<p>Linking the Amazonian deforestation to changes in the hydrological cycle remains a puzzling question, addressed here through the use of recent global databases analyzing the relations between key hydro-climate variables (Precipitation (P), potential and actual evapotranspiration (PET and AET, respectively)), the surface water-energy balance and indices of forest cover change (regional forest loss ratio -RFL and regional non-forest vegetation ratio -RNF) for Southern Amazon (south of 8&#176;S) and over the 1981-2018 period. The Southern Amazon constitutes a peculiar region due to specific climatic characteristics and shows a higher significant deforestation rate in comparison with the Northern Amazon. We further subdivided the study region into three subregions called Southern Bolivian Amazon (15&#176; S&#8210;21&#176; S, 57&#176; W&#8210;70&#176; W), Southern Peruvian Amazon (8&#176; S&#8210;15&#176; S, 77&#176; W&#8210;65&#176; W) and Southern Brazilian Amazon (8&#176; S&#8210;15&#176; S, 65&#176; W&#8210;50&#176; W). The surface water-energy balance is analyzed using a pixel-based Budyko-like theoretical framework approach, which discriminates energy-limited regions from water-limited regions. Southern Bolivian Amazon is shown to have undergone the strongest forest transition, becoming water-limited in conjunction with high forest loss. In this region, there is a significant relation between RFL values above 40%, P decrease, PET increases and AET decrease. These results suggest that areas with RNF values higher than 40% are prone to shift from an energy-limited to a water-limited state and remain trapped in this new state. Regions further north remain energy-limited due to minor P changes and even though significant increases in PET and decreases in AET are observed, associated with deforestation (high values RFL). This is typically the case in the &#8216;Arc of Deforestation&#8217;. In the Southern Bolivian Amazon, land use transition is associated with much larger changes from closed forest to a low-tree cover state as compared to regions further north - by at least a factor three as a proportion of area. Our findings indicate a clear link between hydro-climatic changes and deforestation, providing a new perspective on their spatial variability on a regional scale.</p><p>&#160;</p><p>This research is part of the French AMANECER-MOPGA project.</p>