Human activity has robbed the Amazon rainforest of more than 10 per cent of its ability to store carbon in its vegetation, a study has found.

Deforestation of the giant forest is likely to account for 1.5 per cent of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels seen since the mid-19th century, say the researchers.

They point out that if the forest had been left intact, it would store 12 per cent more carbon and cover a much greater area than it does at present.

High-resolution satellite images of the Amazon have been available only since 2000. So the scientists used intelligent software to construct virtual models of changes to the forest based on current data.

The team produced maps indicating how large the Amazon would be today without the damage inflicted by humans.

Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers led by Jean-François Exbrayat, from the University of Edinburgh, concluded: “These results indicate that land clearance in the Amazon basin has reduced the carbon storage in above-ground biomass by around 12 per cent from its potential.

Deforestation of the giant forest is likely to account for 1.5 per cent of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

“This reduction represents a net loss generated by large-scale human activities, the result of both biomass removal and regrowth processes occurring in regions where forests were replanted or allowed to regrow.”