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How does the Amazon Rainforest recycle rainfall?

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Edge of a dense forest in Romania where clear cutting has removed most trees, leaving a bare, brown slope beside standing green trees. — Deforestation A section of clear-cut forest in Romania.

The Amazon Rainforest plays a critical role in the hydrologic cycle through a process known as recycled rainfall. While approximately half of the region's precipitation originates from moisture carried by trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean, the remaining half is supplied by local evapotranspiration—the process by which plants release water vapor into the atmosphere.123

This moisture, transpired by the dense forest canopy, fuels convectional storms that return water to the surface as rain. In areas far from oceanic sources, such as the Amazon foothills of the Andes, this recycled component can account for as much as 88 percent of local rainfall.13

Because this mechanism is essential for maintaining the region's humidity and water balance, deforestation poses a severe ecological threat. The loss of forest cover reduces the capacity for transpiration, which would likely lead to widespread drought and disrupt the global energy balance.23