internet geography amazon rainforest case study

Living World - Amazon Case Study

The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. It sits within the Amazon River basin, covers some 40% of the South American continent and as you can see on the map below includes parts of eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. The actual word “Amazon” comes from river.

Amazing Amazon facts; • It is home to 1000 species of bird and 60,000 species of plants • 10 million species of insects live in the Amazon • It is home to 20 million people, who use the wood, cut down trees for farms and for cattle. • It covers 2.1 million square miles of land • The Amazon is home to almost 20% of species on Earth • The UK and Ireland would fit into the Amazon 17 times!

The Amazon caught the public’s attention in the 1980s when a series of shocking news reports said that an area of rainforest the size of Belgium was being cut down and subsequently burnt every year. This deforestation has continued to the present day according to the Sao Paulo Space Research Centre. In 2005 they had lost 17% of Amazon rainforest or 650000 square kilometres. Their satellite data is also showing increased deforestation in parts of the Amazon. The process of deforestation The Amazon helps a Newly Emerging Economy(NEE), Brazil, to make money. They build roads into the forest, logging firms then go in and take out valuable hard woods such as mahogany and cedar, worth thousands of pounds in richer economies like Europe. Then farmers, often cattle ranchers from big companies, burn the rest to make way for cattle pasture. 75% of cleared areas are used in this way. This is clearly shown on the map on figure 22 in red. Many of the deforested areas follow roads and branch off from there.  Deforestation is also worse in the South and South East of the Amazon basin, closer to major centres of population in Brazil.

© WWF   Source  Used with permission.

The causes of deforestation 1. Subsistence and commercial farming – subsistence farming is where poor farmers occupy plots of the forest to grow food to feed themselves and their families. They clear forest and then burn it, hence the name slash and burn.  They grow crops until the soil is exhausted and then move on.  This contributes to deforestation but not as much as commercial farming (Farming to sell produce for a profit to retailers or food processing companies). The Brazilian region of Mato Grosso was affected by deforestation in the 1980s and 1990s. 43% of rainforest losses were in this region, and area almost ½ the size of France. It has been replaced by fields for grain and cattle. This has allowed Brazil to overtake Australia as the largest exporter of beef in the world. The land is also flat and easy to farm. It also has high temperatures and lots of rainfall.

2. Logging – This involves cutting down trees for sale as timber or pulp.  The timber is used to build homes, furniture, etc. and the pulp is used to make paper and paper products.  Logging can be either selective or clear cutting. Selective logging is selective because loggers choose only wood that is highly valued, such as mahogany. Clear-cutting is not selective.  Loggers are interested in all types of wood and therefore cut all of the trees down, thus clearing the forest, hence the name- clear-cutting.

3. Road building – trees are also clear for roads.  Roads are an essential way for the Brazilian government to allow development of the Amazon rainforest.  However, unless they are paved many of the roads are unusable during the wettest periods of the year.  The Trans Amazonian Highway has already opened up large parts of the forest and now a new road is going to be paved, the BR163 is a road that runs 1700km from Cuiaba to Santarem. The government planned to tarmac it making it a superhighway. This would make the untouched forest along the route more accessible and under threat from development.

4. Mineral extraction – forests are also cleared to make way for huge mines. The Brazilian part of the Amazon has mines that extract iron, manganese, nickel, tin, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc and gold! 

The Belo Monte dam site under construction, copyright  Used with the kind permission of Phil Clarke-Hill  - His website is amazing, click here to see it.

5. Energy development – This has focussed mainly on using Hydro Electric Power, and there are 150 new dams planned for the Amazon alone.  The dams create electricity as water is passed through huge pipes within them, where it turns a turbine which helps to generate the electricity.  The power in the Amazon is often used for mining.  Dams displace many people and the reservoirs they create flood large area of land, which would previously have been forest.  They also alter the hydrological cycle and trap huge quantities of sediment behind them. The huge Belo Monte dam started operating in April 2016 and will generate over 11,000 Mw of power.  A new scheme the 8,000-megawatt São Luiz do Tapajós dam has been held up because of the concerns over the impacts on the local Munduruku people.

6. Settlement & population growth – populations are growing within the Amazon forest and along with them settlements.  Many people are migrating to the forest looking for work associated with the natural wealth of this environment. Settlements like Parauapebas, an iron ore mining town, have grown rapidly, destroying forest and replacing it with a swath of shanty towns. The population has grown from 154,000 in 2010 to 220,000 in 2012. The Brazilian Amazon’s population grew by a massive 23% between 2000 and 2010, 11% above the national average.

Impacts of deforestation – economic development, soil erosion, contribution to climate change. • Every time forest is cleared species are lost – so we lose BIODIVERSITY • Climate Change - Burning the forest releases greenhouse gasses like CO2.  This contributes to the warming of our planet via climate change and global warming.  In addition, the loss of trees prevents CO2 being absorbed, making the problem worse. The Amazon also helps to drive the global atmospheric system. There is a lot of rainfall there and changes to the Amazon could disrupt the global system. • Economic development – Brazil has used the forests as a way to develop their country.  The forest has many natural riches that can be exploited.  In addition, Brazil has huge foreign debt and lots of poor people to feed, so they want to develop the forest. May Brazilians see deforestation as a way to help develop their country and improve people’s standard of living. • Soil erosion - the soils of the Amazon forest are not fertile and are quickly exhausted once the forest is cleared. The farmers now artificially fertilise the soil when in the past the nutrient cycle would have done this naturally.  In addition, the lack of forest cover means that soils are exposed to the rainfall.  This washes huge amounts of soil into rivers in the process of soil erosion.

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Amazon Deforestation and Climate Change

Join Gisele Bundchen when she meets with one of Brazil’s top climate scientists to discuss the complexity of the Amazon rainforest and its connection to Earth’s atmosphere.

Anthropology, Geography

High on a tower overlooking the lush Amazon canopy, Gisele Bundchen and Brazilian climate scientist Antonio Nobre talk about the importance of the rainforest and the impact of cutting down its trees.

As Nobre explains, the rainforest is not only home to an incredible diversity of species, it also has a critical cooling effect on the planet because its trees channel heat high into the atmosphere. In addition, forests absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere—CO 2 that is released back into the atmosphere when trees are cut and burned.

Nobre warns that if deforestation continues at current levels, we are headed for disaster. The Amazon region could become drier and drier, unable to support healthy habitats or croplands.

Find more of this story in the “Fueling the Fire” episode of the National Geographic Channel’s Years of Living Dangerously series.

Transcript (English)

- Growing up in Southern Brazil, my five sisters and I ate meat pretty much every day. It's just part of the culture here. Per capita, Brazilians are one of the top consumers of beef on the planet. Now, with the world's growing appetite for beef, Brazil has also become a major exporter and is aiming to increase its market share, partly by selling to the US, the world's biggest consumer of beef, and to China, where demand for beef has grown 25% in just 10 years. I understand the need to develop and grow, but does that have to come at the expense of the rainforest and the climate? The Amazon Rainforest is about the same size as the continental United States. One-fifth of the world's fresh water runs through it, and it is home to more species of animals and plants than anywhere on Earth. The Amazon represents more than half of the remaining rainforests on the planet. This forest is so vast, but it is not indestructible. To find out what's at stake, I'm going to talk to one of Brazil's top climate scientist, Dr. Antonio Nobre. So Antonio, tell us a little bit about this amazing green carpet of heaven over here.

- Well, most people don't have the opportunity to come from the top of the forest. If you see all this many shades of green as you see here, it's because biodiversity is the essence of this type of forest. Every species of trees has thousands of species of bugs, and also if you get a leaf of one of the species, and you look to the microbes that is sitting on the top of leaf, you find millions of species, millions, and this is all below our radar screen, so to speak, because we don't realize, it's invisible. And the trees are shooting water from the ground, groundwater up high in the sky, and this goes up into the atmosphere and releases the heat out there, and this radiates to space. And this is very important as a mechanism to cool the planet. They're like air conditioners. Open air conditioning, that's what the forest is.

- So in other words, if we lose all these trees, we are losing the air conditioning that cools off the whole planet.

- Not only that.

- Not only that?

- No. The trees are soaking up carbon, you know the pollution that we produce, like carbon dioxide? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Burning gasoline in our cars, you release carbon dioxide in the air, or burning coal, and the trees use carbon dioxide as a raw material.

- So the trees are storing all this carbon, so if you come and cut it down and burn it out, does that mean that all that carbon goes up in the air?

- Absolutely. Yeah.

- What would happen if this forest was gone?

- When the forest is destroyed, climate changes, and then forest that's left is damaged as well. And then the forest grows drier and drier and eventually catch fire. So in the extreme, the whole area becomes a desert. And that's what is in store if we deforest. So we have to quit deforestation yesterday, not 2020 or '30. And there is no plan C. You know, you have plan A. Plan A is business as usual. Keep plundering with all the resources and using as if it were infinite. Plan B is what many people are attempting, changing the matrix of energy and using clean sources, stop eating too much meat, and replanting forests If that doesn't work, then we go to plan C. What's plan C? I have no idea.

- Going to another planet.

- But we can't do that.

- We don't have another planet, so either we work with plan B or we're-

- Basically, yeah. We're done, and so plan B has to work. It has to work.

- People have to take accountability, 'cause it can't just be like, I'm leaving over here and whatever happens over there, who cares?

- It's not my problem.

- It's not my problem, because it is everyone's problem.

- Yes. People should wake up. It's like when you're in the midst of an unfolding disaster, what do you do? You panic? No. You move it. Move, move, move, move. That's what we need to do.

Transcripción (Español)

- El año en que vivimos en peligro.

- Cuando era niña en el sur de Brasil, mis cinco hermanas y yo comíamos carne casi todos los días. Es parte de la cultura aquí. Per cápita, los brasileños son uno de los mayores consumidores de carne de res en el planeta. Ahora, con el creciente apetito mundial por la carne de res, Brasil también se ha convertido en un importante exportador y está buscando aumentar su participación en el mercado, en parte vendiendo a los Estados Unidos, el mayor consumidor de carne de res del mundo, y a China, donde la demanda de carne de res ha crecido un 25 % en tan solo 10 años. Entiendo la necesidad de desarrollarse y crecer, pero ¿tiene que ser a expensas de la selva tropical y el clima? La selva amazónica tiene casi el mismo tamaño que los Estados Unidos continentales. Una quinta parte del agua dulce del mundo fluye a través de ella. Y es hogar de más especies de animales y plantas que cualquier otro lugar en la Tierra. El Amazonas representa más de la mitad de las selvas tropicales restantes en el planeta. Estado Mato Grosso, Brasil Esta selva es tan vasta, pero no es indestructible. Para descubrir lo que está en juego, voy a hablar con uno de los principales científicos climáticos de Brasil, el Dr. Antonio Nobre. Antonio, cuéntanos un poco acerca de esta increíble alfombra verde de cielo que tenemos aquí.

- Bueno, la mayoría de las personas no tienen la oportunidad de venir hasta la cima de la selva. Si ves todos los diferentes tonos de verde como estos aquí, es porque la biodiversidad es la esencia de este tipo de selva. Cada especie de árboles tiene miles de especies de insectos, y también si tomas una hoja de una de las especies, y miras a los microbios en la parte superior de la hoja, encuentras millones de especies, millones, y todo esto queda por debajo de nuestro radar, porque no nos damos cuenta, es invisible. Y los árboles están extrayendo agua del subsuelo, hasta lo alto en el cielo, y esto sube a la atmósfera y libera el calor allí, y esto se irradia al espacio. Este es un mecanismo muy importante para enfriar el planeta. Son como aires acondicionados. Aire acondicionado al aire libre, eso es el bosque.

- En otras palabras, si perdemos todos estos árboles, estamos perdiendo el aire acondicionado que enfría todo el planeta.

- No solo eso.

- ¿No solo eso?

- No. Los árboles están absorbiendo carbono, ¿la contaminación que producimos, como el dióxido de carbono?

- Al quemar gasolina en los autos, se libera dióxido de carbono al aire, o quemando carbón, y los árboles usan el dióxido de carbono como materia prima.

- Entonces los árboles están almacenando todo este carbono, así que si lo cortas y lo quemas, ¿eso significa que todo ese carbono sube al aire?

- Absolutamente. Sí.

- ¿Qué pasaría si este bosque desapareciera?

- Cuando el bosque es destruido, el clima cambia, y luego el bosque que queda también se daña. Luego el bosque se vuelve cada vez más seco y eventualmente se incendia. En caso extremo, toda el área se convierte en un desierto. Eso es lo que nos espera si deforestamos. Así que tenemos que dejar de deforestar desde ayer, no en 2020 o 2030. No hay un plan C. Tienes un plan A. El plan A es seguir como siempre. Continuar saqueando todos los recursos y usarlos como si fueran infinitos. El plan B es lo que muchos están intentando, cambiar la matriz de energía y usar fuentes limpias, dejar de comer demasiada carne y reforestar bosques. Si eso no funciona, entonces pasamos al plan C. ¿Cuál es el plan C?

- No tengo idea.

- Ir a otro planeta.

- Pero no podemos hacer eso.

- No tenemos otro planeta, así que o trabajamos con el plan B o estamos-

- Acabados.

- Básicamente, sí. Estamos acabados, así que el plan B tiene que funcionar. Tiene que funcionar.

- Las personas deben asumir responsabilidad, porque no puedes nada más pensar, yo vivo aquí y lo que suceda por allá, ¿a quién le importa?

- A mí qué.

- No es mi problema, porque es un problema de todos.

- Sí. La gente debería despertar. Es como cuando estás en medio de un desastre en desarrollo, ¿qué haces? ¿Entrar en pánico? No. Lo mueves. Que se mueva. Eso es lo que necesitamos hacer.

The Amazon rain forest absorbs one-fourth of the CO2 absorbed by all the land on Earth. The amount absorbed today, however, is 30% less than it was in the 1990s because of deforestation. A major motive for deforestation is cattle ranching. China, the United States, and other countries have created a consumer demand for beef, so clearing land for cattle ranching can be profitable—even if it’s illegal. The demand for pastureland, as well as cropland for food such as soybeans, makes it difficult to protect forest resources.

Many countries are making progress in the effort to stop deforestation. Countries in South America and Southeast Asia, as well as China, have taken steps that have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction of forests by one-fourth over the past 15 years.

Brazil continues to make impressive strides in reducing its impact on climate change. In the past two decades, its CO2 emissions have dropped more than any other country. Destruction of the rain forest in Brazil has decreased from about 19,943 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) per year in the late 1990s to about 5,180 square kilometers (2,000 square miles) per year now. Moving forward, the major challenge will be fighting illegal deforestation.

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Related Resources

Case Study: Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

Deforestation in the amazon rainforest.

The Amazon rainforest area spans about 8,200,000km 2 across 9 countries, making it the largest rainforest in the world. The tree coverage in 1970 was 4.1m km 2 . In 2018, it was 3.3m km 2 . Between 2001 and 2013, the causes of Amazonian deforestation were:

Pasture and cattle ranching = 63%

Small-scale, subsistence farmers = 12%

Commercial crop farming = 7%

Tree felling and logging = 6%

Other activities = 3%

• E.g. plantations, mining, road-building, and construction.

Impacts of Deforestation in the Amazon

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has the following environmental and economic impacts:

Environmental impact of Amazonian deforestation

• Photosynthesis by trees in the Amazon absorbs 5% of the world's carbon emissions each year (2bn tons of CO2).
• 100 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in the wood of the trees in the Amazon.
• If the Amazon were completely deforested, it would release the 100bn tonnes and also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere by 2bn tons each year.
• Trees anchor soil in the ground, bound to their roots. Deforestation damages the topsoil and once this has happened, the fertility of the ground is seriously damaged.

Economic impact of Amazonian deforestation

• Deforestation has fuelled the economic development of poor countries.
• In 2018, Brazil exported $28bn worth of metals. The mining industry creates jobs, exports and helps increase Brazilian people's standard of living.
• Similarly, hydroelectric power plants and cattle farms help to create jobs.
• In 2018, Brazil became the world's largest exporter of beef.
• Rio Tinto, an iron ore mining company employs 47,000 people globally and thousands of these are in Brazil.

The rate of deforestation in the Amazon

• In 2015, the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff claimed that the rate of deforestation had fallen by 83% and that actually Brazil was going to reforest the Amazon.
• However, the policies under President Temer and President Bolsonaro has reversed Rousseff's plan. In 2019, under Bolsonaro, the rate of deforestation was increasing again.

1 The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1 Natural Hazards

1.1.1 Types of Natural Hazards

1.1.2 Hazard Risk

1.1.3 Consequences of Natural Hazards

1.1.4 End of Topic Test - Natural Hazards

1.1.5 Exam-Style Questions - Natural Hazards

1.2 Tectonic Hazards

1.2.1 Tectonic Plates

1.2.2 Tectonic Plates & Convection Currents

1.2.3 Plate Margins

1.2.4 Volcanoes

1.2.5 Effects of Volcanoes

1.2.6 Responses to Volcanic Eruptions

1.2.7 Earthquakes

1.2.8 Earthquakes 2

1.2.9 Responses to Earthquakes

1.2.10 Case Studies: The L'Aquila & Kashmir Earthquakes

1.2.11 Earthquake Case Study: Chile 2010

1.2.12 Earthquake Case Study: Nepal 2015

1.2.13 Living with Tectonic Hazards 1

1.2.14 Living with Tectonic Hazards 2

1.2.15 End of Topic Test - Tectonic Hazards

1.2.16 Exam-Style Questions - Tectonic Hazards

1.2.17 Tectonic Hazards - Statistical Skills

1.3 Weather Hazards

1.3.1 Global Atmospheric Circulation

1.3.2 Surface Winds

1.3.3 UK Weather Hazards

1.3.4 Tropical Storms

1.3.5 Features of Tropical Storms

1.3.6 Impact of Tropical Storms 1

1.3.7 Impact of Tropical Storms 2

1.3.8 Tropical Storms Case Study: Katrina

1.3.9 Tropical Storms Case Study: Haiyan

1.3.10 UK Weather Hazards Case Study: Somerset 2014

1.3.11 End of Topic Test - Weather Hazards

1.3.12 Exam-Style Questions - Weather Hazards

1.3.13 Weather Hazards - Statistical Skills

1.4 Climate Change

1.4.1 Evidence for Climate Change

1.4.2 Causes of Climate Change

1.4.3 Effects of Climate Change

1.4.4 Managing Climate Change

1.4.5 End of Topic Test - Climate Change

1.4.6 Exam-Style Questions - Climate Change

1.4.7 Climate Change - Statistical Skills

2 The Living World

2.1 Ecosystems

2.1.1 Ecosystems

2.1.2 Ecosystem Cascades & Global Ecosystems

2.1.3 Ecosystem Case Study: Freshwater Ponds

2.2 Tropical Rainforests

2.2.1 Tropical Rainforests - Intro & Interdependence

2.2.2 Adaptations

2.2.3 Biodiversity of Tropical Rainforests

2.2.4 Deforestation

2.2.5 Case Study: Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

2.2.6 Sustainable Management of Rainforests

2.2.7 Case Study: Malaysian Rainforest

2.2.8 End of Topic Test - Tropical Rainforests

2.2.9 Exam-Style Questions - Tropical Rainforests

2.2.10 Deforestation - Statistical Skills

2.3 Hot Deserts

2.3.1 Overview of Hot Deserts

2.3.2 Biodiversity & Adaptation to Hot Deserts

2.3.3 Case Study: Sahara Desert

2.3.4 Desertification

2.3.5 Case Study: Thar Desert

2.3.6 End of Topic Test - Hot Deserts

2.3.7 Exam-Style Questions - Hot Deserts

2.4 Tundra & Polar Environments

2.4.1 Overview of Cold Environments

2.4.2 Adaptations in Cold Environments

2.4.3 Biodiversity in Cold Environments

2.4.4 Case Study: Alaska

2.4.5 Sustainable Management

2.4.6 Case Study: Svalbard

2.4.7 End of Topic Test - Tundra & Polar Environments

2.4.8 Exam-Style Questions - Cold Environments

3 Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1 The UK Physical Landscape

3.1.1 The UK Physical Landscape

3.2 Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.2.1 Types of Wave

3.2.2 Weathering & Mass Movement

3.2.3 Processes of Erosion & Wave-Cut Platforms

3.2.4 Headlands, Bays, Caves, Arches & Stacks

3.2.5 Transportation

3.2.6 Deposition

3.2.7 Spits, Bars & Sand Dunes

3.2.8 Case Study: Landforms on the Dorset Coast

3.2.9 Types of Coastal Management 1

3.2.10 Types of Coastal Management 2

3.2.11 Coastal Management Case Study - Holderness

3.2.12 Coastal Management Case Study: Swanage

3.2.13 Coastal Management Case Study - Lyme Regis

3.2.14 End of Topic Test - Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.2.15 Exam-Style Questions - Coasts

3.3 River Landscapes in the UK

3.3.1 The River Valley

3.3.2 River Valley Case Study - River Tees

3.3.3 Erosion

3.3.4 Transportation & Deposition

3.3.5 Waterfalls, Gorges & Interlocking Spurs

3.3.6 Meanders & Oxbow Lakes

3.3.7 Floodplains & Levees

3.3.8 Estuaries

3.3.9 Case Study: The River Clyde

3.3.10 River Management

3.3.11 Hard & Soft Flood Defences

3.3.12 River Management Case Study - Boscastle

3.3.13 River Management Case Study - Banbury

3.3.14 End of Topic Test - River Landscapes in the UK

3.3.15 Exam-Style Questions - Rivers

3.4 Glacial Landscapes in the UK

3.4.1 Erosion

3.4.2 Landforms Caused by Erosion

3.4.3 Landforms Caused by Transportation & Deposition

3.4.4 Snowdonia

3.4.5 Land Use in Glaciated Areas

3.4.6 Tourism in Glacial Landscapes

3.4.7 Case Study - Lake District

3.4.8 End of Topic Test - Glacial Landscapes in the UK

3.4.9 Exam-Style Questions - Glacial Landscapes

4 Urban Issues & Challenges

4.1 Urban Issues & Challenges

4.1.1 Urbanisation

4.1.2 Urbanisation Case Study: Lagos

4.1.3 Urbanisation Case Study: Rio de Janeiro

4.1.4 UK Cities

4.1.5 Case Study: Urban Regen Projects - Manchester

4.1.6 Case Study: Urban Change in Liverpool

4.1.7 Case Study: Urban Change in Bristol

4.1.8 Sustainable Urban Life

4.1.9 End of Topic Test - Urban Issues & Challenges

4.1.10 Exam-Style Questions - Urban Issues & Challenges

4.1.11 Urban Issues -Statistical Skills

5 The Changing Economic World

5.1 The Changing Economic World

5.1.1 Measuring Development

5.1.2 Classifying Countries Based on Wealth

5.1.3 The Demographic Transition Model

5.1.4 Physical & Historical Causes of Uneven Development

5.1.5 Economic Causes of Uneven Development

5.1.6 How Can We Reduce the Global Development Gap?

5.1.7 Case Study: Tourism in Kenya

5.1.8 Case Study: Tourism in Jamaica

5.1.9 Case Study: Economic Development in India

5.1.10 Case Study: Aid & Development in India

5.1.11 Case Study: Economic Development in Nigeria

5.1.12 Case Study: Aid & Development in Nigeria

5.1.13 Economic Development in the UK

5.1.14 Economic Development UK: Industry & Rural

5.1.15 Economic Development UK: Transport & North-South

5.1.16 Economic Development UK: Regional & Global

5.1.17 End of Topic Test - The Changing Economic World

5.1.18 Exam-Style Questions - The Changing Economic World

5.1.19 Changing Economic World - Statistical Skills

6 The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1 Resource Management

6.1.1 Global Distribution of Resources

6.1.2 Food in the UK

6.1.3 Water in the UK 1

6.1.4 Water in the UK 2

6.1.5 Energy in the UK

6.1.6 Resource Management - Statistical Skills

6.2.1 Areas of Food Surplus & Food Deficit

6.2.2 Food Supply & Food Insecurity

6.2.3 Increasing Food Supply

6.2.4 Case Study: Thanet Earth

6.2.5 Creating a Sustainable Food Supply

6.2.6 Case Study: Agroforestry in Mali

6.2.7 End of Topic Test - Food

6.2.8 Exam-Style Questions - Food

6.2.9 Food - Statistical Skills

6.3.1 The Global Demand for Water

6.3.2 What Affects the Availability of Water?

6.3.3 Increasing Water Supplies

6.3.4 Case Study: Water Transfer in China

6.3.5 Sustainable Water Supply

6.3.6 Case Study: Kenya's Sand Dams

6.3.7 Case Study: Lesotho Highland Water Project

6.3.8 Case Study: Wakel River Basin Project

6.3.9 Exam-Style Questions - Water

6.3.10 Water - Statistical Skills

6.4.1 Global Demand for Energy

6.4.2 Factors Affecting Energy Supply

6.4.3 Increasing Energy Supply: Renewables

6.4.4 Increasing Energy Supply: Non-Renewables

6.4.5 Carbon Footprints & Energy Conservation

6.4.6 Case Study: Rice Husks in Bihar

6.4.7 Exam-Style Questions - Energy

6.4.8 Energy - Statistical Skills

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73 Case Study: The Amazon Rainforest

The amazon in context.

Tropical rainforests are often considered to be the “cradles of biodiversity.” Though they cover only about 6% of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to over 50% of global biodiversity. Rain forests also take in massive amounts of carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, which has also given them the nickname “lungs of the planet.” They also store very large amounts of carbon, and so cutting and burning their biomass contributes to global climate change. Many modern medicines are derived from rainforest plants, and several very important food crops originated in the rainforest, including bananas, mangos, chocolate, coffee, and sugar cane.

In order to qualify as a tropical rainforest, an area must receive over 250 centimeters of rainfall each year and have an average temperature above 24 degrees centigrade, as well as never experiencing frosts. The Amazon rainforest in South America is the largest in the world. The second largest is the Congo in central Africa, and other important rainforests can be found in Central America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. Brazil contains about 40% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest. Its rainforest covers an area of land about 2/3 the size of the continental United States.

There are countless reasons, both anthropocentric and ecocentric, to value rainforests. But they are one of the most threatened types of ecosystems in the world today. It’s somewhat difficult to estimate how quickly rainforests are being cut down, but estimates range from between 50,000 and 170,000 square kilometers per year. Even the most conservative estimates project that if we keep cutting rainforests as we are today, within about 100 years there will be none left.

How does a rainforest work?

Rainforests are incredibly complex ecosystems, but understanding a few basics about their ecology will help us understand why clear-cutting and fragmentation are such destructive activities for rainforest biodiversity.

High biodiversity in tropical rainforests means that the interrelationships between organisms are very complex. A single tree may house more than 40 different ant species, each of which has a different ecological function and may alter the habitat in distinct and important ways. Ecologists debate about whether systems that have high biodiversity are stable and resilient, like a spider web composed of many strong individual strands, or fragile, like a house of cards. Both metaphors are likely appropriate in some cases. One thing we can be certain of is that it is very difficult in a rainforest system, as in most others, to affect just one type of organism. Also, clear cutting one small area may damage hundreds or thousands of established species interactions that reach beyond the cleared area.

Pollination is a challenge for rainforest trees because there are so many different species, unlike forests in the temperate regions that are often dominated by less than a dozen tree species. One solution is for individual trees to grow close together, making pollination simpler, but this can make that species vulnerable to extinction if the one area where it lives is clear cut. Another strategy is to develop a mutualistic relationship with a long-distance pollinator, like a specific bee or hummingbird species. These pollinators develop mental maps of where each tree of a particular species is located and then travel between them on a sort of “trap-line” that allows trees to pollinate each other. One problem is that if a forest is fragmented then these trap-line connections can be disrupted, and so trees can fail to be pollinated and reproduce even if they haven’t been cut.

The quality of rainforest soils is perhaps the most surprising aspect of their ecology. We might expect a lush rainforest to grow from incredibly rich, fertile soils, but actually, the opposite is true. While some rainforest soils that are derived from volcanic ash or from river deposits can be quite fertile, generally rainforest soils are very poor in nutrients and organic matter. Rainforests hold most of their nutrients in their live vegetation, not in the soil. Their soils do not maintain nutrients very well either, which means that existing nutrients quickly “leech” out, being carried away by water as it percolates through the soil. Also, soils in rainforests tend to be acidic, which means that it’s difficult for plants to access even the few existing nutrients. The section on slash and burn agriculture in the previous module describes some of the challenges that farmers face when they attempt to grow crops on tropical rainforest soils, but perhaps the most important lesson is that once a rainforest is cut down and cleared away, very little fertility is left to help a forest regrow.

What is driving deforestation in the Amazon?

Many factors contribute to tropical deforestation, but consider this typical set of circumstances and processes that result in rapid and unsustainable rates of deforestation. This story fits well with the historical experience of Brazil and other countries with territory in the Amazon Basin.

Population growth and poverty encourage poor farmers to clear new areas of rainforest, and their efforts are further exacerbated by government policies that permit landless peasants to establish legal title to land that they have cleared.

At the same time, international lending institutions like the World Bank provide money to the national government for large-scale projects like mining, construction of dams, new roads, and other infrastructure that directly reduces the forest or makes it easier for farmers to access new areas to clear.

The activities most often encouraging new road development are timber harvesting and mining. Loggers cut out the best timber for domestic use or export, and in the process knock over many other less valuable trees. Those trees are eventually cleared and used for wood pulp, or burned, and the area is converted into cattle pastures. After a few years, the vegetation is sufficiently degraded to make it not profitable to raise cattle, and the land is sold to poor farmers seeking out a subsistence living.

Regardless of how poor farmers get their land, they often are only able to gain a few years of decent crop yields before the poor quality of the soil overwhelms their efforts, and then they are forced to move on to another plot of land. Small-scale farmers also hunt for meat in the remaining fragmented forest areas, which reduces the biodiversity in those areas as well.

Another important factor not mentioned in the scenario above is the clearing of rainforest for industrial agriculture plantations of bananas, pineapples, and sugar cane. These crops are primarily grown for export, and so an additional driver to consider is consumer demand for these crops in countries like the United States.

These cycles of land use, which are driven by poverty and population growth as well as government policies, have led to the rapid loss of tropical rainforests. What is lost in many cases is not simply biodiversity, but also valuable renewable resources that could sustain many generations of humans to come. Efforts to protect rainforests and other areas of high biodiversity is the topic of the next section.

Introduction to Geography Copyright © by Petra Tschakert; Karl Zimmerer; Brian King; Seth Baum; and Chongming Wang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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A Level Physical Geography: Water and Carbon: Amazon Rainforest Case Study

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Case Study: The Amazonian Road Decision

The proposed Pucallpa–Cruzeiro do Sul will connect the Amazon’s interior to urban centers and export markets in Peru and Brazil. However, critics are worried that the road will also create new opportunities for illegal logging and infringe on the territory of indigenous communities and wildlife.

Biology, Geography, Human Geography

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On the western edge of the Amazon River, there is a proposal to construct a road. This road would connect the remote town of Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazil, with the larger city of Pucallpa, Peru. The construction of the road has become a subject of contentious debate. Proponents of the road claimed that it would provide an efficient way for rural farmers and tradesmen to get their goods to city markets. They claimed it would also allow loggers to more easily transport timber from the depths of the Amazon rainforest to sawmills. From the sawmills in Pucallpa, goods could be transported to Peru’s Pacific coast and shipped to international buyers. Critics of the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road, however, argue that it would cut right through traditional territories of the Ashéninka, an indigenous people of eastern Peru. Many leaders fear the road will increase access to previously undeveloped rainforest, threatening the ecosystem and the Ashéninka way of life. Large trees, such as mahogany, for example, will catch the eye of illegal loggers because of their high market value. The great mahogany trees also serve as protection to the Ashéninka from the outside world and are essential for the health of the Amazonian rainforest. The trees provide shelter, food, and nesting grounds that sustain the vast biodiversity within the ecosystem, an ecosystem the Ashéninka have come to depend on for their own food, shelter, and life sustenance. Geography The Amazon Basin is located in South America, covering an area of seven million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles). Nearly 70 percent of the basin falls within Brazil with remaining areas stretching into parts of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana. The Amazon’s massive drainage basin is made of dozens of smaller watersheds , including the Tamaya. Its watershed lies at the headwaters of the Purus and Juruá Rivers, near the border of Peru and Brazil. The Ashéninka people have lived in this region for centuries, surviving on game, fish, and cultivated crops, such as yucca roots, sweet potato, corn, coffee, and sugar cane. Background The rainforest surrounding the Amazon is the largest on the entire planet. In addition to 33 million human inhabitants, including 385 distinct Indigenous groups, it hosts the greatest diversity of plant and animal life in the world. More than two million species of insects are native to the region, including many tree-living species and hundreds of spiders and butterflies. Primates are abundant—including howler, spider, and capuchin monkeys—along with sloths, snakes, and iguanas. Brightly colored parrots, toucans, and parakeets are just some of the region’s native birds. Many of these species are unique to the Amazon rainforest, which means they cannot be found anywhere else in the world. At a global level, the Amazon rainforest helps to regulate climate and acts as a carbon sink for greenhouse gases . At a national level, the Amazon is considered a source of energy and income, based on production and commercialization of raw materials. Some of the most valued tree species in the world thrive in the rainforest. Mahogany is one of the most valuable resources from the Amazon forest. The tree’s rich, red grain and durability make it one of the most coveted building materials in the world. A single mahogany tree can fetch thousands of U.S. dollars on the international market. Even though logging is prohibited in much of the Amazon River, it is legal in some areas in large part because the sale of the wood is so lucrative. The high demand for mahogany has left many of Peru’s watersheds—such as the Tamaya—stripped of their most valuable trees. Without large trees, and their roots, the watershed risks heavy flooding and soil erosion. Conflict The Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road is part of a larger development plan to link South America’s remote, isolated economies through new transportation, energy, and telecommunications projects. Tension exists between communities that favor developing the rural economies of the Amazon Basin and those who favor preserving its forested areas and diversity of life. The Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) is a proposal for the construction of several highways throughout the continent, five of them within the western Amazon Basin. The Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road is one such proposed highway. Supporters of the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road say international demand for Amazonian resources could help develop the rural economies that are scattered throughout the basin. In addition to providing a route of access for rural goods to enter the global market, the road will allow members of rural communities to access better health care, education, and welfare. This could lead to improved living conditions, healthier lifestyles, and longer life spans. Conservationists are concerned that infrastructure such as the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road will devastate an already weakened Amazonian ecosystem, as road access is highly correlated with  deforestation . In Brazil, for instance, 80 percent of deforestation occurs within 48.28 kilometers (30 miles) of a road. Critics argue that the construction of a road along the Brazil-Peru corridor will provide easier access for loggers to reach mahogany and other trees. Indigenous communities like the Ashéninka will also be affected. These communities have largely chosen to maintain a traditional way of life, and conservationists are concerned that the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road may expose them to disease and land theft. Identification of Stakeholders Indigenous Communities:  Members of the Ashéninka community are trying to protect the forest and their native lands. Yet, like other Indigenous communities in the area, they are in turmoil, largely divided between those favoring conservation and those seeking greater economic opportunities. While the Ashéninka want to preserve their culture and connections to the forest, they also need access to things like clothes, soap, and medicine. The road could establish trade routes that make these goods more accessible. However, isolated peoples could be exposed to disease and land theft. Wildlife:  The proposed Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road runs through Serra do Divisor National Park, Brazil, and other reserves that are home to threatened and rare species, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. For some of these species, such as the spider monkey and red howler monkey, the construction of the road could make their populations vulnerable to fragmentation and more visible to hunters. As mahogany and other canopy giants are removed, any wildlife that relies on the trees for shelter, nesting, or food will need to relocate. Amazonian Ecosystem:  In addition to the detrimental effects to the flora and fauna in the area, the construction of the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road could accelerate erosion, reduce water quality, and increase deforestation for agriculture and timber extraction. Tropical forest accounts for 40 percent of the global terrestrial carbon sink. A reduced number of trees could exacerbate global warming. Fewer forests means larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. Logging Companies:  If a road is constructed, loggers will have easier access to mahogany and other trees, allowing them to generate more income and provide a higher standard of living for their families and communities. A higher standard of living might include expanded educational opportunities, improved healthcare facilities, and the chance to participate in political debate. Residents of Rural Communities:  The Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road would allow local farmers and business people to transfer goods from the Amazonian interior to Peru’s Pacific coast. Right now, merchants who want to travel between Cruzeiro do Sul and Pucallpa must do so by plane. A reliable road would improve basic infrastructure, transportation, and communication for greater commercial and social integration between Peru and Brazil, which meets part of the larger objective of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America. International Consumers:  The global demand for mahogany makes it a multimillion dollar business. Mahogany is used to create bedroom sets, cabinets, flooring, and patio decks throughout the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. Conflict Mitigation Groups are seeking to mitigate conflict in the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road conflict through dialogue and alternate infrastructure plans. Environmental conservation groups have suggested that the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road be removed from the list of approved projects until the community engages in greater communication surrounding two aspects of the project. First, conservationists are seeking more information on the environmental impact of the construction. This discussion involves local environmental groups, government representatives, and businesses. Second, conservationists are seeking full consent to the project from indigenous communities. Some critics of the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul road argue that roads are not the only option for the Pucallpa business community to extend its commerce. Traditional river systems are already in place. These critics think the fluvial network should be explored as a viable alternative to road construction. The Upper Amazon Conservancy is working with indigenous peoples to help protect their native territories. One initiative involves organizing community “vigilance committees” that consist of members of indigenous peoples who help park services by patrolling the edges of national parks and keeping illegal loggers out.

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AQA GCSE Geography- Amazon Rainforest Case Study

Subject: Geography

Age range: 14-16

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Last updated

19 September 2023

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Case Study: The Amazon Rainforest

The amazon in context.

Tropical rainforests are often considered to be the “cradles of biodiversity.” Though they cover only about 6% of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to over 50% of global biodiversity. Rainforests also take in massive amounts of carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, which has also given them the nickname “lungs of the planet.” They also store very large amounts of carbon, and so cutting and burning their biomass contributes to global climate change. Many modern medicines are derived from rainforest plants, and several very important food crops originated in the rainforest, including bananas, mangos, chocolate, coffee, and sugar cane.

In order to qualify as a tropical rainforest, an area must receive over 250 centimeters of rainfall each year and have an average temperature above 24 degrees centigrade, as well as never experience frosts. The Amazon rainforest in South America is the largest in the world. The second largest is the Congo in central Africa, and other important rainforests can be found in Central America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. Brazil contains about 40% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest. Its rainforest covers an area of land about 2/3 the size of the continental United States.

There are countless reasons, both anthropocentric and ecocentric, to value rainforests. But they are one of the most threatened types of ecosystems in the world today. It’s somewhat difficult to estimate how quickly rainforests are being cut down, but estimates range from between 50,000 and 170,000 square kilometers per year. Even the most conservative estimates project that if we keep cutting down rainforests as we are today, within about 100 years there will be none left.

How does a rainforest work?

Rainforests are incredibly complex ecosystems, but understanding a few basics about their ecology will help us understand why clear-cutting and fragmentation are such destructive activities for rainforest biodiversity.

High biodiversity in tropical rainforests means that the interrelationships between organisms are very complex. A single tree may house more than 40 different ant species, each of which has a different ecological function and may alter the habitat in distinct and important ways. Ecologists debate about whether systems that have high biodiversity are stable and resilient, like a spider web composed of many strong individual strands, or fragile, like a house of cards. Both metaphors are likely appropriate in some cases. One thing we can be certain of is that it is very difficult in a rainforest system, as in most other ecosystems, to affect just one type of organism. Also, clear cutting one small area may damage hundreds or thousands of established species interactions that reach beyond the cleared area.

Pollination is a challenge for rainforest trees because there are so many different species, unlike forests in the temperate regions that are often dominated by less than a dozen tree species. One solution is for individual trees to grow close together, making pollination simpler, but this can make that species vulnerable to extinction if the one area where it lives is clear cut. Another strategy is to develop a mutualistic relationship with a long-distance pollinator, like a specific bee or hummingbird species. These pollinators develop mental maps of where each tree of a particular species is located and then travel between them on a sort of “trap-line” that allows trees to pollinate each other. One problem is that if a forest is fragmented then these trap-line connections can be disrupted, and so trees can fail to be pollinated and reproduce even if they haven’t been cut.

The quality of rainforest soils is perhaps the most surprising aspect of their ecology. We might expect a lush rainforest to grow from incredibly rich, fertile soils, but actually, the opposite is true. While some rainforest soils that are derived from volcanic ash or from river deposits can be quite fertile, generally rainforest soils are very poor in nutrients and organic matter. Rainforests hold most of their nutrients in their live vegetation, not in the soil. Their soils do not maintain nutrients very well either, which means that existing nutrients quickly “leech” out, being carried away by water as it percolates through the soil. Also, soils in rainforests tend to be acidic, which means that it’s difficult for plants to access even the few existing nutrients. The section on slash and burn agriculture in the previous module describes some of the challenges that farmers face when they attempt to grow crops on tropical rainforest soils, but perhaps the most important lesson is that once a rainforest is cut down and cleared away, very little fertility is left to help a forest regrow.

What is driving deforestation in the Amazon?

Many factors contribute to tropical deforestation, but consider this typical set of circumstances and processes that result in rapid and unsustainable rates of deforestation. This story fits well with the historical experience of Brazil and other countries with territory in the Amazon Basin.

Population growth and poverty encourage poor farmers to clear new areas of rainforest, and their efforts are further exacerbated by government policies that permit landless peasants to establish legal title to land that they have cleared.

At the same time, international lending institutions like the World Bank provide money to the national government for large-scale projects like mining, construction of dams, new roads, and other infrastructure that directly reduces the forest or makes it easier for farmers to access new areas to clear.

The activities most often encouraging new road development are timber harvesting and mining. Loggers cut out the best timber for domestic use or export, and in the process knock over many other less valuable trees. Those trees are eventually cleared and used for wood pulp, or burned, and the area is converted into cattle pastures. After a few years, the vegetation is sufficiently degraded to make it not profitable to raise cattle, and the land is sold to poor farmers seeking out a subsistence living.

Regardless of how poor farmers get their land, they often are only able to gain a few years of decent crop yields before the poor quality of the soil overwhelms their efforts, and then they are forced to move on to another plot of land. Small-scale farmers also hunt for meat in the remaining fragmented forest areas, which reduces the biodiversity in those areas as well.

Another important factor not mentioned in the scenario above is the clearing of rainforest for industrial agriculture plantations of bananas, pineapples, and sugar cane. These crops are primarily grown for export, and so an additional driver to consider is consumer demand for these crops in countries like the United States.

These cycles of land use, which are driven by poverty and population growth as well as government policies, have led to the rapid loss of tropical rainforests. What is lost in many cases is not simply biodiversity, but also valuable renewable resources that could sustain many generations of humans to come. Efforts to protect rainforests and other areas of high biodiversity is the topic of the next section.

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Tropical Rainforest Biome

Welcome to the Tropical Rainforest Biome main menu

Use the images below to explore the tropical rainforest biome.

Where are tropical rainforests located?

What is the structure of the tropical rainforest?

How did the tropical rainforest get like this?

How has the vegetation adapted to the climate?

How have animals adapted to the rainforest environment?

Biodiversity and Tropical Rainforests

Changing rates of rainforest deforestation

What are the causes of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest?

What are the effects of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest?

What are the causes of deforestation in the Malaysian rainforest?

What are the effects of deforestation in the Malaysian rainforest?

What is the value of the tropical rainforest?

Sustainable management of the tropical rainforest

Sustainable Management of the Amazon Rainforest

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