Amazon Rainforest Case Study

Question 1

list two facts about the location of the Amazon Rainforest

Answer 1

-It’s the worlds largest rainforest, which covers 40% of the South American landmass
-The Amazon covers approx 8,200,000km2 which is 60% of Brazil and stretches over 9 different countries

Question 2

List 4 ways the amazon impacts the water cycle

Answer 2

-It’s the largest source of freshwater run off on Earth, 15-20% of global river discharge
-precipitation exceeds 2000mm per year, and around 25% of this is evaporated
-Glaciers in the Andes provide 50% of upper amazon’s discharge, the shrinking of these glaciers in 30 years will have an impact on the water cycle
-increase in temperature by 2-3 degrees by 2050 will have a major impact on evapotranspiration

Question 3

list 4 ways the carbon cycle is impacting the Amazon

Answer 3

-amazon stores much of its carbon in vegetation and soil, it’s a carbon sink and absorbs around 35% of world carbon emissions
-the amazon alone stores 100 gigatonnes of carbon
-plants in various rainforests are absorbing 33% less carbon now then in the 1990s, due to more deforestation etc
-A 4 degree increase in temp could kill 85% of the rainforest, releasing a lot of carbon due to more decomposition and less photosynthesis

Question 4

what are 4 drivers of change in both the water and carbon cycle

Answer 4

deforestation/tree dieback
forest burning
selective logging
climate change

Question 5

how does deforestation impact the water cycle

Answer 5

little tree canopy to intercept rainfall which means more water reaches the ground, the soil becomes too full so rivers receive more water due to surface run off which increases flood risk

Question 6

how much of the amazon has been lost inthe last 50 years due to deforestation for cattle ranching

Answer 6

17%

Question 7

how much sq km has been lost due to agriculture, mining, forestry, dams and infaetructure

Answer 7

4 million sq km

Question 8

why does forest burning occur and what’s it’s use

Answer 8

because of the need for land for gary tire or the production of charcoal, it results in less rain

Question 9

what’s one way wildfires can be increases in the amazon

Answer 9

through selective logging leaving large gaps in the rainforest which causes trees and flora too dry up quicker because of more wind and sun

Question 10

what are two reasons tree dieback occurs

Answer 10

hunting of mammals in the amazon, as they trees will not be shaded anymore , trees can also die due to water stress

Question 11

how is carbon impacted by deforestation

Answer 11

no roots holding the soil together means that when it rains carbon can be flushed away very easily, trees also remove co2 from the atmosphere so less trees mean this doesn’t happen as much

Question 12

how is carbon impacted by climate change

Answer 12

a rise in temperature by 4 degrees could kill over 85% of the amazon, which would mean large amounts of carbon is released into the atmosphere

Question 13

how much carbon does forest burning release into the atmosphere

Answer 13

30% of 60% of carbon

Question 14

since 2000 what oercentage shows how much the rainforest is decreasing per year

Answer 14

0.3%

Question 15

what are 5 attempts at trying to limit human impact on the amazon

Answer 15

replanting
environmental law
climate change
protection
selective logging

Question 16

how is selective logging limiting human impact on the rainforest

Answer 16

only some trees are felled, usually the oldest ones
only some are felled from each area meaning the overall canopy can be kept and the forest can regenerate

Question 17

how is replanting limiting human impact on the amazon

Answer 17

new trees are replanting to replace ones that have already been deforested, the same species of tree is replanted

Question 18

what are Perus plans for replanting

Answer 18

to restore 3.2 million hectares of the amazon by 2020

Question 19

what are 3 laws that can limit human impact on the amazon

Answer 19

-laws that ban the use of wood from forests that aren’t managed sustainably
-laws that ban excessive logging
-laws that control land use in the amazon

Question 20

what are two ways climate change factors are limiting human impact on the amazon

Answer 20

the use of less fires and mixtures of compost and charcoal to provide rich yields from small farms

Question 21

how is protection limiting human impact on the amazon

Answer 21

countries where the amazon runs through have national parks and nature reserves to protect the rainforest, so damaging activities like logging can be monitored

Question 22

what’s an example of a conservation reserve in the amazon

Answer 22

the central amazon conservation complex