National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists and an international team of researchers have found tropical ecosystems can generate significant carbon dioxide when temperatures rise, unlike other ecosystems in the part of the world.

The researchers discovered a temperature increase of just 1 degree Celsius in near-surface air temperatures in the tropics leads to an average annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalent to one-third of the annual global emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation combined. In tropical ecosystems carbon uptake is reduced at higher temperatures. This finding provides scientists with a key diagnostic tool to better understand the global carbon cycle.

an adaptation from: http://climate.nasa.gov/news/957