Tropical rainforests: the carbon cycle Flashcards
How much carbon is in wood?
50%
Tropical rainforests are important ________ ______ in mitigating the effects of global warming.
carbon sinks
How does carbon dioxide get released into the atmosphere in tropical rainforests?
- Respiration by plants, trees and animals
- decomposition by decomposers such as bacteria and fungi which thrive in warm and wet conditions
What is one of the most common method used for clearing tropical rainforests to make space for farming, mining, roads and settlements?
burning
What is the greatest risk of burning tropical rainforests to clear space?
they can easily get out of control and start a wildfire
How does the burning of tropical rainforests increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
The trees store carbon so when burnt they release the carbon back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
What are the effects of deforestation in tropical rainforests on the carbon cycle?
- photosynthesis decreases massively
- plant and animal respiration drops to almost 0
- rain washes ash into the ground, increasing carbon content of the soil
Is Indonesias rainforests one of the most biologically and culturally diverse landscapes in the world?
Yes
How much of Indonesia was rainforest in 1960?
80%
The demand of what has led to deforestation in Indonesias rainforests?
the demand for paper, pulp, plywood and palm oil
Indonesia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world? True or false
True
How much of Indonesias original rainforests now remains?
just under half
How many million hectares of Indonesias rainforests is lost each year?
more than a million
Out of the million hectares of Indonesias rainforests being cleared what % takes place in forests with mineral soils?
70%
Out of the million hectares of Indonesias rainforests being cleared what % takes place in carbon-rich peatland forests?
30%
Why is the removal of trees in peatlands worse than in other parts of forests?
once exposed, the peatlands are easily eroded by wind and rain, which increases the rate of decomposition which leads to the release of carbon into the atmosphere
What is one of the major environmental characteristics (and catastrophes of deforestation?
prevalence of d=fires that burn out of control
Why did in 1997-98 to growth rate of carbon dioxide suddenly reached the highest on record?
most of this increase was because of the forest fires in Indonesia that began in 1997 and ended in 1998
How much hectares of land had been burnt in the 1997-98 Indonesia fire?
8 million hectares
