AMAZON
Tropical Rain Forest
Meet Jamaal
Meet
Toucan’s Sam
and Hedi
Background Information.
The amazon rainforest is very important because it
is one of the world’s greatest natural resources. Its
vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into
oxygen, it has about 20% of earth’s oxygen, hence
being called the “lungs of our Planet.”
The Amazon Rain Forest is located in Northern
south America, and is mostly in Brazil. Although it
does go through the five other countries, six
including Brazil. The Amazon Rain Forest is home
to many different plants thus making it a very
diverse place. There may be 40 to 100 different
species in 2.5 acres of a tropical rain forest.
Reforestation
The Curupira Reforestation Project, invested 42
million united states dollars in to the installation of
microchips (2.1 million of them) which would
stimulate the growth of the trees from outer space.
Th trees would grow by satellite imaging. Its
projected that in 20 years the project will produce
4.2 million cubic meter of timber.
[1]
By
Bartholomew
Ward Gallagher
Plant Life
Not counting the four layers(see below).
The shrubs and saplings layer receives about 3% of
the suns light that goes through the other 4 layers.
These trees are able to grow because they are
capable of a sudden and powerful growth when there
is just a little light. Beneath the lower canopy the air
is often humid. The trees give off water through
there stomata. The tree’s transpiration, can take
credit for half of the precipitation in the rain forest.
Animal Life
In a four square mile patch of the Amazon
rainforest contains around 1,500 flowering plants,
750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150
species of butterflies. The plants and animals in the
rainforest are used as resources to make medicines to
cure cancer. The natural habitats of these animals
are getting killed off every day. The logging of
trees does not only effect the trees. It effects the
animals that once inhabited that tree.
Threats To The Amazon Rain Forest

The main threat to the Amazon Rain Forest is that

ranchers are illegally logging the trees. They are also illegally
clearing out trees in order to create pastures and roads.
The deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest is
destroying a enormous amount of biological diversity waiting to
be found. Also destroying many valuable plants and animals
that are resources that are used to make medicines that treat
cancer.
The Tans-Amazonian was unsuccessful in meeting their
economic and social goals of preserving the rain forest. The
heights amount of sq. km of deforestation at almost 30000
began in 1995. Then decreased to less then 15000 sq. km. The
went back up to 25000 in 2003-2005. Lately, it has been the
lowest yet, at a little over 5000. (see graph to right)

Future Threats
According to the RAN (Rainforest Action
Network) more than an acre and a half is lost every
second of every day. If this rate of deforestation
continues, half of the remaining rain forests will be
gone by the year 2025. Then, there will be no rain
forest remaining by 2060. This is a concern because
the rain forest’s are the “Lungs of our Planet” (like
said earlier), and without lungs we will die.
Logging is a present and future threat
because it can get worse. Logging is a principal
cause in the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest.
In 2002, 10,000 square miles in the Amazon were
deforested due to logging.
Another problem, would be the Grazing of
cattle and live stock. The demand in the western
world is for cheap meat increases, more and more
rainforests are destroyed to provide grazing land for
animals. Cattle ranching is considered to be the
worst of all alternatives for the Amazon rain forest,
on the basis of its high potential for soil degradation.
The soil is being effected by the cattle and effects
the growth of plants and shrubs.
People Trying To Stop Danger
Some people taking action have been many
activist groups, like Greenpeace. Greenpeace has
dedicated their time and effort to preserve the
Amazon Rainforest. Greenpeace, with other
national campaigning organizations, have tried to
start a proposal to end the deforestation completely
by the year 2015.
Bibliography.
http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/
Amazon_Rainforest:_Outlook_for_the_Future
http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm
http://www.nature.org/rainforests/explore/threats.html
http://www.nature.org/rainforests/explore/facts.html
Photos from flicker.

[2]