THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

Background: A moist broadleaf forest (in the Amazon Basin of South America) Total area of Amazon Basin : 7 million square km² ( the forest itself occupies 5.5 million km²) located within 9 nations: Brazil (with 60% of the

rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

A map showing the location of the Amazon Rainforest ( yellow line enclosed )

Map of the Amazon Basin in South America

Biodiversity of amazon forest

People in the Amazon Rainforest

Human Eater Trees

Angel Falls Highest waterfall in

the world

Located in Venezuela

More than a half mile long at 3,212

Andes Mountains• Longest mountain chain

(4,200 miles) in the world and one of the highest

• Runs along the west coast of South America

• Some of these mountains are still active volcanoes

• People live in these mountains raising sheep, llamas and alpacas

Atacama Desert• Known as the driest

place on earth

• There are some places that rain as never been recorded

• Located along the coast of South America in Chile

• Is considered “moon-like” because it is so barren looking

Blue Poison Dart FrogFound in the understory layer

Extremely poisonous skin

Eat insects (insectivore)

Amphibian

Bright colors warn predators that it is poison

Its’ poison is used by South American Indians on the tips of their hunting arrows

PiranhaFound in the Amazon River

Fresh water fish Found in lakes and

streams Carnivore (meat eater) Teeth will be replaced

if broken Predators include

caimans, turtles, snakes, birds and people

Electric EelFound on the forest floor

Fish Generates

electricity- will shock its’ prey

Grows to eight feet long

Surfaces to gulp air Electric shock will

get stronger as this fish gets older

Deforestation in the Amazon:

Deforestation : forested areas converse to non-forested

areas. The main sources of deforestation in the

Amazon are human settlement and development of the land

Between 1991 and 2000, the total area of forest lost in the Amazon rose from 415,000 to 587,000 km² twice the size of Portugal

with most of the lost forest becoming pasture for cattle.

Today

The land is being cleared for cattle ranches, mining operations, logging, and subsistence agriculture. Some forests are being burned to make

charcoal to power industrial plants. Native peoples of the Amazon rainforest have used

different plants for centuries as cures and potions for their health and survival.

According to Brazilian National Institute of Space Research(INPE), the original Amazon rainforest biome in Brazil of 4,100,000 km² was reduced to 3,403,000 km² by 2005

Sales

Remaining ForestDeforest

Total Remaining0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

4,000,000

4,500,000

1970-2005

1970-2005

Consequences of deforestation in the Amazon

http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=9770 AMAZON DEFORESTATION CAUSES HURRICANE

The Caribbean could be vulnerable to increased hurricane activity if deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is not stopped

Working with religious leaders, scientists and politicians, Lelei LeLaulu, the president of Counterpart International, spoke on the effects that deforestation of the Amazon could have in the Caribbean, and the gulf states of America and Mexico.

He said: “The scientists are telling us forest deforestation of the Amazon leads to a failure if forest transpiration, the forest pumps, leaving heat in the southern north Atlantic which in turn gives birth to more extreme hurricanes in the Caribbean.”

Currently, more than one fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed and, according to a Brazilian congressional committee, the Amazon is vanishing at a rate of 52,000 square kilometres per year(20,000 miles per year). With these figures, the rainforest would be completely destroyed by the year 2050.

LeLaulu said: “ We are now able to explain why the sea temperature of the southern north Atlantic has been rising, giving birth to more extreme hurricanes which ravage the Caribbean and north America.”

Thank You