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As they die and decompose, trees and soil in the Amazon rainforest have traditionally absorbed more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they've emitted. But it turns out that during a major drought in 2005, the Amazon put more carbon into the atmosphere than it soaked up.

"A new NASA-led study seven years in the making has confirmed that natural forests in the Amazon remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, therefore reducing global warming. This finding resolves a long-standing debate about a key component of the overall carbon balance of the Amazon basin."

Nice animation that really shows the trends

CO2 map