✅Case Study - The Amazon

Question 1

What area does the Amazon cover?

Answer 1

7,000,000km2

Question 2

Which countries does the Amazon cover?

Answer 2

Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia etc

Question 3

How much of the world’s rainforest does the Amazon make up?

Answer 3

More than half

Question 4

How many different species are there in the Amazon?

Answer 4

10 million

Question 5

How much of the world’s CO2 does the Amazon absorb?

Answer 5

35%

Question 6

How much of the world’s Oxygen does the Amazon produce?

Answer 6

20%

Question 7

What is the average rainfall per year?

Answer 7

3000mm

Question 8

Why does up to half of rainfall never make it to the ground?

Answer 8

It is intercepted by the forest canopy and re-evaporated into the atmosphere

Question 9

What happens to water intercepted by the canopy?

Answer 9

It drips to the ground from leaves or flows down the tree via stemflow

Question 10

What percentage of freshwater entering the oceans each day comes from the Amazon river?

Answer 10

15%

Question 11

What can deforestation increase?

Answer 11

Rainfall downwind of the area

Question 12

What are the main drivers of change to the Amazon water cycle?

Answer 12

Deforestation, land use changes, climate change

Question 13

How can land use change affect the water cycle?

Answer 13

Cutting down trees for farming means water can fall straight to the ground, causing soil erosion and runoff

Question 14

Why does deforestation reduce rainfall in the area?

Answer 14

Because the water cycle is disrupted as evapotranspiration does not occur and less water is stored in plants, and more in soil

Question 15

Why is water less likely to evaporate from soils?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What does a decrease in evaporation lead to?

Answer 16

Local warming and droughts

Question 17

What do rainforests act as?

Answer 17

Carbon sinks

Question 18

How do plants store Carbon?

Answer 18

As sugars, in the form of starch in their leaves

Question 19

How does deforestation by burning affect the carbon cycle?

Answer 19

No respiration by trees, no photosynthesis, no new biomass, less decay

Question 20

What human factors can affect carbon cycle stores and transfers?

Answer 20

Industry and burning of fossil fuels, burning of forest

Question 21

How do warmer oceans affect carbon stores?

Answer 21

Warmer oceans cannot hold as much CO2 so absorb less carbon

Question 22

What physical factors can affect carbon cycle stores and transfers?

Answer 22

Tress and plants, temperature changes, type and number of animals in an area

Question 23

How can extreme events of climate change alter vegetation?

Answer 23

Heatwaves, drought and storms can lead to vegetation deaths and fires

Question 24

How will the Amazon have changed by 2050?

Answer 24

Forest dieback due to vegetation succession and fire is predicted to result in the Amazon region becoming a net source of Carbon Dioxide

Question 25

Why do forest fires increase with climate change?

Answer 25

A dry seasons lengthen and become more intense, trees have more time to dry out and forest fires become more common

Question 26

What has been done in the Amazon to mitigate climate change?

Answer 26

National parks and forest reserves have been created

Question 27

What are examples of national parks?

Answer 27

Turnucumaque National Park and Para Rainforest Reserve

Question 28

What is the Amazon often used for?

Answer 28

Biofuel production

Question 29

What initiative is in place to reduce deforestation?

Answer 29

Land owners are paid not to cut down their trees and clear property rights are established to reduce land grabbing and illegal logging

Question 30

What agreements are in place to mitigate climate change?

Answer 30

Latin American Technical Co-Operation Network in Watershed Management
The Tarapoto Process
Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation

Question 31

What do the Latin American Technical Co-Operation Network in Watershed Management do?

Answer 31

Aims to promote the adoption of the concept of watershed as the planning and management unit most appropriate for rational use of natural resources

Question 32

What does the Latin American Technical Co-operation Network in Watershed Management follow?

Answer 32

3 of the UN Development Goals

Question 33

What is the aim of the Tarapoto Process?

Answer 33

Recognising the Amazon Co-operation Treaty as the most effective instrument for discussion and agreement on policies for the region

Question 34

What is an important achievement for the Tarapoto process?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What is the objective of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation?

Answer 35

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

Question 36

What is currently being implemented within ACTO?

Answer 36

More than 20 initiatives, projects and programs in areas such as environment, indigenous affairs etc

Question 37

What do national parks and rainforest reserves protect the forest from?

Answer 37

Deforestation from illegal loggers and farmers