Rainforest Key Points Flashcards
What is E-CUF
E-CUS
Emergent -> Canopy -> Understory -> Floor
Emergent -> Canopy -> Understory -> Shrub
Describe the Distribution of Tropical Rainforests.
Tropical Rainforests are located:
- Equator, around the equator, between the tropics of Cancer (N) and Capricorn (S)
- Primarily in Northern South America
- Central and West Africa
What is the temperature in Rainforests?
21* to 28*
How many mm of annual rainfall do rainforests receive?
2000mm to 10000mm
How tall is the Emergent Layer?
Up to 40m tall
What is the Soil fertility like?
Due to excess rainfall, nutrients in soil are washed away
This is worsened by deforestation as there’s less interception
Does the Rainforest Have any inhabitants?
A minute amount of tribal people live in the Rainforests of Brazil
How have leaves adapted in the Shrub Layer?
In the shrub layer, leaves have more chlorophyll and chlorophyll, making them a darker green, but also able to absorb as much sunlight as possible in the darker shrubs.
How are trees strengthened?
The trees that can exceed 40m tall, must be reinforced.
Thick woody buttress roots grow from the roots to achieve this
What are lianas?
Lianas are climbing plants that can rise up to the emergents for sunlight.
How do trees and plants ensure year-long growth?
Plants drop leaves across the year to ensure plants can grow and replenish lower down
What do drip tips do?
Drip tips, in combination with waxy leaves, ensure runoff of water to prevent stagnant, lingering water that can cause fungi and disease
The Amazon Rainforest is a C________ S_________
Carbon Sink
- It absorbs more CO2 than it produces
Which drug originates from the Amazon?
Aspirin
True or False: Cures for Cancer can originate in Rainforests
True! 3000 Plants are linked to Anti-cancer properties
How does the Amazon contribute to the water cycle?
Transpiration and Evaporation
Name an Animal Adaptation
Howler Monkeys - Strong arms for climbing trees
Tree Frogs - Suction Cups for climbing
Name some Economic and Social Opportunities
Logging
Medicine
Cattle Ranching
Farming
EHP Electricity Development
Water
Tourism/Ecotourism
What is Subsistence Farming?
Subsistence farming involves a farmer farming not for profit, but for his own sustenance
What is the primary crop in Brazil?
Soy - 250,000km^2 land used
Trans-_____________
H_________-
The 4000km long Trans-Amazonian Highway destroyed tribal villages and vast areas of trees
What kind of energy development is occurring in Brazil? What are it’s flaws?
HydroElectricity - 2500km^2 Area flooded in HEP Development in the Amazon
What is the largest cause of deforestation?
Cattle Ranching - 200million cattle - 250,000km^2
How is Mineral Extraction, although damaging, beneficial?
Provides 8,000 Jobs in Buenaventura
What type of Hardwood is illegal logging for?
Mahogany
How does deforestation in rainforests lead to climate change?
75% of Brazil’s CO2 emissions are from Deforestation
Removes the “Carbon Sink” that would otherwise remove 140bn tonnes of CO2
What social impacts does deforestation have?
Disrupts the lives of Tribal people
How does soil erosion have a social impact?
Infertile soil, means no crops, no crops means no food
What is a Logging Agreement?
Prevents illegal logging
What Is a logging quota?
Prevents logging from exceeding certain figures
What is selective logging?
Trees are specially selected to be cut down with the primary goal of not damaging the canopy layer
What is replanting?
Replacing trees that have been cut down.
How can Ecotourism be beneficial but also detrimental to rainforests?
+: People working in tourism means less people working in fields that exploit natural resources
-: Littering and footfall
How do Debt Write offs Work?
An HIC will often write off a Rainforest nation’s debt, in exchange for a pledge to spend money on rainforest conservation
What are Epiphytes?
Plants which live on trunks and branches of other plants, allows them to make the most of the sunlight in the canopy layer
What are Epiphylls?
Tiny plants which live on the surface of leaves
Why do sloths move slowly?
To prevent predation
The flying frog has….
webbed hands and feet, and a flap of loose skin that stretches between its limbs, allows it to glide
Why is deforestation bad for the land in the Amazon?
800 Million Metric tonnes of soil per year is eroded.
How are tribal people impacted?
90 Tribes have died out in the past 100 years
