Amazon Case study

• Where is the Amazon?


  South America
• What is the Amazon rainforest?


  The world's largest and most diverse rainforest
• How many trees?


  300 Billion in the Amazon
• How many different types of species?

  15,000 in the Amazon
• How many countries covered by Amazon?

  9- Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana
• How much carbon stored?

  Between 80-120 billion tonnes
• Increase in above ground biomass each year

  0.3-0.5%
• Negative feedback loop in Tropical rainforests


  Due to rising productivity of forests which leads to the sequestering (trapping) of the increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere from human activity
• Capacity to absorb in 1990s

  two billion tonnes of Carbon
• Average discharge of water into Atlantic Ocean


  175,000m3/s
• Rio Negro


  Tributary of Amazon, 100m deep x 14km wide
• Average annual rainfall across Amazon Basin

  2,300mm
• How much rainfall reaches the sea

  30%
• Rate of Deforestation per year between 2000-2007

  19,368km2
• Techniques for the removal of the forest


  slash and burn
• 4 impacts of Slash and burn


  1) Reduce retention of humidity in soil's top layer 2) Facilitate sudden evaporation 3) Increase albedo and temperature 4) Reduce soil porosity
• Forests emit salts and organic fibres and water when they transpire which act as

  Condensation nuclei- assisting in cloud and rain formation
• Moisture evaporated from deforested areas form


  Shallow cumulous clouds which do not usually produce rain
• 15%


  Of world's freshwater enteriung the oceans goes via the Amazon
• 30%


  of rainfall enters the sea, the rest is caught in a closed system loop of rainfall, storage, evaporation, condensation then rainfall again
• Amazonian Soils


  Contain 4 to 9 kg/m2 of carbon whilst under pasture it is only 1kg/m2