Water and Carbon- Amazon Rainforest

Question 1

Where is it located

Answer 1

Between the tropics, covering parts of Brazil, Peru and Columbia

Question 2

How much does it cover (squared miles)

Answer 2

2.1 million squared miles

Question 3

How much of the earths surface do rainforests cover

Answer 3

6%

Question 4

How much global photosynthesis do they account for

Answer 4

30-50%

Question 5

How much of the worlds oxygen do they emit

Answer 5

28%

Question 6

What is the annual rainfall

Answer 6

2000+ mm

Question 7

What is the average temp and what is it ideal for

Answer 7

27 degrees, ideal conditions for plant growth

Question 8

How much of the worlds species of plants and animals do rainforests have

Answer 8

50%

Question 9

What causes precipitation to be high

Answer 9

Low pressure and high humidity in the tropics

Question 10

How much precipitation does the canopy intercept

Answer 10

75%

Question 11

What is half of available rainwater used by

Answer 11

Plants and returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration

Question 12

What is the other half of available water used for

Answer 12

Infiltrates into the soil

Question 13

How much precipitation does the Amazon basin produce for itself and how

Answer 13

Roughly 1/3 in the recycling of evapotranspiration, the other 2/3s arriving as moisture laden air from Atlantic Ocean

Question 14

How much of primary rainforest has the Amazon lost in 50 years

Answer 14

17%

Question 15

What is the main reason for loss of primary rainforest

Answer 15

Cattle ranching (80%)

Question 16

What does less evapotranspiration from cleared areas mean

Answer 16

The air is less moist, resulting in less cloud cover and precipitation

Question 17

What increases risk of flooding

Answer 17

The increase rates of runoff as there’s little interception , due to loss of trees, so water leaves the area as overland flow - less is returned to the atmosphere locally

Question 18

Why do temps increase

Answer 18

More solar radiation is reflected by cleared land

Question 19

What limits regrowth

Answer 19

Exposed soil being at risk or erosion

Question 20

What happened to rainfall in wider regions due to deforestation

Answer 20

Rainfall levels have decreased

Question 21

How much is it estimated that future deforestation could lead the regional rainfall to decline by

Answer 21

20%

Question 22

What’s happened to rainfall at a local level

Answer 22

Increased due to vegetation breezes

Question 23

What are vegetation breezes

Answer 23

Air over cleared land warms faster rises quicker and creates localised pressure, drawing moist air in from forested areas. This causes an increase in cloud coverage, thunderstorms and rainfall over the cleared land.

Question 24

What impacts does burning to clear for agriculture cause

Answer 24

Burning produces airborne around which water vapour condenses, resulting in smaller droplets occluding in clouds too small to precipitate, resulting in less rain

Question 25

Why is it a huge carbon store

Answer 25

Wood is 50% carbon

Question 26

How much CO2 does it absorb in a year

Answer 26

2.2 billion tons

Question 27

How much CO2 does it emit in a year

Answer 27

1.9 billion through decomposition and organism respiration

Question 28

How much carbon per square metre

Answer 28

14 to 40 kg

Question 29

How much carbon is found in root systems and soil matter

Answer 29

40%

Question 30

How much carbon does deforestation emit into the atmosphere

Answer 30

6%-17% (of anthropogenic causes)

Question 31

How much carbon is lost to the atmosphere when forests are cleared or burned

Answer 31

30-60%

Question 32

What is the rate that the rainforest has been decreasing by

Answer 32

0.3% per year since 2000

Question 33

What did the amount of carbon absorbed declined to in 2015

Answer 33

1 billion tons