneration gives rise to a new type of forest. “It is a new ecosystem. Although it can recover, this forest is much poorer, with a greater number of generalist species, much more vulnerable to new disturbances,” he told Mongabay. Aerial photography of the Amazon Rainforest. Image courtesy of Leandro Maracahipes. Study authors and members of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) during field research. Image courtesy of Rafael Oliveira. A greater impact on forest edges The experiment began in 2004, during a peak of deforestation in the Amazon, and…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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