The Tropical Rainforest in Brazil - Causes of Deforestation - Paper 1 Flashcards
What are two ways the rainforest is being exploited?
-By using it’s resources, such as timber, water and minerals
-By clearing the forest to make way for other activities, such as growing crops and rearing live stock.
What are the 4 main resource-exploiting activities?
-Logging
-Mineral Extraction
-Energy development
-Illegal trade in wildlife
What 4 activities are causing the forest to be cleared?
-Commercial farming: Cattle
-Commercial farming: Crops
-Road building
-Settlement and population growth
What is logging?
The first step in the conversion of forest land to other uses.
What is selective logging?
Timber companies are most interested in specific types of trees such as mahogany, to sell them to other countries to make furniture.
What is clear felling?
Vast areas of rainforest are cleared in one go.
What mineral is mining mainly about in the Amazon?
Gold.
How many hectares of land were used for gold mining in 1999?
10,000 hectares.
How many hectares of land are used for gold mining today?
Over 50,000 hectares
What mineral other than gold is extracted from the rainforest?
Bauxite, from which aluminium is made.
What type of energy source is encouraged by the rainforest’s unlimited supply of water and ideal river conditions.
Hydroelectric power.
Why do dams for hydroelectric power have short lives?
Vast areas of flooded rainforest is submerged and begins to rot, making the water very acidic. This then corrodes the HEP turbines.
How do dams for hydroelectric power get blocked?
Soil washes down deforested slopes because of heavy rain and blocks the dams.
How is illegal trade in wildlife degrading the rainforest instead of deforesting?
It upsets the natural balance of the rainforest ecosystem.
What are 2 examples of animals who have become endangered from hunting, poaching and trafficking of wildlife?
The jaguar and the golden lion tamarind.
How much of the destruction of the rainforest has been for the the rearing of cattle?
80%.
Can the land on cattle pastures be used for a long or short time? Why?
The land cannot be used for long as the quality of the pasture declines very quickly.
Why has there been so much destruction of land for the purpose of cattle farming?
The quality of the pastures declines very quickly so cattle farmers have to move on and destroy more rainforest to create new cattle pastures.
What are 3 examples of crops grown where the forest is cleared to grow them?
Bananas, palm oil and sugar cane.
How much of a difference was there for rainforest cleared for soybean production in the years 1990 and 2010.
The amount of rainforest cleared has doubled between 1990 and 2010.
What crop is becoming major for biofuel?
Sugar cane.
Why do crop farmers have to find new land quickly like cattle farmers?
As with cattle ranching, the soil will not sustain crops for long.
How can road building for one commercial activity allow the rainforest to be exploited even more?
It can make the forest more accessible and expose remote areas to other exploiters of the of the tropical rainforest’s resources.
What an example of a road constructed in the Amazon?
The Trans-Amazonian Highway.
When did the Trans-Amazonian Highway begin construction?
1972.
How long is the Trans-Amazonian Highway?
4000 km.
Give an example of a mine in Brazil:
The largest iron ore mine in the world is at Carajas, which is worked by 3,000 people and runs 24 hours a day.
How many dams are planned for the amazon alone?
150
Give an example of a dam constructed in the Amazon:
The huge Belo Monte dam started operating in April 2016 and will generate over 11,000Mw of power.
Give an example of a new dam scheme which has been held up from concerns:
A new scheme for the 8,000 Mw Sao Luiz do Tapajos dam has been held up because of the concerns over the impacts of the local Munduruku people.
Describe the Brazilian Amazon’s population growth:
It grew by a massive 23% between 2000 and 2010, 11% above the national average.
