The interaction between the Earth’s atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere plays a fundamental role in the climate system and in biogeochemical and hydrological cycles, through the exchange of energy and mass (for example, water and carbon), between the vegetation and the atmospheric boundary layer. Better understanding and modelling of the behaviour of the Amazon rainforest and its influence on regional weather patterns and global climate have huge implications for food security, water availability, climate change and biodiversity across the South American continent in particular but with vast implications for the entire global hydrological system.