Tropical rainforests: the water cycle Flashcards
Where are tropical rainforests located?
along the equator: between the tropics
What is the annual rainfall in rainforests?
2000+mm
What is the average temperature in a rainforest throughout the year?
27 degrees Celsius
How many million people live in tropical rainforests?
200 million
What percentage of the worlds species of plants and animals are in rainforests?
50%
How tall can the trees be in a tropical rainforest?
45 metres
How much of the worlds oxygen comes from tropical rainforests?
28%
What form does rainfall tend to be in a tropical rainforest?
torrential downpour
Why is precipitation very high in tropical rainforests?
because of the high humidity and unstable weather conditions
How much rainfall is intercepted by the dense forest canopy in tropical rainforests?
up to 75%
How much of the rainfall in tropical rainforests evaporates?
25%
Apart from it evaporating, what else happens with the rainfall?
Half is used by plants and eventually returns to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration and the other half infiltrates into the soil where it is temporarily stored or there is runoff
What percentage of the worlds rainforests have already been wiped out to make way for commercial farming, mining, logging and settlements?
50%
What are the impacts of the removal of trees in tropical rainforests?
- atmosphere becomes less humid as evapotranspiration is reduced
- rainfall will hit the ground immediately, causing soil erosion and overland flow
- rates of runoff will increase which will increase the risk of flooding
- soil will be exposed to the sun and will become dry and vulnerable to erosion
How can the removal of tropical rainforests affect the world?
it will reduce the atmospheric humidity, decrease amount of oxygen, increase amount of carbon
The 2012 study at the University of Leeds revealed that it is estimated that future deforestation of the Amazon rainforest will lead to a _____% decline in regional rainfall.
20%
