Geography Project deforestation in amazon.docx
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Geography Project deforestation in amazon.docx
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GeographyProjectdeforestationinamazon
DeforestationintheAmazon
Group2(3-9,3-8:
FengZhaolun,LaiChaofan,WangYongjing,LiWeihao)
Background
TheAmazonrainforest,coversmostoftheAmazonBasinofSouthAmerica,isabout5500000km2.ItiscontainedwithinBrazil,Peru,Colombia,Venezuela,Ecuador,Bolivia,Guyana,SurinameandFrenchGuiana,theseninenations.TheAmazonincludesmorethanhalfoftheplanet'srainforests.However,since2000,155000km2ofrainforestintheBrazilianAmazonhavebeencut.Duringthepast40years,about20%oftheAmazonrainforesthasbeencutdown.Scientistsfearthatanadditional20percentofthetreeswillbelostoverthenexttwodecades.
TheAmazonwaterlilyisthebiggestflowerintheworldwithadiameteroftwometers.
TheCaranguejeiraspiderisbiggerthanabaseballandonespeciesofmonkeyweighing130gramsisaboutthesizeofatoothbrush.
TheAmazonisalsohometo57endangeredspeciesincludingthejaguar.
Thejaguarpopulationwasallbutwipedoutbyhuntingforthefurtradebeforeitwasdesignatedaprotectedspecies.Evennow,virtuallynothingisknownaboutthejaguars'lifestyle,butsomeindigenousculturesoftheAmazonreverethejaguaraboveallforestcreatures.
ItiscontainedwithinBrazil,Peru,Colombia,Venezuela,Ecuador,Bolivia,Guyana,SurinameandFrenchGuiana,theseninenations.
TheAmazonisoneoftherichestareasoftheworldinanimalandplantdiversity.TherecanbemoreplantspeciesinonehectareofAmazonrainforestthanthereareinallofEurope.
FactsandFigures
ThetotalareaoftheAmazonrainforest(oversixmillionkm2or2.3millionsquaremiles)isbiggerthanWesternEuropeandcoversanareaequivalenttotwothirdsoftheUS.
Theforeststretchesoverninecountries:
Bolivia,Brazil,Colombia,Ecuador,FrenchGuyana,Guyana,Peru,SurinamandVenezuela.ThelargestpartiscontainedwithinBrazil.
TheAmazonbasinisthelargestreservoiroffreshwaterontheplanetandaboutonefifthofallrunningwaterontheplanetflowsthroughtheAmazon.
TheAmazonRiveris6,868kmor4000mileslong.ThesamedistancethatseparatesNewYorkfromBerlin.ItisalmosttwotimesthelengthoftheMississippiriver(3744km/2340miles)andfivetimeslongerthantheriverRhine(1312km/820miles).
DuringtherainyseasonfromNovembertoJune,themainriversintheAmazonfloodvastareasoftheforest.Thefloodedareacanspreadoutupto200kmfromtheriverbanksengulfinganareathesizeofEngland.Insomerivers,thedifferenceinthewaterlevelbetweenwetanddryseasonsisequaltotheheightofaneight-storybuilding.
Over200speciesoftreescanbefoundinonehectareofAmazonrainforest.Onetreehasbeenshowntohave72differentspeciesofantslivinginit.
Thereareabout30timesmorefishspeciesintheAmazonthaninallEuropeanrivers.
TheAmazonRivercontainsover3000rareaquaticspeciesincludingtwotypesofriverdolphins,thegiantotter,turtlesandalligators.
Duringtherainyseason,thepinkriverdolphinsmoveoutofthemainriverandintothefloodedforestwheretheycanbeseenswimmingandhuntingamongthetrees.
Jaguarsarethebiggestcatinthewesternhemisphereandareknowntobefar-ranging.Movementsof500mileshavebeenrecorded.Jaguarsrarelyattackhumans,infact,humanshavealongerhistoryhuntingjaguarsandthedemandfortheirfurhasledtoadramaticreductioninpopulation.
Thesloth'svegetariandietmakesthemverysuccessfulspeciesintheforestandinmanyareastheyarethemostabundantlargermammal.
Causes
•Pastureranchingandinfrastructure
ItistheleadingcauseofthedeforestationinBrazil.Thereportshowsthat70%offormerlyforestedlandintheAmazon,and91%oflanddeforestedsince1970,isusedforlivestockpasture.ThemainreasonforthedevelopmentofpastureindustryisthattheincreasingmeatrequirementfromEuropeprovidegreatincentiveforrancherstoincreasethesizeoftheirpasturesothatitrequiresmorelandforcattleorotherlivestock.Thustheforestsarefacilitatedbythepasture.InordertodeveloptheinfrastructureforBrazil,manyhighspeedroadwhichcrosstherainforestsdestroyamassiveareaofrainforests.
•Hydraulicpowerutilizationandminingactivities
HydroelectricdamprojectsintheAmazonhavealsobeenresponsibleforfloodingsignificantareasoftheforest.InparticulartheBalbinadamfloodedapproximately2,400km²(920squaremiles)ofrainforestoncompletionanditsreservoiritselfhasbeenresponsibleforcontributingtoglobalwarmingbyemitting23,750,000tonsofcarbondioxideand140,000tonsofmethaneinonlyitsfirstthreeyearsofoperation.Asarainforest,Amazonrainforestscontainsgreatnumbersofvariousmineralresources.Inordertogetthemineralresources.Humanslogtheforestswithouthesitationjustforminingactivities.ItcausethedeforestationinAmazonrainforests.
•Logging
ItisalsoasevereproblemfortheAmazon.ThelogginginBraziliseconomicalmotivated,theeconomicopportunitiesforregiontodevelop,peopleareluredtologthetrees.TheBraziliangovernmenthasdestroy800illegaloven.Theseovensareconsumedthattheymadeacontributiontologgingabout234000km2ofrainforest.Aloggedforestcontainssignificantlylessspecieswherenoselectivelogginghastakenplace.Aforestdisturbedbyselectiveloggingisalsosignificantlymorevulnerabletofire.
•Mining
MiningprocessesincludemanyenvironmentallydegradingactivitiesTheprocessofminingcausedthedeforestationintheAmazon,andthetoxicchemicalusedintheprocess,suchasmercury,seepintothelandsanddamagethesurroundinglandsandwildlife.
•Fire
Firesareeasilyoccurringintherainforestsduringthethree-monthburningseason.Smokewouldbeproducedandthatcouldaffectthevegetation’sphotosynthesis.Thousandsofsquarekilometersareburnedeveryyear.In1987duringafour-monthperiod(July-October),about19,300squaremiles(50,000sq.km)ofBrazilianAmazonwereburned
•InfrastructureImprovements
RoadconstructionintheAmazonleadstodeforestation.Roadsprovideaccesstologgingandminingsiteswhileopeningforestfrontierlandtoexploitationbypoorlandlessfarmers.
Problems
•ErosionofSoil
Whenforestareasarecleared,itresultsinexposingthesoiltothesun,makingitverydryandeventually,infertile,duetovolatilenutrientssuchasN2beinglost.
Also,whenthereisrainfall,nutrientsarewashedaway,whichflowwiththerainwaterintoriversoroceans.Thelandwillbecomeuseless.
•DisruptionoftheWaterCycle
Treescontributeinalargewayinmaintainingthewatercycle.Theydrawupwaterbytheirroots,thenreleasedintoatmosphere.Lotsofwaterthatcirculatesintheecosystemofrainforests,forinstance,remainsinsidetheplants.Whenthesetreesarecutdownitresultsintheclimategettingdrierinthatarea.
•LossofBiodiversity
Theuniquebiodiversityofvariousgeographicalareasisbeinglostonascalethatisquiteunprecedented.Eventhoughtropicalrainforestsmakeupjust6percentofthesurfaceareaoftheEarth,about80-90percentoftheentirespeciesoftheworldexisthere.Duetomassivedeforestation,about50to100speciesofanimalsarebeinglosteachday.Theoutcomeofwhichistheextinctionofanimalsandplantsonamassivescale.
•FloodingandDrought
Oneofthevitalfunctionsofforestsistoabsorbandstoregreatamountsofwaterquicklywhenthereareheavyrains.Whenforestsarecutdown,thisregulationoftheflowofwaterisdisrupted,whichleadstoalternatingperiodsoffloodandthendroughtintheaffectedarea.
•ClimateChange
ItiswellknownthatglobalwarmingisbeingcausedlargelyduetoemissionsofgreenhousegaseslikeCO2intotheatmosphere.Whendeforestationoccurs,manyofthetreesareburntortheyareallowedtorot,whichresultsinreleasingtheCthatisstoredinthemasCO2.ThisdefinitelyleadstogreaterconcentrationsofCO2.
•Destroytheindigenouscultures
FortheindigenouspopulationtheAmazonrainforestisimportantbecauseitistheirhomeandtheircultureiscloselyrelatedtotheforest,riversandfauna.Ifwedestroytheforest,wealsodestroyalltheindigenouspeoplethatareleft.SomeofthetribesintheAmazonstillhavenothadcontactwithoutsideculturesyet.Canwedestroytheindigenouswayoflife?
Thepeoplehavebeenhappilylivingforthousandsofyears.Humanitywilllosetheirlanguage,art,tales,andalsotheirknowledge.
Solution
Expansionofprotectionareas
Thegovernmentshouldexpandareaswhereloggingandminingisbanned.Theseareasareonlyusedforindigenouspeopletoliveinorscientificexpedition.Inthiswaythevegetationandthebiodiversitytherecouldbewellprotected.
SustainableDevelopment
Thismeansrecyclingandplanttreesafterlogging.Wegetbenefitsfromtherainforest,anditisourdutytokeepitandthuspeoplecangetbenefitsfurther.
Usingtechniquestoincreaseproductivity
TheunproductivemethodsofagricultureusedbytheindigenouspeoplearethemaincauseofthedeforestationintheAmazon.Governmentshouldsendexpertstotheirfarmingareatoteachthemthenewtechniquestofarmtomaketheprocessmoreeffective.Thentherewouldbelessareaneededforagriculture.
Landpolicyreformandraisingthetaxes
Toremedythewastefuluseofland,lawmakersshouldconsiderlawsthatrestrictthesepractices.Ormaybelawmakerscouldenforcesomeoftheexistinglawslikethe1996lawthatforbadeAmazonlandownersfromcuttingmorethan20%oftheforestontheirland.Forwhateverreasonthelawson
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