Amazon rainofret

Question 1

Amazon - River Basin

Answer 1

Water losses from the Amazon Basin result from river flow and export of atmosphere vapour to other regions
This loss is made good by an inward flux of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean

Question 2

Features of TRF

Answer 2

High precipitation
High evapotranspiration
Humid
Hot
Lots of vegetation on all levels

Question 3

Physical factors (Geology)

Answer 3

Impermeable catchments have minimal water sotrage capacity resulting in rapid run-off

Question 4

Physical factors (Relief)

Answer 4

Most of the Amazon Basin comprises extensive lowlands in areas of gentle relief water moves across the surface for horizontally through the soil (through flow) to streams and river in the west.

Question 5

Physical factors (Temperature)

Answer 5

High temperature throughout the year generate high rates of evapotranspiration, Convection is strong leading to high atmospheric humidity

Question 6

What is the main store of nutrients in TRF

Answer 6

Biomass

Question 7

Climate features

Answer 7

Precipitation is higher in jan to may than jun to sept

Question 8

What are the consequences of the TRF climate

Answer 8

High NPP
Rapid decomposition
Rapid nutrient uptake

Question 9

What is the geology like

Answer 9

Lack of carbonates

Question 10

People and the Amazon

Answer 10

Indigenous people have lived sustainabily in the TRF for thousands of years
Hunter-gatherers and shifting cultivation

Question 11

Name 3 strategies to manage the Amazon

Answer 11

Protection through legalization
Reforest areas
Improve agricultural techniques

Question 12

Parica Project

Answer 12

Western Amazon

Sustainable forestry scheme aims to develop commercial timber plantation on government owned deforested land

Question 13

Surui people

Answer 13

Participate is a scheme to protect primary rainforest on tribal land from further illegal logging and reforest areas degraded by deforestation

Question 14

What is the problem with improved agriculture

Answer 14

Farming has been the main cause of deforestation in Ammonia

Permanent cultivation proved unsustainable

Question 15

Examples of Diversification

Answer 15

Crop rotation

Combining arable and livestock operations

Question 16

Anthropogenic soil in the Amazon

Answer 16

European explorers observed that the Amazon rainforest supported a high population as late as the 16th century

Question 17

Dark soils

Answer 17

Human engineered
Inputs of charcoal, waste and human manure
Charcoal attraction micro-organisms and fungi
Char-wood is porous
Prevents leaching

Question 18

Future of farming

Answer 18

Scientists are currently investigating these dark soils
If they can be successful recreated they would allow intensive and permenant cultivation
This would reduce deforestation and carbon emissions

Question 19

How much does the amazon cover

Answer 19

The Amazon forest covers an estimated 5.3 million sq km and holds 17% of the global terrestrial vegetation carbon stock.5

Question 20

Carbon in south America

Answer 20

showed that around 1% of all the tree species in the Amazon account for half of the carbon locked in the vast South American rainforest.

Question 21

Amazon as a carbon sink

Answer 21

Dead Amazonian trees (which account for around 20% of above ground biomass5) emit an estimated 1.9 billion tons (1.7 billion metric tons) of carbon to the atmosphere each year. In a normal year, the Amazon rainforest absorbs about 2.2 billion tons (2 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide. This means that untouched tropical forests act as a SINK for carbon.

Question 22

Average discharge of water into the sea

Answer 22

The average discharge of water into the Atlantic Ocean by the Amazon is approximately 175,000 m3 per second, or between 1/5th and 1/6th of the total discharge into the oceans of all of the world’s rivers.

Question 23

Rio Negro

Answer 23

The Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon, is the second largest river in the world in terms of water flow, and is 100 meters deep and 14 kilometers wide near its mouth at Manaus, Brazil.

Question 24

Rainfall in the basin

Answer 24

Average rainfall across the whole Amazon basin is approximately 2300 mm annually. In some areas of the northwest portion of the Amazon basin, yearly rainfall can exceed 6000 mm. 3
Only around 1/3 of the rain that falls in the Amazon basin is discharged into the Atlantic Ocean.

Question 25

Rainforest moisture affecting the world

Answer 25

The moisture created by rainforests travels around the world. Moisture created in the Amazon ends up falling as rain as far away as Texas, and forests in Southeast Asia influence rain patterns in south eastern Europe and China. 4
When forests are cut down, less moisture goes into the atmosphere and rainfall declines, sometimes leading to drought. These have been made worse by deforestation.

Question 26

Impacts of deforestation on Rivers

Answer 26

Trees also help continue the water cycle by returning water vapor to the atmosphere. When trees are removed this cycle is severely disrupted and areas can suffer more droughts. There are many consequences of deforestation and climate change for the water cycle in forests;

1. There is increased soil erosion and weathering of rainforest soils as water acts immediately upon them rather than being intercepted.
2. Flash floods are more likely to happen as there is less interception and absorption by the forest cover.
3. Conversely, the interruption of normal water cycling has resulted in more droughts in the forest, increasing the risk of wild fires
4. More soil and silt is being washed into rivers, resulting in changes to waterways and transport
5. Disrupt water supplies to many people in Brazil

Question 27

The impacts of climate change on the Amazon

Answer 27

Some Amazon species capable of moving fast enough will attempt to find a more suitable environment. Many other species will either be unable to move or will have nowhere to go.
• Higher temperatures will impact temperature-dependent species like fish, causing their distribution to change.
• Reduced rainfall and increased temperatures may also reduce suitable habitat during dry, warm months and potentially lead to an increase in invasive, exotic species, which then can out-compete native species.
• Less rainfall during the dry months could seriously affect many Amazon rivers and other freshwater systems.
• The impact of reduced rainfall is a change in nutrient input into streams and rivers, which can greatly affect aquatic organisms.
• A more variable climate and more extreme events will also likely mean that Amazon fish populations will more often experience hot temperatures and potentially lethal environmental conditions.
• Flooding associated with sea-level rise will have substantial impacts on lowland areas such as the Amazon River delta. The rate of sea-level rise over the last 100 years has been 1.0-2.5 mm per year, and this rate could rise to 5 mm per year.

Question 28

Change to the water and carbon cycles in the Amazon

Answer 28

1. Agriculture (to grow crops like Soya or Palm oil) or for pasture land for cattle grazing
2. Logging – This involves cutting down trees for sale as timber or pulp. The timber is used to build homes, furniture, etc. and the pulp is used to make paper and paper products. Logging can be either selective or clear cutting. Selective logging is selective because loggers choose only wood that is highly valued, such as mahogany. Clear-cutting is not selective. Loggers are interested in all types of wood and therefore cut all of the trees down, thus clearing the forest, hence the name- clear-cutting.
3. Road building – trees are also clear for roads. Roads are an essential way for the Brazilian government to allow development of the Amazon rainforest. However, unless they are paved many of the roads are unusable during the wettest periods of the year. The Trans Amazonian Highway has already opened up large parts of the forest and now a new road is going to be paved, the BR163 is a road that runs 1700km from Cuiaba to Santarem. The government planned to tarmac it making it a superhighway. This would make the untouched forest along the route more accessible and under threat from development.
4. Mineral extraction – forests are also cleared to make way for huge mines. The Brazilian part of the Amazon has mines that extract iron, manganese, nickel, tin, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc and gold!
5. Energy development – This has focussed mainly on using Hydro Electric Power, and there are 150 new dams planned for the Amazon alone. The dams create electricity as water is passed through huge pipes within them, where it turns a turbine which helps to generate the electricity. The power in the Amazon is often used for mining. Dams displace many people and the reservoirs they create flood large area of land, which would previously have been forest. They also alter the hydrological cycle and trap huge quantities of sediment behind them. The huge Belo Monte dam started operating in April 2016 and will generate over 11,000 Mw of power. A new scheme the 8,000-megawatt São Luiz do Tapajós dam has been held up because of the concerns over the impacts on the local Munduruku people.
6. Settlement & population growth – populations are growing within the Amazon forest and along with them settlements. Many people are migrating to the forest looking for work associated with the natural wealth of this environment. Settlements like Parauapebas, an iron ore mining town, have grown rapidly, destroying forest and replacing it with a swath of shanty towns. The population has grown from 154,000 in 2010 to 220,000 in 2012. The Brazilian Amazon’s population grew by a massive 23% between 2000 and 2010, 11% above the national average.

Question 29

Amazon Forest

Answer 29

The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. It sits within the Amazon River basin, covers some 40% of the South American continent and as you can see on the map below includes parts of eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. The actual word “Amazon” comes from river.
Amazing Amazon facts;
• It is home to 1000 species of bird and 60,000 species of plants
• 10 million species of insects live in the Amazon
• It is home to 20 million people, who use the wood, cut down trees for farms and for cattle.
• It covers 2.1 million square miles of land
• The Amazon is home to almost 20% of species on Earth
• The UK and Ireland would fit into the Amazon 17 times!
The Amazon caught the public’s attention in the 1980s when a series of shocking news reports said that an area of rainforest the size of Belgium was being cut down and subsequently burnt every year. This deforestation has continued to the present day according to the Sao Paulo Space Research Centre. In 2005 they had lost 17% of Amazon rainforest or 650,000 square kilometres. Their satellite data is also showing increased deforestation in parts of the Amazon.