✅C&W Case Study - The Amazon Flashcards
What area does the Amazon cover?
7,000,000km^2
Which countries does the Amazon cover?
Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia etc
Near equator, more rain due to atmospheric circulation
How much of the world’s rainforest does the Amazon make up?
More than half
How many different species are there in the Amazon?
10 million- very biodiverse- insects, animals, plants
80,000 plant species
How much of the world’s CO2 does the Amazon absorb?
35%
How much of the world’s Oxygen does the Amazon produce?
20%
What is the average rainfall per year?
3000mm
Average temperature
Usually between 25 to 27 C
Why does up to half of rainfall never make it to the ground?
It is intercepted by the forest canopy and re-evaporated into the atmosphere
What happens to water intercepted by the canopy?
It drips to the ground from leaves or flows down the tree via stemflow
What percentage of freshwater entering the oceans each day comes from the Amazon river?
15%
What can deforestation increase?
Rainfall downwind of the area
What are the main drivers of change to the Amazon water cycle?
Deforestation, land use changes, climate change
How can land use change affect the water cycle?
Cutting down trees for farming means water can fall straight to the ground, causing soil erosion and runoff
Why is soil nutrient poor?
Due to heat and moisture, organic matter decays too fast hold nutrients for long
Why does deforestation reduce rainfall in the area?
Because the water cycle is disrupted as evapotranspiration does not occur and less water is stored in plants, and more in soil
Plus atmosphere gets less humid in the area due to lack of evapotranspiration, therefore less rain
Why is water less likely to evaporate from soils?
Because it forms a thin layer on a leaf so can evaporate quickly with less energy, but when it reaches the soil it soaks in
What does a decrease in evaporation lead to?
Local warming and droughts
What do rainforests act as?
Carbon sinks
How do plants store Carbon?
As sugars, in the form of starch in their leaves
How does deforestation by burning affect the carbon cycle?
No respiration by trees, no photosynthesis, no new biomass, less decay
What human factors can affect carbon cycle stores and transfers?
Industry and burning of fossil fuels, burning of forest
How do warmer oceans affect carbon stores?
Warmer oceans cannot hold as much CO2 so absorb less carbon
What physical factors can affect carbon cycle stores and transfers?
Tress and plants, temperature changes, type and number of animals in an area
How can extreme events of climate change alter vegetation?
Heatwaves, drought and storms can lead to vegetation deaths and fires
How will the Amazon have changed by 2050?
Forest dieback due to vegetation succession and fire is predicted to result in the Amazon region becoming a net source of Carbon Dioxide
Why do forest fires increase with climate change?
A dry seasons lengthen and become more intense, trees have more time to dry out and forest fires become more common
What has been done in the Amazon to mitigate climate change?
National parks and forest reserves have been created
What are examples of national parks?
Turnucumaque National Park and Para Rainforest Reserve
What is the Amazon often used for?
Biofuel production
What initiative is in place to reduce deforestation?
Land owners are paid not to cut down their trees and clear property rights are established to reduce land grabbing and illegal logging
What agreements are in place to mitigate climate change?
Latin American Technical Co-Operation Network in Watershed Management
The Tarapoto Process
Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation
What do the Latin American Technical Co-Operation Network in Watershed Management do?
Aims to promote the adoption of the concept of watershed as the planning and management unit most appropriate for rational use of natural resources
What does the Latin American Technical Co-operation Network in Watershed Management follow?
3 of the UN Development Goals
What is the aim of the Tarapoto Process?
Recognising the Amazon Co-operation Treaty as the most effective instrument for discussion and agreement on policies for the region
What is an important achievement for the Tarapoto process?
The development of regional criteria and indicators for the sustainability of the rainforest, recognising that each country’s management has an impact on the region’s forest resources
What is the objective of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation?
To promote harmonious development in the region and the well-being of their populations, and to strengthen the sovereignty of countries over the Amazon territories
What is currently being implemented within ACTO?
More than 20 initiatives, projects and programs in areas such as environment, indigenous affairs etc
What do national parks and rainforest reserves protect the forest from?
Deforestation from illegal loggers and farmers
How much of the Amazon has been deforested?
Close to 20%
Amazon Humidity
Between 77% (dry season) to 88% (wet season)
How many trees in Amazon rainforest
About 300 billion
Why so much rainfall in the Amazon
Near equator, ITCZ (intertropical convergence zones), areas of low pressure and heavy rainfall
Human threats to Amazon: Cattle farming
Clearing room for cattle
80% of Amazon’s deforestation
Human threats to Amazon: Mining
10% of Amazon’s deforestation
Often for Gold- valuable
Use water in extraction which creates large reservoirs of polluted water. Spillages of this polluted water can happen. In 2019, 12m^3 of water drained from collapsed dam in Brazil, Brumadinho
Threats to Amazon: Wildfires
Especially bad in El Nino years.
90% of burning in Brazilian Amazon in 1990s was in El Nino years
However, in Amazon, wildfires only really burn dry leaves
Mitigation in Amazon: Soya Moratorium
Soya bean industry banned made a commitment to not buy beans produced in deforested Amazon land.
By 2009, less than 1% of soy beans were grown on deforested land since 2006
Mitigation in Amazon: Cattle Moratorium
Slaughterhouses agreed to only buy cattle from ranches registered with the Brazilian Rural Environmental Land Registry. Brazilian’s biggest domestic beef buyers suspended contracts with suppliers involved in Amazon’s deforestation.
What makes the rain forest fragile
Its complexity
Most of its energy and nutrients are stored above ground and therefore are vulnerable to disturbance.
Nutrients are eaten or decay quickly when they land
