Unit 1B - Tropical Rainforests

What is the average rainfall in a tropical rainforest?

Around 2000mm per year

What is the average temperature of a tropical rainforest?

20-28 degrees Celsius

What are epiphytes?

Plants that grow on other plants

What % of the world's species are in tropical rainforests?

50%

How many species were classed as threatened in Brazil in 2014?

1182

How many species were classed as threatened in Brazil in 2008?

628

What is a symbotic relationship?

When two different species depend on each other for survival

What are the 4 layers of a tropical rainforest? (in order, going up)

Shrub layer, under canopy, canopy and emergent layer

What is the area of the Amazon rainforest?

Around 7 million km squared

What % of Amazon deforestation comes from farming?

80%

What % of Amazon deforestation is a result of Cattle Ranching?

65-70%

What % of Amazon deforestation is a result of commercial logging?

2-3%

what % of Amazon deforestation is a result of subsistence farming?

20-25%

How much CO2 does the Amazon store?

Over 100 billion tonnes

What % of Brazil's CO2 emissions come from deforestation?

75%

How many people do the Buenaventura mining company in Peru employ?

8,000

What was the rate of deforestation decrease in Brazil from 2004-2012?

80%

What is selective logging?

The cutting down of selected trees - most trees remain

What is replanting?

When new trees are planted to replace the trees that have been cut down

What is ecotourism?

A form of tourism that supports the conservation and sustainable development of ecologically unique areas

What is an example of road building in the Amazon?

The Trans-Amazonian Highway

How long is the Trans-Amazonian Highway?

4000km

Roughly how many cows are there in Brazil?

Around 200 million

How much of the Amazon has been deforested to be used for soy production?

250,000 km squared

How much of the Amazon rainforest did the construction of the hydroelectric Balbina Dam flood?

2,400 km squared

What is the annual average amount of land deforested per year from 2007 to 2017?

22 million hectacres

What is the biggest source of income in Costa Rica?

Ecotourism

What % of Costa Rica has been protected from development as a result of ecotourism?

28%

How much did Norway pay towards Brazil's Amazon conservation fund in 2018?

70 million dollars

How much did the USA reduce Indonesia's national debt by in 2011 in exchange for conserving their rainforests?

29 million dollars

What are lianas?

woody vines that start at ground level and use trees to climb up to the canopy

What are fan palms?

large fan-shaped leaves

How much are cattle exports worth per year to Brazil?

6.5 billion dollars

What % of the world's carbon emissions does the Amazon absorb each year?

5%

Why does decomposition happen so fast in tropical rainforests?

Because of the humid, warm and moist climate

What is an example of ecotousirm

Hotel Hix House in Puerto Rico

How many medicinal drugs have been created from tropical rainforests?

7,000

What % of the Amazon has been deforested in the last 50 years?

17%

What is an example of a species that has become endangered in the Amazon as a result of deforestation?

The black spider monkey