Amazon rainforest Flashcards

Question

Organic matter+the carbon cycle in the amazon

Answer 1

Leaf litter and other dead organic matter accumulates temporary at the soil surface and with in rainforest soils. High temp+humid conditions= rapid decomp of organic matter by bacteria Decomp releases nutrients to soil which are immediately taken up by tree roots and CO2 which is emitted into atmosphere

Answer 2

Geology dominated by igneous rocks Carbonates largely absent from the mineral comp of these rocks However in western parts close to the Andes limestone occurs. They are significant carbon stores long term

Answer 3

Deforestation is very high 1970-present 70% of the forest has been destroyed or degraded The forest is cleared for mining, logging, subsistence farming and cattle ranching.

Answer 4

2014 Madeira river devastating floods 60 died 68,000 families evacuated

Answer 5

Converting rainforest into grassland increases run off by a factor of 27 and half of the rain falling on grass land goes directly into rivers This reduces transpiration and atmosphere humidity which is responsible for cloud formation and convectional rainfall Deforestation breaks this cycle and can lead to permanent climate change

Answer 6

Deforestation exhausts the carbon biomass store. Crop lands and pasture only contain a small amount of carbon compared to forest trees. Drastically reduces inputs of organic material to soil. Nutrients no longer taken up by the roots systems of trees are washed out of souls by rain water. Soil not protected by trees quickly eroded by run off

Answer 7

Soil depleted of carbon and exposed to strong sunlight support fewer decomposer organisms, thus reducing flow from soil to atmosphere.

Answer 8

It is an international and national concern because of the implications for global climate change Brazil is committed to restoring 120,000 km2 of forest by 2030

Answer 9

Protection through legislation of large areas of primary forest so far unaffected by commercial developments Projects to restore areas degraded or destroyed by subsistent farming, cattle ranching, logging or mining Improvement in argricultural techniques to make permanent cultivation possible

Answer 10

Since 1998 Forest conservation areas Amazon Regional Protected Areas cover an area 20x bigger than Belgium It has been affective 2015 44% of the rainforest was claimed national parks, wildlife reserves and indigenous reserves.

Answer 11

Sponsored by local authorities, NGOs and businesses- underway but slow progress. Parica project western amazon- sustainable forestry scheme aims to develop 1,000km2 commercial timber plant on government-owned deforested land. 20mil fast growing tropical hard wood trees planted on 400 smallholdings, financial assistance given to smallholders Although this is a monoculture it is sustainable + ensures carbon is sequestered and stored in trees and soil Helps re-establish the water n carbon cycle

Answer 12

Low fertility soils meant that permanent cultivation proved unsustainable. A few years later smallholders abandoned their plots which were then converted to low quality grassland

Answer 13

Diversification Soil fertility can be maintained by rotational cropping and combining livestock and arable operations. Integrating crops and livestock could allow a fivefold increase increase in ranching productivity and help slow rates of deforestation

Answer 14

Charcoal, waste and human manure