Leaf thermal safety margins decline at hotter temperatures in a natural warming 'experiment' in the Amazon

Are tropical forests approaching critical temperature thresholds?

There is growing concern about the fate of tropical forests in the face of rising global temperatures. Doughty et al. (2023) suggest that an increase in air temperature beyond ∼4 °C will result in massive death of tropical forest leaves and potentially tree death. However, this prediction relies on assumptions that likely underestimate the heat tolerance of tropical leaves.

How a boiling river is helping to highlight the risks of warming for tropical forests

This article is a Commentary on Kullberg et al. (2024), 241: 1447–1463.