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A Level Physical Geography > WCC: Tropical Rainforest Case Study - Amazon Rainforest > Flashcards

WCC: Tropical Rainforest Case Study - Amazon Rainforest Flashcards

Case study of a tropical rainforest setting to illustrate and analyse the key themes in water and carbon cycles and their relationship to environmental change and human activity.

1
Q

What is leaching?

A

Where rainwater washes nutrients out of the soil

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2
Q

How does exposed soil impact the Amazon?

A

Exposed soil is at risk of erosion, limiting the changes of regrowth

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3
Q

Describe the global distribution of tropical rainforests.

A

Found in a band between the tropics, covering parts of South America, central Africa and SE Asia.

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4
Q

What percentage of global photosynthesis do tropical rainforests acoount for?

A

30-50%

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5
Q

What percentage of the world’s oxygen emissions are tropical rainforests accountable for?

A

28%

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6
Q

What is the annual rainfall in tropical rainforests?

A

Over 2000mm

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7
Q

What are temperatures like in tropical rainforests?

A

27C throughout the year

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8
Q

Give evidence of the high biodiversity of tropical rainforests.

A

They are home to about 50% of the world’s species of plants and animals.

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9
Q

What 2 atmospheric factors lead to high precipitation in tropical rainforests?

A

Low pressure

High humidity

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10
Q

What percentage of rainfall is intercepted in tropical rainforests?

A

75%

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11
Q

Why is interception so high in tropical rainforests?

A

They have a dense forest canopy

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12
Q

What percentage of available rainwater in tropical rainforests infiltrates into the soil?

A

50%

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13
Q

What percentage of available rainwater in tropical rainforests is used by plants and returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration?

A

50%

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14
Q

Give evidence to show why tropical rainforest trees are critical to the regions water supply.

A

The Amazon Basin produces around 1/3 of its own precipitation in the recycling of evapotranspiration

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15
Q

What has been the main cause of deforestation in the Amazon Basin in the last 50 years?

A

Cattle ranching (80%)

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16
Q

Where is deforestation most prominent in the Amazon Basin?

A

The east and southeast areas in Brazil

The northwestern arc of Colombia and Ecuador

17
Q

What is the largest human threat to the water cycle of tropical rainforests?

A

Deforestation

18
Q

What percentage of its primary rainforest has the Amazon Basin lost in the past 50 years?

A

17%

19
Q

Give evidence to show how deforestation can impact the tropical rainforest water cycle on a regional scale.

A

Future extensive deforestation could lead to 20% declines in regional rainfall

20
Q

How much carbon does the Amazon rainforest absorb in an average year?

A

2.2 billion tons of CO2

21
Q

How much carbon does the Amazon rainforest emit in an average year?

A

1.9 billion tons of CO2

22
Q

What percentage of carbon in the terrestrial biomass are stored in rainforests?

A

40-50%

23
Q

How much carbon per square metre do Amazonian rainforests store?

A

14-40kg

24
Q

What percentage of global soil carbon is stored in rainforest soils?

A

27%

25
Q

Contrast the difference between soil stores in pasturelands and the forests of the Amazon

A

Amazonian soils contain 4-9kg of carbon in the upper 50 cm of the soil layer, while pasturelands contain only about 1 kg per m^2

26
Q

Contrast the difference between soil stores in pasturelands and the forests of the Amazon

A

Amazonian soils contain 4-9kg of carbon in the upper 50 cm of the soil layer, while pasturelands contain only about 1 kg per m^2

27
Q

What percentage of carbon is lost to the atmosphere when forests are cleared and burned?

A

30-60%

28
Q

How quickly has the size of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest been decreasing since 2000?

A

At an average rate of 0.3% per year

29
Q

Why does the Amazon Basin no longer represent a continental carbon sink?

A

The amount of CO2 the Amazon rainforest absorbs from the atmosphere has declined to 1 billion tons per year. This is less that the total CO2 emitted by Latin American countries annually.

30
Q

Why has carbon fertilisation of the Amazon not regulated the rise in CO2 emissions?

A

While rainforest plants are growing faster, they are dying sooner

A Level Physical Geography (43 decks)

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