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Geography Flash Cards > Amazon Rainforest > Flashcards

Amazon Rainforest Flashcards

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1
Q

Layers of the rainforests ( High to Low )

A

Emergent layer - 50m
Canopy - 30m
Under canopy
The forest floor

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2
Q

Size of the Amazon rainforest

A

largest rainforest of Earth
6% of the Earth’s surface

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3
Q

Location of the Amazon Rainforest

A

Along the equator but spreads above and below majority being in the southern hemishpere
In South America
Mostly in Brazil - north west
20 degrees north 20 degress south latitude

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4
Q

Climate of the Amazon rainforest

A

Average temps of 27 degrees C
Average rainfall of 2000+mm

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5
Q

Carbon cycle of Amazon rainforest

A

accounts for around 30 - 50% global photosynthesis

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6
Q

Biodiversity of Amazon rainforest

A

home to 50% of animal and plant species

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7
Q

how much water is used by plants and returned to the atmosphere

A

50%

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8
Q

How much water infiltrates into soil

A

50%

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9
Q

How much rainfall is intercepted by vegetation

A

75%

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10
Q

In the last 50 years how much of the rainfall has been lost

A

17%

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11
Q

What % is how much cattle ranching responsible for the lost of Amazon Rainforest

A

80%

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12
Q

Impacts of human activty on the water cycle

A

reduced evapotranspiration - less precipitation
More soil compaction - increase rates of surface runoff
Rates of runoff will increase - increase flood risk
Soil becoming dry and vulnerable to erosion - limit chances of regrowth
Little interception - leaves ground exposed
Transpiration will be virtually zero

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13
Q

Regional impacts of deforestation

A

Rainfall levels in the wider regions are most likely to reduce - could lead to a 20% decline in regional rainfall if it continues
Air passing over extensive forest produced twice as much rain that air passing over little forest

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14
Q

Local impacts of deforestation

A

Less precipitation
Some cases show an increase in local rainfall downwind
Vegetation breezing

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15
Q

What is vegetation breezing

A

Air over cleared land warms faster rising and creating localised low pressure drawing moist air from forested areas
This casues an increase in cloud coverage over the cleared
This will lead to things like heavy rainfall and thunderstorms causing soil erosion and increased surface runoff

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16
Q

How does burning of trees impact cloud formation

A

Burning produces airborne aerosols which water vapour can condeses around

17
Q

How much more decline in rainfall could future deforestation cause

A

20% decline

18
Q

Stores of carbon in the Amazon rainforest

A

Wood is 50% carbon

19
Q

Inputs of carbon in the Amazon rainforest

A

typical years it absorbs 2.2 billion tons of CO2

20
Q

Outputs of carbon in the Amazon rainforest

A

typical year it emits 1.9 billion tons through decomposition and organism respiration
some carbon stored in the soil can be removed by streams

21
Q

How much of global terrestrial carbon does the Amazon store

A

17% of global total

22
Q

How much of global soil carbon does the Amazon store

A

27% of global total

23
Q

How much of a source of carbon dioxide does deforestation account for

A

around 10%

24
Q

Since 2000 what has the rate of decline of the Amazon been

A

0.3%

25
Q

When forests are cleared and burned how much carbon is lost to the atmosphere

A

30 - 60%

26
Q

How long it take unburned vegetation to decay

A

within 10 years

27
Q

Impacts of deforestation on carbon cycle

A

Photosynthesis - stops until new plants
Respiration - drops to almost zero
Decomposition - Decomposers largely absent
Soil sequestration - short term increase of carbon in soil but this will be used up and no source of carbon in the longer term
Runoff - some carbon will leave the local system through increased runoff in rivers

28
Q

How much carbon does the Amazon absorb in 2020

A

1-1.2 billion
This is less then what is emitted by latin America countries each year

29
Q

How is the Amazon changing from a sink to a source

A

Plants are growing faster but are dying sooner
Warmer temperatures increase rates of decomposition and respiration

30
Q

A positive feedback loop example for the Amazon

A

Temp increase - increased evapotranspiration - leads to drought - trees don’t have enough water supply - trees start to die - decompositon and less photosythesis - more CO2 in atmosphere - Temp increase

31
Q

Mitigation strategies in the Amazon

A

Creation of national parks and forest reserves - Para Rainforest reserve
Forest biofuel production - compete with ethanol production
Reforestation
Enrichment of degraded forests
National and international agreements - Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation

32
Q

Current mitigation strategies

A

Soybean moratorium and cattle ranching presecution threat
Infigenous land / protected areas
Norway - Amazon fund - $1 billion pledged for Brazil’s Amazon fund - $670 million paid

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