Amazon Rainforest

Question 1

facts about amazonia

Answer 1

• Biggest TRF (tropical rain forest)
• Covers 40% of South America
• Home to 30% of all species.

Question 2

importance of amazonia

Answer 2

Tropical rainforests act as life support systems for the planet as they:
* Regulate the composition of the atmosphere
* Maintain soil health
* Influence the hydrological cycle

Question 3

Regulate the composition of the atmosphere

Answer 3

all tropical rainforests regulate the composition of the atmosphere and help to offset the effect of climate change by taking in carbon dioxide through photosynthesisand releasing oxygen.

Question 4

Maintain soil health

Answer 4

in areas such as the Amazon, tropical rainforests have produced rich fertile top soils due to the rapid leaf fall and decomposition which rapidly recycles nutrients. These soils can be used to grow cassava and maize which is the staple diet of the local people

Question 5

Influence the hydrological cycle

Answer 5

• Rainforests help to provide water for people. Trees act as awater storebyinterceptingrainfall. They release water into the atmosphere byevapotranspiration. This then falls again asprecipitationand so gives the people living in areas such as the Amazon a constant supply of water.
• Tree roots also increaseinfiltration, allowing increased amounts of water topercolateto groundwater stores and developaquifers.

Question 6

goods and services provided by amazonia

Answer 6

• Food
• Cash crops
• Medicines
• Raw materials

Question 7

food

Answer 7

rainforests can produce food such as nuts, which forms part of the diet of local people in the Amazon

Question 8

cash crops

Answer 8

rainforests also produce cash crops, such as the development of wild coffee that resists disease and has a higher yield than the Arabica beans traditionally used by growers in the rest of Brazil

Question 9

raw materials

Answer 9

wood
palm oil

Question 10

advantages of amazonia for people

Answer 10

• provides natural medicines
• provides vital sources of water for both local people and at the national scale
• helps sink carbon limiting the impacts of climate change
• provides an important economic opportunity for resource exploitation, wood, minerals, farming, plantations – bringing valuable export profit

Question 11

advantages of amazonia for enviroment

Answer 11

• most biodiverse ecosystem and supports huge habitat and wildlife
• represents wilderness and values of conservation
• carbon sink - amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen
• vital source of water and plays a crucial role in the global water cycle
• helps maintain and regulate the global climate