Amazon Rainforest

Created by

Dan Roper

Cards (17)

Where does the Amazon Rainforest sit within and how much of the South American Continent does it cover?
The Amazon River Basin
40%
How many different species of birds and plants is it home to?
1000 bird species
60 000 plant species
How many species of insects is it home to?
10 million insect species
How many people live in the Amazon Rainforest?
20 million
How many square miles of land does the Amazon Rainforest cover?
2.1 million square miles
How much of the Amazon Rainforest have we lost so far according to research?
20%
How much of the global terrestrial carbon stock does the Amazon Rainforest hold?
17%
How many of the 16 000 tree species dominated the carbon storage process?
182
What do untouched Amazon forests act as?
A carbon sink
What is happening at the moment?
Tropical forests are becoming less efficient at trapping carbon?
What does the water cycle in the Amazon Rainforest link?
The lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere
How much rainfall is there in the Amazon annually?
2300mm annually
Only 1/3 of the rainfall in the Amazon reaches the Atlantic. The rest goes to:
1. Interception by the forest and re-evaporated into the atmosphere
2. Additional evaporation occurs from ground and river surfaces, or is released into the atmosphere by transpiration from plant leaves
3. The moisture helps to form rain clouds, releasing water back into the rainforest
How does deforestation affect water?
The moisture from rainforests like the Amazon help to form rainfall in places as far away as Texas. When forests are cut down, less water goes to the atmosphere and this can result in droughts.
What is the biggest cause of change in the Amazon?
Deforestation
Why does deforestation take place?
Agriculture, logging, road building, mineral extraction, energy development, settlement and population growth
What is deforestation doing to climate change?
It is turning forests into carbon sources when they used to be carbon sinks