Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon is a vast region that spans across eight rapidly developing countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, an overseas territory of France. The landscape contains:
One in ten known species on Earth
1.4 billion acres of dense forests, half of the planet 's remaining tropical forests
4,100 miles of winding rivers
2.6 million square miles in the Amazon basin, about 40 percent of South America
There is a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the health of the planet. The rain forests, which contain 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, help stabilize local and global climate. Deforestation may release significant amounts of this carbon, which could have catastrophic …show more content…
The economic transformation of the Amazon based on the conversion and degradation of its natural habitat is gaining rapidly. Yet, as those forces grow in strength, we are also finding that the Amazon plays a critical role in maintaining climate function regionally and globally, a contribution that everyone–rich or poor–depends on. The Amazon’s canopy cover helps regulate temperature and humidity, and is intricately linked to regional climate patterns through hydrological cycles that depend on the forests. Given the huge amount of carbon stored in the forests of the Amazon, there is tremendous potential to alter global climate if not properly maintained. The Amazon contains 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, the release of even a portion of which would accelerate global warming significantly. Currently, land conversion and deforestation in the Amazon release up to 0.5 billion metric tons of carbon per year, not including emissions from forest fires, thus rendering the Amazon an important factor in regulating global …show more content…
Temperatures usually average 27.9 °C during the dry season, and 25.8 °C during the rainy season. Relative humidity is quite high at an average of 88% in the rainy season and 77% in the dry season. Every year, the Amazon rainforest receives torrential rainfall - between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm. Where does all that water come from? Eastern trade winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean account for about half of the rainfall, with the other half due to evapotranspiration - the loss of water from the soil by evaporation and through transpiration from plants - in the Amazon River Basin. If evapotranspiration and its role in maintaining ecological balance are disrupted, the climate throughout region - and well beyond - will be significantly
One in ten known species on Earth
1.4 billion acres of dense forests, half of the planet 's remaining tropical forests
4,100 miles of winding rivers
2.6 million square miles in the Amazon basin, about 40 percent of South America
There is a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the health of the planet. The rain forests, which contain 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, help stabilize local and global climate. Deforestation may release significant amounts of this carbon, which could have catastrophic …show more content…
The economic transformation of the Amazon based on the conversion and degradation of its natural habitat is gaining rapidly. Yet, as those forces grow in strength, we are also finding that the Amazon plays a critical role in maintaining climate function regionally and globally, a contribution that everyone–rich or poor–depends on. The Amazon’s canopy cover helps regulate temperature and humidity, and is intricately linked to regional climate patterns through hydrological cycles that depend on the forests. Given the huge amount of carbon stored in the forests of the Amazon, there is tremendous potential to alter global climate if not properly maintained. The Amazon contains 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, the release of even a portion of which would accelerate global warming significantly. Currently, land conversion and deforestation in the Amazon release up to 0.5 billion metric tons of carbon per year, not including emissions from forest fires, thus rendering the Amazon an important factor in regulating global …show more content…
Temperatures usually average 27.9 °C during the dry season, and 25.8 °C during the rainy season. Relative humidity is quite high at an average of 88% in the rainy season and 77% in the dry season. Every year, the Amazon rainforest receives torrential rainfall - between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm. Where does all that water come from? Eastern trade winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean account for about half of the rainfall, with the other half due to evapotranspiration - the loss of water from the soil by evaporation and through transpiration from plants - in the Amazon River Basin. If evapotranspiration and its role in maintaining ecological balance are disrupted, the climate throughout region - and well beyond - will be significantly