An area of tropical rainforest: The Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest covers around 40% of the South American continent

• True

• False

Match the following

• species of plants

• 20 million

• people, who use the wood, cut down trees for farms and for cattle.

• 60,000

• The UK and Ireland would fit into the Amazon

• 10 million

• species of birds

• 17 times

• species of insects

• 1,000

Brazil is a ​ (a)  

• NEE
• LIC
• HIC
• BRIC

The causes of deforestation

• Logging

• Subsistence and commercial farming

• Road building

• Mineral extraction

• Energy development

In the 1980s reports: suggested huge deforestation of the rainforest - the size of ​ (a)   every year

• Belgium
• USA
• FRANCE
• AUSTRALIA
• NIGERIA

The Amazon Rainforest has lost about ???? of its area in the last 30-40 years

• 60%

• 1%

• 20%

• 45%

Impacts of deforestation INCLUDE:

• Loss of habitat

• Climate Change

• Animals to become extinct

• Soil erosion

• Economic development

Brazil has benefitted:

• Development

• Improved transport; new roads and airports (access to raw materials).

• Infrastructure, hospitals and education

• Large-scale farming

• Jobs increased

The nutrient cycle is changing because:

• Nutrients are being washed away

• The roots of plants and trees no longer hold the soil together so it is easily eroded.

• There is no shedding of leaves to replace the nutrients

• There is too much light

Management of tropical rainforests

• Creating national parks

• Education

• Ecotourism

• Logging and replanting

• Dam the river