Amazon rainforest

How many people live in the Amazon

• Home to over 30 million people

How many countries does the Amazon span

8

Number of trees in the amazon

300 billion trees

Carbon facts about the Amazon (total storage, and yearly input/output)

• Stores 80-120 billion tonnes carbon

• Emits 1.9 billion tonnes

• Absorbs 2.2 billion tonnes

Average annual rainfall in the amazon

• 2300mm average annual rainfall

Humidity in the Amazon

• high humiditiy

How much of rainfall is intercepted by trees

• 75% of rainfall is intercepted by trees

4 types of human activity in the Amazon

• mining

• cattle ranching (accountable for 80% of deforestation)

• farming

• logging

How much of the Amazon has been degraded by humans

1/3

How much of wood is made of carbon

50%

How much of the rainforest has been removed from deforestation

20%

How much have temperatures increased in the Amazon

2-3 degrees

Factors impacting the Amazon’s water cycle

• deforestation

• urbanisation

• farming practices

• mining (contaminating water sources)

• rainfall events

• droughts

• seasonal variation

How has deforestation impacted the Amazon’s water cycle

• less interception

• soil water storage decreases (roots no longer hold soil together)

• less transpiration

How has agriculture impacted the Amazon’s water cycle

• pastoral animals + heavy machinery trample the ground → compaction → reduces infiltration into underground water stores

• ploughing for arable farming crops can increase infiltration, creating looser soil and decreasing surface run off

• irrigation systems abstract water from underground stores (could lead to salt water intrusion) and depletes groundwater stores

How has urbanisation impacted the Amazon’s water cycle

• increased impermeable surfaces - increases surface run off + shorter lag time → flooding

• drains and sewers reduce lag time, overflowing nearby water storage → can contaminate water sources

• some methods have improved the water cycle → mitigation (SUDs) → reduces impermeable surfaces and improves drainage and flooding

• construction of the Belo Monte dam - hydroerlectric dam that reduced water flow by 70% (displaced 40,000 residents) and resulted in permanent drought in some areas - resulting in forest die back and impacts on water storage in the local area

• mining for resources - containation of water supplies

How do natural events impact the Amazon’s water cycle

• rain events - lots of convectional rainfall surges (from rising moist air - high humidity) can saturate ground, increasing surface run off and causing flooding and reducing lag time in floodplains and the Amazon River

• drought - reduces soil moisture and reduces river discharge → longterm can degrade soil quality and cause forest dieback

• seasonal variation - wet/dry seasons

Human factors impacting the Amazon’s carbon cycle

• deforestation

• farming practices

• urbanisation

Physical factors impacting the Amazon’s carbon cycle

• wildfires - burning →deforestation → removal of carbon store

• droughts - risk of forest dieback, reducing carbon store

• milankovitch cycles (indirect) - global increase in CO2 - warming because of permafrost melt

How does deforestation impact the Amazon’s carbon cycle?

• Releases stored carbon (exacerbated impacts from slashing and burning)

• Reduces further sequestration of carbon (less photosynthesis)

• Soil degredation - less carbon stored in soil and local biomass

• Positve feedback → less trees → more warming → less trees

How do farming practices impact the Amazon’s carbon store?

• Ploughing releases CO2 from the soil

• Heavy machinery often uses fossil fuels as fuel (releasing CO2)

• Animals release CO2 and methane → GHGs that accelerate global warming

How does urbanisation impact the Amazon’s carbon cycle?

• Urbanisation results in more deforestation e.g. the creation of the Trans-amazonian highway

• Increased concrete - concrete production releases CO2 (responsbile for 8% of global carbon emissions)

• Increased fossil fuel use for energy/homes

Local mitigation of CC/deforestation in the Amazon

Protected areas:

• Jau National Park - restricts deforestation in a 2.3 million hectare UNSECO site - effective but no monitoring

• Para Rainforest reserve - 15 million hectares of reserve corridors that allow species to move (lowers chance of forest dieback)

National mitigation of CC/deforestation in the Amazon

Governance + Sustainable development policies:

• ACTO (and tarapoto):
  - promotes sustainable development across 8 member countries
  - uses afforesting and restoration to reverse deforestation
  - monitors for illegal logging
  - Tarapoto initiative - split the Amazon into zones for land use, invested in scientific research, technology and education to learn about the Amazon.

• Agroforestry:
  - Planting trees near crops to enhance soil quality in the area, results in soil being able to hold more carbon - effective but less economically viable than cattle ranching (80% deforestation)

Global mitigation of CC/deforestation in the Amazon

• COP 26 - global pledge from over 140 countries to reverse deforestation globally, but also in the Amazon (largest TRF) with over $19 billion in funding

• REDD+ - Paris Agreement initiative to provide financial incentive for developing countries to protect forests and manage them sustainably - larger impact for the Amazon and the countries it spans over (typically lower income)