Climate Change and the Amazon Rainforest

Flashcards covering key concepts related to climate change, the Amazon rainforest, its carbon cycle, and management strategies.

The Amazon is estimated to lose ___ species to extinction every day.

137

It was estimated that the likelihood of the June-Nov 2023 drought was increased by __X as a result of human activity.

30

evidence of climate changed is shown by changing ______ of animals such as the fish in the Amazon river, which are migrating further north.

distribution

__ conditions are ideal for plant growth, leading to high carbon sequestration rates.

Humid

Forests globally sequester approximately __ billion metric tonnes of carbon per year.

7.6

Large, mature rainforest trees typically store approximately __ tonnes of carbon per hectare. (in their roots and above ground)

220

Carbon is stored in soils, averaging at around ___-___ tonnes of carbon per hectare.

100-200

The Amazon absorbs more than __ billion tonnes of carbon per annum.

2.4

The Amazon rainforest covers an area of over __ million km² in South America.

6

__% of the Amazon is in Brazil

70

The average annual temp is approximately 25-30 degrees, with ____ seasonal variation

little

There is an average annual precipitation in the Amazon of more than __ mm.

2000

Rainforests are protected from extreme highs due to insulation from the sun caused by ___ _______ and the formation of clouds.

low pressure

Between __% of precipitation in the Amazon rainforest is recycled by evapotranspiration.

50-60

By 2015, __% of the Brazilian Amazon comprised of National Parks/reserves where farming is banned.

44

protected areas in the Amazon now cover __X the size of Belgium.

20

In exchange for protecting an area of the Amazon rainforest, some countries employ __ reduction schemes.

debt

The Parica Project aims to convert a __ km area into a commercial timber plantation on previously degraded and deforested land.

1000

Sustainable agriculture techniques such as _______ ________ is encouraged, as it prevents monoculture and means that the land can be used multiple times as its nutrients have time to restore, slowing the rate of deforestation.

rotational cropping

It is projected that by 2050, there will be a __% decline in regional rainfall due to deforestation.

20

Due to decreased interception stores, in 2014 the _____ River (one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon) flooded causing the deaths of 60 people, and causing outbreaks of cholera and septospirosis.

Madeira

The Amazon stores __ billion tonnes of CO₂ in total.

100

__% of the Amazons carbon is stored above ground

60

The Amazon rainforest accounts for __% of all terrestrial net primary production (NPP).

20