Case Study water and carbon: Amazon

Question 1

What/where is the Amazon?

Answer 1

-largest tropical rainforest
> covers 40% of the South America
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Question 2

what is the water cycle in the Amazon?

Answer 2

• lots of the evaporation over the Atlantic ocean which is blown towards the Amazon
  > leads to high rainfall
• warm temperatures means that evaporation is high
  > increases precipitation
• dense canopy
  > high levels of interception
  > less water flows into rivers, flows slower than expected
• populated by species adapted to high humidity and rainfall

Question 3

what is the carbon cycle in the Amazon?

Answer 3

• stores lots of carbon in the vegetation and soil
  > carbon sink
• increasing concentration of CO2 in atmosphere has led to increase productivity of plants as they are able to increase photosynthesis rates
  > increase rates of carbon sequestering

Question 3

how does deforestation effect the water cycle?

Answer 3

• no tree canopy to intercept rainfall
  > more rainfall reaches the ground surface
  > too much water to soak into the soil
  > water moves to the rivers as surface runoff increasing risk of flooding
• reduces rate of evapotranspiration
  > less water vapor reaches the atmosphere
  > fewer clouds form and rainfall is reduced
  > increases risk of drought
• soil is exposed to the sun and will become dry, and be more vulnerable to erosion

Question 4

how does deforestation effect the carbon cycle

Answer 4

• no roots to hold soil together
  > heavy rain washes away the nutrient-rich top layer of the soil
  > transferring carbon stored in the soil into the hydrosphere
• less leaf litter means humus isn’t formed
  > limits amount of carbon able to be stored
• trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it
  > fewer tree means more CO2 in the atmosphere
  > increases greenhouse effect

Question 5

what is the effect of climate change on the Amazon?

Answer 5

• increase temperature and decreased rainfall leads to drought
• drought can lead to increase in forest fires which will release CO2 into the atmosphere
  > 4 degree risk in temperature will kill off 85% of the the amazon
• forest fires will cause a decrease in photosynthesis which means less carbon is sequestered