Measuring on a higher level

But as carbon dioxide levels rise to heights unseen in human history, scientists are asking: can the Amazon keep absorbing and recycling carbon at the pace our survival demands? To find answers, researchers launched the AmazonFACE programme in 2014, with the infrastructure completed in 2025, creating a pioneering experiment deep inside a protected section of rainforest dedicated to scientific research, near Manaus (Brazil). Step deeper into the forest and look up: six steel rings rise above the canopy.

Inside each ring, 16 towers release carefully controlled amounts of carbon dioxide, raising the concentration inside the ring to levels expected several decades from now. The forest within the circle remains completely intact — no trees cut, no soil disturbed. Inside and around the rings, hundreds of sensors track how the forest responds.

To reach the treetops and collect vital measurements, scientists and researchers rely on the steady ascent of the Liebherr tower cranes on site. Each 45-metre ascent carries knowledge and data that could decide the Amazon’s fate.

Her children weren’t sad that she was leaving for the Amazon. They were sad they couldn’t come along. Bruna Prisco, an application engineer working at Liebherr in Brazil and mum of two children, told her son and daughter about the significance of the AmazonFACE programme. The cranes she works with will not be lifting steel or concrete, but engineers like herself and scientists, carrying them high above the forest floor to study the future of the rainforest. As a child, Bruna dreamed of many careers: from an aeronautical engineer to a transportation business owner, to a maths teacher, but always something rooted in the exact sciences.

Now, standing at the edge of the Amazon, she feels those childhood dreams have converged into something far greater. ‘The first time I heard about this project, my thought was ‘‘Wow!’’ Because it’s a totally unusual use for crane operators.’ For her children, who already love cranes and dream of construction machines, it sounds like the adventure of a lifetime.

Bruna is 37 years old and comes from Guaratinguetá, a smaller city in the interior of São Paulo that is also home to Liebherr Brasil LTDA. With a population far smaller than the vast metropolis of São Paulo, her hometown gave her a grounding in community and perseverance. Her professional journey began at 15 with a technical course in mechanics, followed by a degree in civil engineering from UNESP, or São Paulo State University and later postgraduate studies in project management.

She joined Liebherr in 2013, drawn by the chance to combine her civil engineering background with mechanical expertise. Over the years she has become the first point of contact for clients in tower cranes after sales. Bruna’s workdays rarely follow the script. She relishes the rhythm of change and having to adapt to shifting priorities. ‘A typical day is usually atypical, because we arrive with one task in mind and during the day other demands arise, often more urgent than the demand I had in mind.’

When Bruno finally rose above the treetops in a Liebherr crane, it felt like flying. The sun was setting, vapours were rising from the forest floor and he saw clouds forming directly from the trees. ‘It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A magical moment in my career.’ Below him, waves of treetops moved like a living sea. At sunset, golden light revealed vapours rising from the forest, drifting upward in slow spirals. These were the beginnings of the ‘Flying Rivers’, the invisible highways of moisture that feed up to 30 % of the rain falling over central and southern Brazil.

Before the cranes, no one could safely reach the canopy to study its processes. Now, Bruno and his team capture daily measurements on photosynthesis, water transport, energy exchange and plant hydraulic behaviour across different canopy layers. With this access, the AmazonFACE team of over 150 specialists is uncovering how the ecosystem truly works.

AmazonFACE allows scientists to observe how rising CO₂ at global atmospheric levels affects plant growth, leaf survival and water transport and how evapotranspiration sustains the ‘Flying Rivers.’ ‘Twenty-five to thirty per cent of the rain that falls in the Midwest and Southeast of Brazil comes from water vapour generated in the Amazon.’

More than 15 international research partners rely on its findings to guide climate discussions, including Brazil’s scientific contributions to COP30. Bruno carries a profound responsibility: the data generated today will help guide political decisions, shape conservation strategies and influence the future of entire populations. His message is clear. The Amazon must remain standing. The world depends on it more than most people realise. ‘AmazonFACE is a laboratory with doors open to the open sky in the forest, remote yet essential to understanding global science.’

Civil engineer Maria Juliana Monte never expected that her career would pull her away from the typical construction site in the city and place her deep inside the Amazon rainforest. She describes it as ‘an environment where traditional construction machines do not fit easily,’ a place where everything she knew about engineering was redefined by nature. When she began a Master’s degree in Climate and Environment at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), she studied forest dynamics. A new path opened up. That programme led Maria Juliana to a field discipline that required visiting a forest reserve, an experience that, as she puts it, ‘made me understand its behaviour better.’

Although she was born and raised in the Amazon, working within the forest changed the way she understood her home. ‘You don’t expect to be so close to the forest. And then I’m working within it … you can understand its real importance very well.’ Through AmazonFACE, she began to see the rainforest not only as a place of childhood memories but as a global and regional climate regulator, essential for society’s future.

Today, Maria Juliana is the site engineer responsible for the CO₂ enrichment system, the heart of the AmazonFACE experiment. She oversees everything from the injection system to campaign logistics, ensures safety and supports researchers who arrive to study the forest’s behaviour. ‘My role is to embrace everyone and make the experiment flow really well, enough so the world begins to see what I see every day.’

From root growth to leaf photosynthesis, from soil respiration to micrometeorological instrumentation, she keeps the forest-scale experiment running so scientists can understand how the Amazon responds to rising CO₂. And she knows exactly what would change if more people could witness what she sees: ‘If people could see what I see in the forest every day, they would understand it as a place of survival, where food, health and daily life depend on its harmony. The Amazon is not a distant wilderness but a living home.’

Growing up in the savannah of Central Brazil, Carlos Alberto Quesada – known as Beto – spent his childhood steeped in profound curiosity about nature. While his family focused on crops and cattle on their farm, he found himself transfixed by the ecosystem around him – the rhythms of soil, plants and climate. That fascination became a lifelong calling for ecological sciences. ‘The Amazon was always on my mind, calling me. At the first opportunity I had, I left the savannah and came to the rainforest.’ Studying forestry engineering and later pursuing a PhD, Beto realised how tightly vegetation and climate are bound together.

Small changes in rainfall or temperature could trigger cascading effects across ecosystems, altering the balance of the planet itself. This awareness shaped his career as a soil scientist, probing the hidden layers beneath the forest floor. Roots, fungi and microorganisms became his focus, because they hold the key to whether the Amazon can withstand rising carbon dioxide. Nutrient limitations such as phosphorus, nitrogen and others may decide whether the forest grows stronger or falters.

In the midst of this daunting reality, Beto finds a glimmer of hope. The potential for trees to adapt to increased CO₂ in the atmosphere intrigues him. ‘With more CO₂, it is possible that trees will become more productive and use water more efficiently,’ he muses, envisioning a scenario where the forest's resilience could be bolstered, allowing it to withstand the anticipated droughts.

However, he remains mindful of the uncertainties that lie ahead. ‘We are at a crossroads,’ he reflects. Will we find in the experiment a little more energy for the Amazon, so that it can hold out a little longer? Beto's journey reveals that while the challenges are immense, there is still a chance for the Amazon to flourish, provided we act with urgency and intention. ‘Science gives me a little hope,’ he concludes, reminding us that through understanding, we can still chart a path towards recovery and sustainability for this vital ecosystem and our world.