Amazon

Question 1

Location and background

Answer 1

-Covers 5.5 million km
Ecosystem has existed for at least 55million years

Question 2

What are the 4 layers of trees?

Answer 2

-forest floor
-understory layer
-canopy layer
-emergent layer

Question 3

Physical characteristics

Answer 3

-3000mm rainfall per year
-average temperature of 27c
-nutrients are added to the soil quickly because of hot, damp conditions making decomposition fast

Question 4

Plants and animal adaptations

Answer 4

-tall emergent trees have buttress roots to support themselves in the shallow soil
-lianers are fine like plants which grow up trees to reach up lights
-Fan palms have large leaves to capture any available light on the forest floors
-animals such as sloths have adapted to climb through the canopy to avoid predators
-Dart frogs are camouflaged against the vegetation

Question 5

Important to the wider world

Answer 5

-rainforests help regulate the atmosphere by using CO2 and releasing oxygen
-The amazons plants and animals store billions of tonnes of carbon and use 2.2billion tonnes each year
-Only 1% of the Amazons flowering plant species have been studied and there is a huge potential for more new medicines to be discovered

Question 6

Main methods of sustainable management of Amazon

Answer 6

-selective logging
-conservation swaps
-international agreements
-rules and laws
-education

Question 7

Causes of deforestation

Answer 7

-Cattle ranching (65%) which is to feed global beef demand
-10% is for commercial agriculture, especially production of soy beans and palm oil
-3% is used for logging in timber

Question 8

Consequences of deforestation

Answer 8

-loss of indigenous people from 6million to 200,000
-more species becoming extinct
-takes up 33% of CO2 than a decade ago
-fewer roots mean higher levels of soil erosion has increased flood risk as soil enters the river