An aerial view of a dredge in an illegal gold mining area in Peru. (Photo credit: ERNESTO BENAVIDES via Getty Images)
According to a new study, the gold mining process is actually depleting the Amazon rainforest, creating conditions in which trees cannot thrive.
Scientists have found that extractive mining not only destroys the soil, but also reduces moisture levels and retains heat, creating extremely unfavorable conditions in which even young seedlings cannot survive.
“It's like trying to grow a tree in an oven,” said study co-author Josh West, a professor of earth and environmental sciences in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California.
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