The Amazon Rainforest

What percentage of South America does the Amazon Rainforest cover?

40%

What percentage of Brazil does the Amazon Rainforest cover?

68%

Describe the climate conditions in the Amazon Rainforest.

Hot and wet

Describe the vegetation in the Amazon Rainforest.

Dense

How many plant species is the Amazon Rainforest home to?

1 million

How many species of mammals is the Amazon Rainforest home to?

500

How many species of fish is the Amazon Rainforest home to?

2,000

What is significant about much of the species in the Amazon Rainforest?

They are endangered

Name 3 endangered species in the Amazon.

Amazonian manatee, black caiman and pirarucu

What kind of people live in the Amazon rainforest?

Groups of indigenous people

Due to the water cycle, why is the Amazon rainforest very wet?

Evaporation blown over from the Atlantic Ocean and warm temperatures leading to high evaporation means the rainforest is very wet and gets a lot of rainfall

Due to the water cycle, why might water flow slower than expected to the river in the Amazon rainforest?

The dense rainforest canopy increases interception so less water falls more slowly to the river than might be expected

Species in the Amazon rainforest are ...

... adapted to high humidity and frequent rainfall

Describe the carbon cycle in the Amazon Rainforest.

Due to storing carbon in its vegetation and soil, the Amazon is a carbon sink. The increased CO2 has led to more photosynthesis and so more plant productivity in sequestering CO2, making the Amazon and even more important carbon store.

How much of the Amazon rainforest is considered a carbon source now?

1/5

Although trees in the Amazon are growing more quickly ...

... they are dying younger, so we may no be able to rely on it to be an effective carbon sink

In the 1990s, how much CO2 did the Amazon absorb, relatively?

2 billion tonnes

In the 2015, how much CO2 did the Amazon absorb, relatively?

1 billion tonnes

What percentage of the original land of the Amazon has been lost to deforestation?

17%

For what percentage of the time is deforestation in the Amazon done for cattle farming and agricuture?

90%

How is the water cycle impacted by deforestation in the Amazon to increase flood risk?

No tree canopy to intercept rainfall causes more water to reach the ground surface and fill up the water table to then become runoff, increasing flood risk. And a lack of roots to hold the soil together can wash the soil away into rivers, 'clogging' them up and causing flooding

However, lower rainfall from less evapotranspiration can cause decreased ...

... river discharge

How is the water cycle impacted by deforestation in the Amazon to increase drought risk?

Deforestation reduces evapotranspiration, leading to less water vapour in the atmosphere, fewer clouds and reduced rainfall, which all increases the risk of drought

How much of the Amazon's rainfall is recycled by the trees through evapotranspiration?

1/3

How does deforestation create wetter and windier conditions at a local scale?

Cleared areas get warmer quicker, so the warm air rises and creates low pressure which draws moist air in from the surroundings. These 'vegetation breezes' create clouds and rain

How does deforestation limit the Amazon as an effective carbon sink due to heavy rain?

Without the roots to hold the soil down, heavy rain washes away the top carbon-rich layer, transferring carbon from the soil to the dynamic hydrosphere

How does deforestation limit the Amazon as an effective carbon sink due to less leaf litter?

Without trees, there is less leaf litter to form humus and support new growth, limiting the amount of carbon which can be absorbed

How does deforestation limit the Amazon as an effective carbon sink due to less trees

Less trees means less photosynthesis so less CO2 taken out of the atmosphere, leading to global warming

How can deforestation lead to a positive feedback loop in the water and carbon cycle?

Many effects of deforestation limit vegetation growth which can further amplify changes in both cycles

How much carbon can tropical rainforests store?

500 tonnes

How much carbon can farmland store?

5 tonnes

How much more carbon can tropical rainforests store than farmland?

100 times

Why have there been more frequent droughts in the Amazon recently?

Temperature increasing and rainfall decreasing due to climate change

Recently, when have there been droughts in the Amazon Rainforest?

2005, 2010 and 2015-16

How can droughts have impacts on plants and animals in the Amazon rainforest?

Species in tropical rainforests are adapted to moist conditions so frequent or long periods of dry droughts could lead to death and extinction

What are the impacts of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest?

They can destroy large areaas of forest and release lots of CO2 into the atmosphere

What percentage of the Amazon could die if the temperature rose by 4ºC?

85%

How could the death of so much of the Amazon further increase CO2 emissions?

More decomposition and less photosynthesis

How much less carbon can secondary forests store than the original forests?

40% less

Name 4 strategies to limit the human impact on the Amazon.

Selective logging, replanting, environmental law and protection

How can selective logging limit human impact on the Amazon?

By only letting some trees, usually the oldest ones, to be felled, it retains the forest's canopy, holds the soil together and allows photosynthesis to continue at a similar rate

How can replanting limit human impact on the Amazon?

Planting new trees to replace the ones that are cut down, and therefore retain the canopy, soil compaction and photosynthesis rates.

Why is it important to replant the same trees as those which were cut down?

So variety of trees is kept for the future and the local water and carbon cycles return to their initial state

Between 2016 and 2019, how much forest was planted thanks to an initiative in Peru in the Amazon?

115 acres

How can environmental law limit human impact on the Amazon?

Laws can ban the use of wood from forests that are not managed sustainably, ban excessive logging and control land use to protect the rainforests.

What percentage of their land must a landowner keep as forest according to the Brazilian Forest Code?

50-80%

How can protection limit human impact on the Amazon?

Setting up national parks and nature reserves can protect rainforests as damaging activities like logging can be monitored and prevented

In 2003, what area did Brazil's Central Amazon Conservation Complex cover?

49,000 km^2

Why was Brazil's Central Amazon Conservation Complex built?

To protect biodiversity while allowing locals to use the forest in a sustainable way