The Amazon Rainforest

Water and Carbon Cycle

what is the amazon rainforest?

-a rainforest in south america
-worlds largest tropical rainforest covering 40% of south america's landmass

what is the amazon rainforest home to?

-many groups of indegenous people
-1 million plant species
-over 500 species of mammals
-over 2000 species of fish
-many endangered species

how does the water cycle affect the amazon rainforest?

-causes amazon to be very wet as lots of evaporation over atlantic ocean
-warm temperatures increase the amount of precipitation due to evaporation
-rainforest has dense canopy meaning lots of interception meaning water flow into river is slower
-species are adapted to humidity and high rainfall

how does the carbon cycle affect the amazon rainforest?

-the amazon stores lots of carbon in vegetation and soil
-it is a carbon sink
-increasing CO2 in the atmosphere increases photosynthesis as vegetation have more CO2
-increasing the biomass
-trees are growing faster but dying younger
-may not be able to rely on amazon being a carbon sink for longer

human activity affecting the water cycle? (deforestation)

-when trees are deforested there is no canopy to intercept rainfall
-more water reaches the ground leading to saturated soils increasing runoff and increasing chances of flooding
-reduces rate of evaporation

human activity affecting carbon cycle? (deforestation)

-without roots the soil isnt held together and rain washes nutrient rich soil that contains carbon and transfers co2 to the hydrosphere
-less leaf litter to decompose meaning less nutrients, not supporting more growth, limiting carbon absorbes
-trees store co2 so less trees means less co2 absorbed, more greenhouse gases

human activity affecting the carbon and water cycle? (climate change)

-temperatures rising and rainfall decreasing leading to drought, amazon had droughts in 2005 and 2010
-plants and animals adapted to moist conditions die in dry weather
-frequent or long periods of drought could lead to extinction of many species
-can also lead to forest fires which destroys large area of forest and released co2
-4 degree increase could kill 85% of rainforest resulting in lots of carbon being released

how to limit impacts on the amazon? (selective logging)

-selective logging is only choosing some trees (old ones) most are left standing
-less damaging to forest because only a few are taken so structure of the forest is intact, canopy and soil isnt altered
-allows the forest to regenerate so impact on carbon and water cycle is small

how to limit impacts in the amazon? (replanting)

-new trees are planted to replace the ones that have been cut down
-Eg. Peru planned to restore 2.3 million hectares of forest for 2020
-the same type of tree that was cut down is replanted in order to maintain variety of trees for future and so carbon and water cycle can return to normal state

how to limit impacts in the amazon? (environmental law)

-can help to protect to rainforests
-eg. laws ban use of wood from forests that are not managed sustainably
-laws ban excessive logging
-laws control land use eg brazillian forest code says land owners have to keep 50 to 80% of their land as forest

how to limit impacts on the amazon? (protection)

-many countries have set up national parks and nature reserves to protect rainforests
-eg. central amazon conservation complex set up in 2003 protecting biodiversity while allowing people to use the forest in a sustainable way
-in national parks and nature reserves activities such as logging can be monitered