Month: October 2016

Deforestation in the Amazon was primarily the product of subsistence farmers who cut down trees to produce crops for their families and local consumption. Logging affects the environment in several ways. Since trucks and large equipment need to get into the forest in order to access trees and transport timber, loggers must clear large areas for roadways .Roads in Latin America and other parts of the world are increasingly the result of political pressure from corporate interests. Extracting these natural resources is frequently a destructive activity that damages the rainforest ecosystem and causes problems for people living nearby and downstream from mining operations, especially from toxic runoff into river systems. As a result of hydropower dams, large areas of forest have been flooded with water. It is clear that these dams are part of development, but I think that these projects have not given enough thought to social and environmental impacts. 2,000 agrarian settlement projects that have moved as many as 1.2 million settlers to the Amazon in an attempt to quantify their contribution to deforestation and forest degradation.

SOIL AND ITS EFFECTS, The loss of trees, which anchor the soil with their roots, causes widespread erosion throughout the tropics. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY, Deforestation depletes biodiversity by destroying habitat, by separating contiguous areas of rainforest from each other, by interfering with plant reproduction. CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE, When forests are cut down, not only does carbon absorption cease, but also the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as CO2 if the wood is burned or even if it is left to rot after the deforestation process.

Location of rainforests- The largest rainforests are in the Amazon River Basin (South America), the Congo River Basin (western Africa), and throughout much of southeast Asia. Smaller rainforests are located in Central America, Madagascar, Australia and nearby islands, India, and other locations in the tropics

The climate- .In general, tropical rainforests have hot and humid climates where it rains virtually every day. The level of rainfall depends on the time of year.

The soil- The paradox of rainforest soils . Tropical soils are notoriously thin and poor in nutrients. In some parts of the Amazon River Basin, white, sandy soils are found.

• The plants and animals (and some of their adaptations!!)- Some plants called ‘epiphytes’ are flowering plants which grow on tree trunks and branches to get light. They get food from the air and water. Because there are so many animals competing for food, many animals have adapted by learning to eat a particular food eaten by no other animal. Toucans have adapted by developing long, large bill. This adaptation allows this bird to reach fruit on branches that are too small to support the bird’s weight.

• The Nutrient cycle and interrelationships in the rainforest- Rainforest ecosystems are characterized by heavy convectional rainfall, high humidity, lushness of vegetation and nutrient-rich but shallow soil. These factors give rise to a unique water and nutrient cycle.