amazon rainforest - case study

• What does the acronym 'SLERMS' stand for?

  • Subsistence and commercial farming
  • Logging
  • Energy development
  • Road building
  • Mineral extraction
  • Settlement/ population growth
• Give facts/ data for subsistence and commercial farming in the Amazon rainforest.

  Cattle ranching accounts for 80% of deforestation in Brazil. The major crops farmed in the Amazon include soybeans, palm oil and sugar cane.
• Give facts/ data for logging in the Amazon rainforest.

  In 2019 a study found that 5% of logging was illegally carried out in Indigenous reserves - almost 25,000 hectares.
• Give facts/ data for energy development in the Amazon rainforest.

  The Belo Monte dam will flood more than 40,000 hectares of rainforest, displacing 15,000 people.
• Give facts/ data for road building in the Amazon rainforest.

  The Trans-Amazonian Highway stretches 40,000 km through the rainforest.
• Give facts/ data for mineral extraction in the Amazon rainforest.

  Extensive mining of gold, copper etc. cause huge scars in the landscape and pollute rivers.
• Give facts/ data for settlement/ population growth in the Amazon rainforest.

  Settlements develop to service developments in the rainforest leading to a population increase.
• Give an example of an impact of deforestation on economic development.

  Mining and commercial farming generates employment and income for the government leading to improved infrastructure.
• Give an example of an impact of deforestation on soil erosion.

  Vegetation is removed on a local scale and soil is exposed to heavy rain leading to the top soil eroding quickly. Therefore, little vegetation will grow leading to a lack of nutrients available.
• Give an example of an impact of deforestation on climate change.

  The Amazon rainforest plays a vital role in regulating the Earth's climate on a global scale by absorbing carbon dioxide.