The Amazonian rain forest carries out about 15% of terrestrial photosynthesis and contains about 25% of the world's terrestrial diversity - characteristics that are likely to be highly
susceptible to drought - with recent
indications of drying and simulations of future long term drought. The Special Feature in New Phytologist brings together information from field observations and experiments,
simulation models and satellite remote
sensing to investigate the sensitivity of the Amazonian rain forest to drought. The overall picture is of a forest that is negatively
impacted by drought, especially long term drought, with larger trees disproportionally at risk and with risks extending for some years following the termination of drought.