Amazonia and oxygen

The claim that the Amazon produces 20% of Earth’s oxygen is misleading. The forest does photosynthesize intensely, but plants, animals, and microbes consume nearly as much oxygen through respiration and decomposition. Estimates put the Amazon’s gross contribution to global photosynthetic oxygen production at roughly 6–9%, while its net contribution to atmospheric oxygen is close to zero. [1–3] The illustration in this post is AI-generated and is not a satellite image.