Geography Project deforestation in amazonWord格式.docx

Geography Project deforestation in amazonWord格式.docx

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srainforests.However,since2000,155000km2ofrainforestintheBrazilianAmazonhavebeencut.Duringthepast40years,about20%oftheAmazonrainforesthasbeencutdown.Scientistsfearthatanadditional20percentofthetreeswillbelostoverthenexttwodecades.

TheAmazonwaterlilyisthebiggestflowerintheworldwithadiameteroftwometers.

TheCaranguejeiraspiderisbiggerthanabaseballandonespeciesofmonkeyweighing130gramsisaboutthesizeofatoothbrush.

TheAmazonisalsohometo57endangeredspeciesincludingthejaguar.

Thejaguarpopulationwasallbutwipedoutbyhuntingforthefurtradebeforeitwasdesignatedaprotectedspecies.Evennow,virtuallynothingisknownaboutthejaguars'

lifestyle,butsomeindigenousculturesoftheAmazonreverethejaguaraboveallforestcreatures.

ItiscontainedwithinBrazil,Peru,Colombia,Venezuela,Ecuador,Bolivia,Guyana,SurinameandFrenchGuiana,theseninenations.

TheAmazonisoneoftherichestareasoftheworldinanimalandplantdiversity.TherecanbemoreplantspeciesinonehectareofAmazonrainforestthanthereareinallofEurope.

FactsandFigures

ThetotalareaoftheAmazonrainforest（oversixmillionkm2or2.3millionsquaremiles）isbiggerthanWesternEuropeandcoversanareaequivalenttotwothirdsoftheUS.

Theforeststretchesoverninecountries:

Bolivia,Brazil,Colombia,Ecuador,FrenchGuyana,Guyana,Peru,SurinamandVenezuela.ThelargestpartiscontainedwithinBrazil.

TheAmazonbasinisthelargestreservoiroffreshwaterontheplanetandaboutonefifthofallrunningwaterontheplanetflowsthroughtheAmazon.

TheAmazonRiveris6,868kmor4000mileslong.ThesamedistancethatseparatesNewYorkfromBerlin.ItisalmosttwotimesthelengthoftheMississippiriver（3744km/2340miles）andfivetimeslongerthantheriverRhine（1312km/820miles）.

DuringtherainyseasonfromNovembertoJune,themainriversintheAmazonfloodvastareasoftheforest.Thefloodedareacanspreadoutupto200kmfromtheriverbanksengulfinganareathesizeofEngland.Insomerivers,thedifferenceinthewaterlevelbetweenwetanddryseasonsisequaltotheheightofaneight-storybuilding.

Over200speciesoftreescanbefoundinonehectareofAmazonrainforest.Onetreehasbeenshowntohave72differentspeciesofantslivinginit.

Thereareabout30timesmorefishspeciesintheAmazonthaninallEuropeanrivers.

TheAmazonRivercontainsover3000rareaquaticspeciesincludingtwotypesofriverdolphins,thegiantotter,turtlesandalligators.

Duringtherainyseason,thepinkriverdolphinsmoveoutofthemainriverandintothefloodedforestwheretheycanbeseenswimmingandhuntingamongthetrees.

Jaguarsarethebiggestcatinthewesternhemisphereandareknowntobefar-ranging.Movementsof500mileshavebeenrecorded.Jaguarsrarelyattackhumans,infact,humanshavealongerhistoryhuntingjaguarsandthedemandfortheirfurhasledtoadramaticreductioninpopulation.

Thesloth'

svegetariandietmakesthemverysuccessfulspeciesintheforestandinmanyareastheyarethemostabundantlargermammal.

Causes

•Pastureranchingandinfrastructure

ItistheleadingcauseofthedeforestationinBrazil.Thereportshowsthat70%offormerlyforestedlandintheAmazon,and91%oflanddeforestedsince1970,isusedforlivestockpasture.ThemainreasonforthedevelopmentofpastureindustryisthattheincreasingmeatrequirementfromEuropeprovidegreatincentiveforrancherstoincreasethesizeoftheirpasturesothatitrequiresmorelandforcattleorotherlivestock.Thustheforestsarefacilitatedbythepasture.InordertodeveloptheinfrastructureforBrazil,manyhighspeedroadwhichcrosstherainforestsdestroyamassiveareaofrainforests.

•Hydraulicpowerutilizationandminingactivities

HydroelectricdamprojectsintheAmazonhavealsobeenresponsibleforfloodingsignificantareasoftheforest.InparticulartheBalbinadamfloodedapproximately2,400km²

（920squaremiles）ofrainforestoncompletionanditsreservoiritselfhasbeenresponsibleforcontributingtoglobalwarmingbyemitting23,750,000tonsofcarbondioxideand140,000tonsofmethaneinonlyitsfirstthreeyearsofoperation.Asarainforest,Amazonrainforestscontainsgreatnumbersofvariousmineralresources.Inordertogetthemineralresources.Humanslogtheforestswithouthesitationjustforminingactivities.ItcausethedeforestationinAmazonrainforests.

•Logging

ItisalsoasevereproblemfortheAmazon.ThelogginginBraziliseconomicalmotivated,theeconomicopportunitiesforregiontodevelop,peopleareluredtologthetrees.TheBraziliangovernmenthasdestroy800illegaloven.Theseovensareconsumedthattheymadeacontributiontologgingabout234000km2ofrainforest.Aloggedforestcontainssignificantlylessspecieswherenoselectivelogginghastakenplace.Aforestdisturbedbyselectiveloggingisalsosignificantlymorevulnerabletofire.

•Mining

MiningprocessesincludemanyenvironmentallydegradingactivitiesTheprocessofminingcausedthedeforestationintheAmazon,andthetoxicchemicalusedintheprocess,suchasmercury,seepintothelandsanddamagethesurroundinglandsandwildlife.

•Fire

Firesareeasilyoccurringintherainforestsduringthethree-monthburningseason.Smokewouldbeproducedandthatcouldaffectthevegetation’sphotosynthesis.Thousandsofsquarekilometersareburnedeveryyear.In1987duringafour-monthperiod（July-October）,about19,300squaremiles（50,000sq.km）ofBrazilianAmazonwereburned

•InfrastructureImprovements

RoadconstructionintheAmazonleadstodeforestation.Roadsprovideaccesstologgingandminingsiteswhileopeningforestfrontierlandtoexploitationbypoorlandlessfarmers.

Problems

•ErosionofSoil

Whenforestareasarecleared,itresultsinexposingthesoiltothesun,makingitverydryandeventually,infertile,duetovolatilenutrientssuchasN2beinglost.

Also,whenthereisrainfall,nutrientsarewashedaway,whichflowwiththerainwaterintoriversoroceans.Thelandwillbecomeuseless.

•DisruptionoftheWaterCycle

Treescontributeinalargewayinmaintainingthewatercycle.Theydrawupwaterbytheirroots,thenreleasedintoatmosphere.Lotsofwaterthatcirculatesintheecosystemofrainforests,forinstance,remainsinsidetheplants.Whenthesetreesarecutdownitresultsintheclimategettingdrierinthatarea.

•LossofBiodiversity

Theuniquebiodiversityofvariousgeographicalareasisbeinglostonascalethatisquiteunprecedented.Eventhoughtropicalrainforestsmakeupjust6percentofthesurfaceareaoftheEarth,about80-90percentoftheentirespeciesoftheworldexisthere.Duetomassivedeforestation,about50to100speciesofanimalsarebeinglosteachday.Theoutcomeofwhichistheextinctionofanimalsandplantsonamassivescale.

•FloodingandDrought

Oneofthevitalfunctionsofforestsistoabsorbandstoregreatamountsofwaterquicklywhenthereareheavyrains.Whenforestsarecutdown,thisregulationoftheflowofwaterisdisrupted,whichleadstoalternatingperiodsoffloodandthendroughtintheaffectedarea.

•ClimateChange

ItiswellknownthatglobalwarmingisbeingcausedlargelyduetoemissionsofgreenhousegaseslikeCO2intotheatmosphere.Whendeforestationoccurs,manyofthetreesareburntortheyareallowedtorot,whichresultsinreleasingtheCthatisstoredinthemasCO2.ThisdefinitelyleadstogreaterconcentrationsofCO2.

•Destroytheindigenouscultures

FortheindigenouspopulationtheAmazonrainforestisimportantbecauseitistheirhomeandtheircultureiscloselyrelatedtotheforest,riversandfauna.Ifwedestroytheforest,wealsodestroyalltheindigenouspeoplethatareleft.SomeofthetribesintheAmazonstillhavenothadcontactwithoutsideculturesyet.Canwedestroytheindigenouswayoflife?

Thepeoplehavebeenhappilylivingforthousandsofyears.Humanitywilllosetheirlanguage,art,tales,andalsotheirknowledge.

Solution

Expansionofprotectionareas

Thegovernmentshouldexpandareaswhereloggingandminingisbanned.Theseareasareonlyusedforindigenouspeopletoliveinorscientificexpedition.Inthiswaythevegetationandthebiodiversitytherecouldbewellprotected.

SustainableDevelopment

Thismeansrecyclingandplanttreesafterlogging.Wegetbenefitsfromtherainforest,anditisourdutytokeepitandthuspeoplecangetbenefitsfurther.

Usingtechniquestoincreaseproductivity

TheunproductivemethodsofagricultureusedbytheindigenouspeoplearethemaincauseofthedeforestationintheAmazon.Governmentshouldsendexpertstotheirfarmingareatoteachthemthenewtechniquestofarmtomaketheprocessmoreeffective.Thentherewouldbelessareaneededforagriculture.

Landpolicyreformandraisingthetaxes

Toremedythewastefuluseofland,lawmakersshouldconsiderlawsthatrestrictthesepractices.Ormaybelawmakerscouldenforcesomeoftheexistinglawslikethe1996lawthatforbadeAmazonlandownersfromcuttingmorethan20%oftheforestontheirland.Forwhateverreasonthelawson