亚马逊热带雨林

2024年2月7日发(作者：)

亚马逊热带雨林

亚马孙热带雨林 Amazon Rain Forest 位于南美洲的亚马孙盆地，占地700万平方公里。雨林横越了8个国家：巴西（占森林60%面积）、哥伦比亚、秘鲁、委内瑞拉、厄瓜多尔、玻利维亚、圭亚那及苏里南，占据了世界雨林面积的一半，森林面积的20%，是全球最大及物种最多的热带雨林。亚马孙雨林被人们称为“地球之肺”。

中文名称亚马孙热带雨林

外文名称Amazon Rain Forest

所属地区南美洲

地理位置亚马孙盆地

面 积700万平方公里

气候条件热带雨林气候

著名景点亚马孙河

绝对位置(10°N~10°S,73°W~40°W)

目录

1成因

2亚马孙河

3生态资源

4环境问题

▪ 森林砍伐

▪ 洪水泛滥

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▪ 气候转变

▪ 干旱影响

▪ 全球暖化

1成因

1.1. 位于赤道附近，终年受赤道低气压带控制，多降雨。

1.2 .亚马孙平原面朝大西洋的东侧有缺口，且北部是圭亚那高原，南部是巴西高原，西部是安第斯山脉，有利于来自大西洋的湿润气流深入内陆。

1.3. 南赤道暖流增温增湿。

1.4. 东南信风和东北信风从大西洋带来水汽

1.5.西侧受安第斯山脉的抬升，多地形雨。

2亚马孙河

位于南美洲，发源于安第斯山脉，虽然长度在世界上处于第二位，但其流量和流域面积是世界上最大的，居世界第一位。亚马孙河流域面积达到6915000平方公里，相当于南美洲总面积的40%，从北纬5度伸展到南纬20度，源头在安第斯山高原中，离太平洋只有很短的距离，经过秘鲁和巴西在赤道附近进入大西洋。

亚马孙河向大西洋排放的水量达到了每秒18万4千立方米，相当于全世界所有河流向海洋排放的淡水总量的五分之一，从亚马孙河口直到肉眼看不到海岸的地方，海洋中的水都不咸，150公里以外海水的含盐量都相当低，被人们称为淡水海。

亚马孙河主河道有1.5到12公里宽，从河口向内河有3700公里

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的航道，海船可以直接到达秘鲁的伊基托斯，小一点的船可以继续航行780公里到达阿库阿尔角，再小的船还可以继续上行。 流经秘鲁城市伊基托斯的亚马孙河的源头正式确定，是在秘鲁安第斯山区中一个海拔5597米叫奈瓦多〃米斯米的山峰中的一条小溪。距离秘鲁首都利马大约有160公里，在利马南部偏西，1971年第一次认定，直到2001年才正式确定，溪水先流入劳里喀恰湖，再进入阿普里马克河，阿普里马克河是乌卡亚利河的支流，再与马腊尼翁河汇合成亚马孙河主干流。

从马腊尼翁河的支流瓦利亚加河以下，河流就从安第斯山区进入冲积平原，从这里到秘鲁和巴西交界的雅瓦里河，大约有2400公里的距离，河岸低矮，两岸森林经常被水淹没，只是偶尔有几个小山包，亚马孙河已经进入了亚马孙热带雨林中了。

3生态资源

位于南美北部亚马孙河及其支流流域，为大热带雨林，面积6,000,000平方公里(2,300,000平方里)，覆盖巴西总面积40%。北抵圭亚那高原，西界安地斯山脉，南为巴西中央高原，东临大西洋。

亚马孙河流域为世界最大流域，其雨林由东面的大西洋沿岸(林宽320公里„200哩‟)延伸到低地与安地斯山脉山麓丘陵相接处，形成一条林带，逐渐拓宽至1,900公里(1,200哩)。雨林异常宽广，而且连绵不断，反映出该地气候特点：多雨、潮湿及普遍高温。

亚马孙热带雨林蕴藏着世界最丰富最多样的生物资源，昆虫、植物、鸟类及其他生物种类多达数百万种，其中许多科学上至今尚无记

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载。在繁茂的植物中有各类树种，包括香桃木、月桂类、棕榈、金合欢、黄檀木、巴西果及橡胶树。桃花心木与亚马逊雪松可作优质木材。主要野生动物有美洲虎、海牛、貘、红鹿、水豚和许多齧齿动物，亦有多种猴类，有“世界动植物王国”之称，也因为面积占全球雨林的一半，所以被称为“地球之肺”。

这个雨林的生物多样化相当出色，聚集了250万种昆虫，上万种植物和大约2千种鸟类和哺乳动物，生活着全世界鸟类总数的五分之一。有的专家估计每平方公里内大约有超过75000种的树木，15万种高等植物，包括有9万吨的植物生物量。 科学家指出，单单在巴西已约有96,660至128,843种无脊椎动物。亚马孙雨林的植物品种是全球最多种性的，有专家估计，1平方千米可能含有超过75,000种树及150,000高级植物，1平方千米可含有90,790公吨存活的植物。亚马孙雨林是全世界最大的动物及植物生境。全世界五分之一的雀鸟都居住于亚马孙雨林。现时，大约有438,000种有经济及社会利益的植物发现于亚马孙雨林，还有更多的有待发现及分类。亚马逊也是赤叉尾蜂鸟的栖息地。

4环境问题

20世纪，巴西迅速增长的人口定居在亚马孙热带雨林的各主要地区。居民伐林取木或开辟牧场及农田，致使雨林急遽减少。90年代，巴西政府及各国际组织开始致力保护部分雨林免遭人们侵占、开辟和毁坏。

亚马孙热带雨林作为世界上最大的雨林，具有相当重要的生态学

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意义，它的生物量足以吸收大量的二氧化碳，保护亚马孙热带雨林已经成为一个重要的论题了，亚马孙热带雨林依靠亚马孙河流域非常湿润的气候，亚马孙河和她的100多个支流缓慢地流过这片高差非常小的平原，河岸旁的巴西城市马瑙斯距离大西洋有1600公里，但海拔只有44米。

一些环境学家提出保育雨林不单只有生物学上的动机，亦有其经济动机。若以可持续方式耕作水果、橡胶及木材，每1公顷的秘鲁亚马孙雨林价值约US$6820；若以非持续性方式耕作商业木材，则值约US$1000；若将林地改作牧草场，则只值US$148，但这个假设被广泛地质疑。

巴西空军一直以来利用巴西航空工业公司（Embraer）R-99监察机监测亚马孙雨林，此为SIVAM计划的一部份。于2004年7月的一个会议上，科学警告雨林将不能够维持以往每年吸收以百万吨计的温室气体，原因是雨林遭破坏的速度正在加剧。单单于2003年，已有9,169平方英里的雨林被砍伐了。

单单在巴西，超过90个原住民部族于1900年代被殖民主义者摧毁，数百年来累积对雨林物种医学价值的知识亦随之散失。由于领土持续被森林砍伐破坏及生态灭绝，例如秘鲁亚马孙，本土的部族不断地消失。

亚马孙河季节性的降雨使亚马孙河和其支流经常泛滥，在雨季河道平均深达40米，宽展到平均38公里，从11月份开始涨水，直到第二年6月份，然后回落到10月份。其支流内格罗河水的涨落和干

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流还不在同一时间，雨季是从2月或3月开始，涨到6月开始和主干流一起回落。另一个支流马代腊河的涨落要比主流提前两个月。

在雨季里，亚马孙河淹没了几十万平方公里，洪水深度在有些地方比旱季水位最低时高出12到15米，在伊基托斯附近高出6米；在泰弗附近是15米；在奥比多斯附近是11米，在帕腊河是4米。

气候转变

有证据显示亚马孙雨林的植被在过去21,0000年，经历末次盛冰期（last glacial maximum，简称LGM）及冰蚀期（deglaciation），出现了重大的变化。

分析过亚马孙盘地古湖（paleolake）及冲积扇中的沉淀物，显示出盘地在末次盛冰期的降雨量比现时的为少，这几乎可以肯定是因为盘地潮湿的热带植被减少所造成。对于当时植被减少的广泛程度，科学家有不同的争论。有科学家认为雨林萎缩至细小及分离的物种遗区（refugium），被空旷的森林及草原分隔着；有科学则认为雨林依然完整，只是北部、东部及南部没有伸延至如现时的这么远。这个争论实难以解决，原因是雨林研究工作实际上的限制，意味着数据取样可能与中央的亚马孙盘地出现偏差。以上两个的见解，都有合理的数据支持。电脑模拟预测未来因温室气体排放所造成的气候变化，显示在降雨量严重减少及温度上升的情况下，亚马孙雨林可能无法维持，导致盘地上的雨林于2100年后几乎完全消失。但是，不同的亚马孙盘地气候模型得出不同的降雨量估计结果，由轻微上升至严重下跌的结果都有。结果指示出雨林在21世纪可能受到气候转变及去森林化

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的危害。

干旱影响

2005年，亚马孙经历100年来最严重的干旱，正踏入连续第二年干旱。2006年7月23日，英国《独立报》网站报道，林洞研究中心（Woods Hole Research Center）总结指出，由于大量砍伐森林，导致亚马孙干旱，迅速将整个地区推向一个“引爆点”（原文："tipping

point"），届时雨林将无可挽回地开始死亡。森林已站在沙漠化的边缘，将对全球气候带来灾难性影响，世界可能灭亡。

全球暖化

环境学家所忧虑到的不单是森林遭破坏后对生物多样性的损害，更忧虑到森林遭破坏后植物所释出的碳元素可能会加速全球暖化。

亚马孙雨林的常绿森林占全球陆地主要碳元素产量的10%及生态系统碳元素储存量的10% — 约为1.1 x 1011公吨碳元素。于1975年至1996年间，亚马孙雨林的每1公顷面积每1年估计积存达 0.62 ±

0.37 吨碳元素。因火灾而对亚马孙雨林造成的去森林化，使巴西成为其中一个温室气体排放量最高的地方之一。巴西每年排放约3亿公吨二氧化碳，当中2亿来自砍伐及焚烧亚马孙雨林。

Amazon rainforest

Amazon Manaus

Amazon rainforest, near Manaus, Brazil.

Countries Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador,

Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, France (French Guiana)

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Part of South America

River Amazon River

Area 5,500,000 km2 (2,123,562 sq mi)

Map of the Amazon rainforest ecoregions as delineated by the

WWF. Yellow line approximately encloses the Amazon drainage

basin. National boundaries shown in black. Satellite image

from NASA.

The Amazon rainforest (Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or

Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica, Amazonía or usually

Amazonia; French: Forêt amazonienne; Dutch: Amazoneregenwoud),

also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a

moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin

of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 square

kilometres (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 square

kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest.

This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The

majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60%

of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with

10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia,

Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. States or departments in

four nations contain "Amazonas" in their names. The Amazon

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represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests,

and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical

rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion

individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

Contents [hide]

1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Natural

2.2 Human activity

3 Biodiversity

4 Deforestation

5 Conservation and climate change

5.1 Remote sensing

5.2 Impact of early 21st century Amazon droughts

6 See also

7 References

8 Further reading

9 External links

Etymology

The name 'Amazon' is said to arise from a war Francisco de

Orellana fought with a tribe of Tapuyas and other tribes from

South America. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men,

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as was the custom among the entire tribe.[2] Orellana derived

the name Amazonas from the mythical Amazons of Asia described

by Herodotus and Diodorus in Greek legends.[2]

History

See also: History of South America § Amazon

Natural

The rainforest likely formed during the Eocene era. It appeared

following a global reduction of tropical temperatures when the

Atlantic Ocean had widened sufficiently to provide a warm,

moist climate to the Amazon basin. The rainforest has been in

existence for at least 55 million years, and most of the region

remained free of savanna-type biomes at least until the current

ice age, when the climate was drier and savanna more

widespread.[3][4]

Following the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the

extinction of the dinosaurs and the wetter climate may have

allowed the tropical rainforest to spread out across the

continent. From 66–34 Mya, the rainforest extended as far south

as 45°. Climate fluctuations during the last 34 million years

have allowed savanna regions to expand into the tropics. During

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the Oligocene, for example, the rainforest spanned a

relatively narrow band that lay mostly above latitude 15°N. It

expanded again during the Middle Miocene, then retracted to

a mostly inland formation at the last glacial maximum.[5]

However, the rainforest still managed to thrive during these

glacial periods, allowing for the survival and evolution of

a broad diversity of species.

During the mid-Eocene, it is believed that the drainage basin

of the Amazon was split along the middle of the continent by

the Purus Arch. Water on the eastern side flowed toward the

Atlantic, while to the west water flowed toward the Pacific

across the Amazonas Basin. As the Andes Mountains rose, however,

a large basin was created that enclosed a lake; now known as

the Solimões Basin. Within the last 5–10 million years, this

accumulating water broke through the Purus Arch, joining the

easterly flow toward the Atlantic.[7][8]

There is evidence that there have been significant changes in

Amazon rainforest vegetation over the last 21,000 years

through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent

deglaciation. Analyses of sediment deposits from Amazon basin

paleolakes and from the Amazon Fan indicate that rainfall in

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the basin during the LGM was lower than for the present, and

this was almost certainly associated with reduced moist

tropical vegetation cover in the basin.[9] There is debate,

however, over how extensive this reduction was. Some

scientists argue that the rainforest was reduced to small,

isolated refugia separated by open forest and grassland;[10]

other scientists argue that the rainforest remained largely

intact but extended less far to the north, south, and east than

is seen today.[11] This debate has proved difficult to resolve

because the practical limitations of working in the rainforest

mean that data sampling is biased away from the center of the

Amazon basin, and both explanations are reasonably well

supported by the available data.

More than half of the dust needed for fertilizing the Amazon

rainforest is provided by the Bodélé depression in Sahara. Up

to 50 million tonnes per year are windblown across the Atlantic

Ocean.

Human activity

Based on archaeological evidence from an excavation at Caverna

da Pedra Pintada, human inhabitants first settled in the Amazon

region at least 11,200 years ago. Subsequent development led

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to late-prehistoric settlements along the periphery of the

forest by AD 1250, which induced alterations in the forest

cover.

For a long time, it was thought that the Amazon rainforest was

only ever sparsely populated, as it was impossible to sustain

a large population through agriculture given the poor soil.

Archeologist Betty Meggers was a prominent proponent of this

idea, as described in her book Amazonia: Man and Culture in

a Counterfeit Paradise. She claimed that a population density

of 0.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (0.52/sq mi) is the

maximum that can be sustained in the rainforest through hunting,

with agriculture needed to host a larger population.[16]

However, recent anthropological findings have suggested that

the region was actually densely populated. Some 5 million

people may have lived in the Amazon region in AD 1500, divided

between dense coastal settlements, such as that at Marajó, and

inland dwellers. By 1900 the population had fallen to 1 million

and by the early 1980s it was less than 200,000.

The first European to travel the length of the Amazon River

was Francisco de Orellana in 1542. The BBC's Unnatural

Histories presents evidence that Orellana, rather than

exaggerating his claims as previously thought, was correct in

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his observations that a complex civilization was flourishing

along the Amazon in the 1540s. It is believed that the

civilization was later devastated by the spread of diseases

from Europe, such as smallpox. Since the 1970s, numerous

geoglyphs have been discovered on deforested land dating

between AD 0–1250, furthering claims about Pre-Columbian

civilizations. Ondemar Dias is accredited with first

discovering the geoglyphs in 1977 and Alceu Ranzi with

furthering their discovery after flying over Acre. The BBC's

Unnatural Histories presented evidence that the Amazon

rainforest, rather than being a pristine wilderness, has been

shaped by man for at least 11,000 years through practices such

as forest gardening and terra preta.

Terra preta (black earth), which is distributed over large

areas in the Amazon forest, is now widely accepted as a product

of indigenous soil management. The development of this fertile

soil allowed agriculture and silviculture in the previously

hostile environment; meaning that large portions of the Amazon

rainforest are probably the result of centuries of human

management, rather than naturally occurring as has previously

been supposed. In the region of the Xingu tribe, remains of

some of these large settlements in the middle of the Amazon

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forest were found in 2003 by Michael Heckenberger and

colleagues of the University of Florida. Among those were

evidence of roads, bridges and large plazas.

Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and

tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species

rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia. As the largest

tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian

rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity. One in ten known

species in the world lives in the Amazon rainforest. This

constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal

species in the world.

The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens

of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To

date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds,

427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been

scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all

the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the

Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian

rivers and streams. Scientists have described between 96,660

and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone.

The biodiversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with

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one 2001 study finding a quarter square kilometer (62 acres)

of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree

species.[31] A study in 1999 found one square kilometer (247

acres) of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,790 tonnes

of living plants. The average plant biomass is estimated at

356 ± 47 tonnes per hectare. To date, an estimated 438,000

species of plants of economic and social interest have been

registered in the region with many more remaining to be

discovered or catalogued. The total number of tree species in

the region is estimated at 16,000.

The green leaf area of plants and trees in the rainforest varies

by about 25% as a result of seasonal changes. Leaves expand

during the dry season when sunlight is at a maximum, then

undergo abscission in the cloudy wet season. These changes

provide a balance of carbon between photosynthesis and

respiration.

The rainforest contains several species that can pose a hazard.

Among the largest predatory creatures are the black caiman,

jaguar, cougar, and anaconda. In the river, electric eels can

produce an electric shock that can stun or kill, while piranha

are known to bite and injure humans. Various species of poison

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dart frogs secrete lipophilic alkaloid toxins through their

flesh. There are also numerous parasites and disease vectors.

Vampire bats dwell in the rainforest and can spread the rabies

virus. Malaria, yellow fever and Dengue fever can also be

contracted in the Amazon region.

Deforestation

Main articles: Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest and

Trans-Amazonian highway

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to

non-forested areas. The main sources of deforestation in the

Amazon are human settlement and development of the land. Prior

to the early 1960s, access to the forest's interior was highly

restricted, and the forest remained basically intact. Farms

established during the 1960s were based on crop cultivation

and the slash and burn method. However, the colonists were

unable to manage their fields and the crops because of the loss

of soil fertility and weed invasion.[39] The soils in the

Amazon are productive for just a short period of time, so

farmers are constantly moving to new areas and clearing more

land. These farming practices led to deforestation and caused

extensive environmental damage. Deforestation is considerable,

and areas cleared of forest are visible to the naked eye from

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outer space.

In the 1970s construction began on the Trans-Amazonian highway.

This highway represented a major threat to the Amazon

rainforest. Fortunately for the rainforest, the highway has

not been completed, hereby reducing the environmental damage.

Between 1991 and 2000, the total area of forest lost in the

Amazon rose from 415,000 to 587,000 square kilometres (160,000

to 227,000 sq mi), with most of the lost forest becoming pasture

for cattle. Seventy percent of formerly forested land in the

Amazon, and 91% of land deforested since 1970, is used for

livestock pasture. Currently, Brazil is the second-largest

global producer of soybeans after the United States. New

research however, conducted by Leydimere Oliveira et al., has

shown that the more rainforest is logged in the Amazon, the

less precipitation reaches the area and so the lower the yield

per hectare becomes. So despite the popular perception, there

has been no economical advantage for Brazil from logging

rainforest zones and converting these to pastoral fields.

The needs of soy farmers have been used to justify many of the

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controversial transportation projects that are currently

developing in the Amazon. The first two highways successfully

opened up the rainforest and led to increased settlement and

deforestation. The mean annual deforestation rate from 2000

to 2005 (22,392 km2 or 8,646 sq mi per year) was 18% higher

than in the previous five years (19,018 km2 or 7,343 sq mi per

year). Deforestation has declined significantly in the

Brazilian Amazon since 2004.

Conservation and climate change

See also: Gaviotas

Environmentalists are concerned about loss of biodiversity

that will result from destruction of the forest, and also about

the release of the carbon contained within the vegetation,

which could accelerate global warming. Amazonian evergreen

forests account for about 10% of the world's terrestrial

primary productivity and 10% of the carbon stores in ecosystems

—of the order of 1.1 × 1011 metric tonnes of carbon.

Amazonian forests are estimated to have accumulated 0.62 ± 0.37

tons of carbon per hectare per year between 1975 and 1996.

One computer model of future climate change caused by

greenhouse gas emissions shows that the Amazon rainforest

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could become unsustainable under conditions of severely

reduced rainfall and increased temperatures, leading to an

almost complete loss of rainforest cover in the basin by 2100.

However, simulations of Amazon basin climate change across

many different models are not consistent in their estimation

of any rainfall response, ranging from weak increases to strong

decreases. The result indicates that the rainforest could be

threatened though the 21st century by climate change in

addition to deforestation.

In 1989, environmentalist C.M. Peters and two colleagues

stated there is economic as well as biological incentive to

protecting the rainforest. One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon

has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if intact forest

is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1000

if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested);

or $148 if used as cattle pasture.

As indigenous territories continue to be destroyed by

deforestation and ecocide, such as in the Peruvian Amazon[54]

indigenous peoples' rainforest communities continue to

disappear, while others, like the Urarina continue to struggle

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to fight for their cultural survival and the fate of their

forested territories. Meanwhile, the relationship between

non-human primates in the subsistence and symbolism of

indigenous lowland South American peoples has gained increased

attention, as has ethno-biology and community-based

conservation efforts.

From 2002 to 2006, the conserved land in the Amazon rainforest

has almost tripled and deforestation rates have dropped up to

60%. About 1,000,000 square kilometres (250,000,000 acres)

have been put onto some sort of conservation, which adds up

to a current amount of 1,730,000 square kilometres

(430,000,000 acres).

A 2009 study found that a 4 °C rise in global temperatures by

2100 would kill 85% of the Amazon rainforest while a

temperature rise of 3 °C would kill some 75% of the Amazon.

Remote sensing

The use of remotely sensed data is dramatically improving

conservationists' knowledge of the Amazon Basin. Given the

objectivity and lowered costs of satellite-based land cover

analysis, it appears likely that remote sensing technology

will be an integral part of assessing the extent and damage

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of deforestation in the basin. Furthermore, remote sensing

is the best and perhaps only possible way to study the Amazon

on a large-scale.

The use of remote sensing for the conservation of the Amazon

is also being used by the indigenous tribes of the basin to

protect their tribal lands from commercial interests. Using

handheld GPS devices and programs like Google Earth, members

of the Trio Tribe, who live in the rainforests of southern

Suriname, map out their ancestral lands to help strengthen

their territorial claims. Currently, most tribes in the

Amazon do not have clearly defined boundaries, making it easier

for commercial ventures to target their territories.

To accurately map the Amazon's biomass and subsequent carbon

related emissions, the classification of tree growth stages

within different parts of the forest is crucial. In 2006

Tatiana Kuplich organized the trees of the Amazon into four

categories: (1) mature forest, (2) regenerating forest [less

than three years], (3) regenerating forest [between three and

five years of regrowth], and (4) regenerating forest [eleven

to eighteen years of continued development]. The researcher

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used a combination of Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and

Thematic Mapper (TM) to accurately place the different

portions of the Amazon into one of the four classifications.

Impact of early 21st century Amazon droughts

In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst

drought in one hundred years, and there were indications that

2006 could have been a second successive year of drought. A

July 23, 2006 article in the UK newspaper The Independent

reported Woods Hole Research Center results showing that the

forest in its present form could survive only three years of

drought. Scientists at the Brazilian National Institute of

Amazonian Research argue in the article that this drought

response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on

regional climate, are pushing the rainforest towards a

"tipping point" where it would irreversibly start to die. It

concludes that the forest is on the brink of being turned into

savanna or desert, with catastrophic consequences for the

world's climate.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the combination

of climate change and deforestation increases the drying

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effect of dead trees that fuels forest fires.

In 2010 the Amazon rainforest experienced another severe

drought, in some ways more extreme than the 2005 drought. The

affected region was approximate 1,160,000 square miles

(3,000,000 km2) of rainforest, compared to 734,000 square

miles (1,900,000 km2) in 2005. The 2010 drought had three

epicenters where vegetation died off, whereas in 2005 the

drought was focused on the southwestern part. The findings were

published in the journal Science. In a typical year the Amazon

absorbs 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide; during 2005 instead

5 gigatons were released and in 2010 8 gigatons were released.

See also

Amanyé

Amazon Conservation Team (ACT)

Amazonian Manatee

Amazon Watch

Atlantic Forest

Brazilian Amazon

Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River

Basin (COICA)

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Peruvian Amazon

Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Foundation Fund

List of plants of Amazon Rainforest vegetation of Brazil

Amazon Surveillance System (Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia)

Bandeirantes

Save the Amazon Rainforest Organisation (STARO)

Tapiche Ohara's Reserve

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