Amazon Rainforest Case Study

Question 1

Outline the Amazon Rainforest

Answer 1

• The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covering about 6.7 million square km in South America
• It is a biodiversity hotspot, home to over 3 million plants and animals
• Home to more than 400 billion trees from around 16000 species

Question 2

Outline the Amazon’s role in the carbon cycle

Answer 2

• The Amazon absorbs one quarter of all the CO2 absorbed by all the land on Earth
• Also produces around 20% of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis
• The Amazon is estimated to store more than 150 GtC

-> Acts as the lungs of the Earth

Question 3

Outline the Amazon’s role in the Water Cycle

Answer 3

• Amazon River 2nd longest in the world
• Hot and humid, average temperature of 25-28 degrees Celsius, recieves average of 2-3 metres of rainfall per year

Question 4

What is the impact of human activity on deforestation?

Answer 4

Logging for agriculture (eg. Soy farming) and infrastructure developments mean that between 2000 and 2020, the Amazon lost around 17% of its forest cover

Since 1960, 15% of the Amazon has been cleared for agricultural purposes alone