Saving Amazon Rainforest

By: Tyler L, Mateo E, Nico H

Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest is one the most important and interesting ecosystems in the
world. It is the most biodiverse place in the world, with one in ten of the worlds
species living there. Additionally, it produces 20% of the worlds oxygen and it plays
a large role in matter and energy cycles in South America.

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Threats to Rainforest
● The greatest threat Amazon Rainforest is deforestation
● Deforestation is the cutting down of trees in a large area, that maybe converted
to human use
● Driven by industrial, agricultural, and infrastructure projects.
● Deforestation destroys the producers of the amazon, which disrupts the
ecosystem and matter cycles
● It also decreases the carrying capacity

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Carrying Capacity
● Carrying capacity is the amount of organisms an ecosystem can hold
● The Amazon has a limited amount of space and resources that organisms can
use
● The carrying capacity depends on abiotic factors to supply needed resources
so species can survive
● Additionally, it depends on biotic factors to maintain population and recycle
matter so it can be reused

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Biotic and Abiotic Factors
● Biotic factors
○ Producers - provide shelters and food
○ Decomposers - recycles dead organisms matter so it can be reused
○ Pollinators - spreads pollen so plants can reproducers
○ Consumers - control the population of species
● Abiotic factors
○ Water - make up organisms habits and effects growth of organisms
○ Air - needed for photosynthesis and cellular respiration
○ Soil - effects tree growth
○ Sunlight - needed photosynthesis

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Photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis is the process plants use which absorbs sunlight to create
glucose so they can grow.
- Stages: Light Dependent and Light Independent Reaction/Calvin Cycle
- Formula: 6CO2 + 12H2O + Light Energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
- In the Amazon, photosynthesis plays a large role in the ecosystem. The
estimated 350 billion trees in the amazon all work to create energy for
themselves and release oxygen.

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Cellular Respiration
- Cellular respiration breaks down glucose and oxygen to make ATP
- ATP from this process is used by cells so they can perform their tasks
- Formula:C6H12O6 + 6O2 ----> 6CO2 + 6H2O + ~38 ATP
- Steps: Glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and the Electron Transport Chain

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Trophic Level

- A trophic level is a position in an ecological pyramid that is occupied by a

group of organisms that serve the same function in the food chain.
- Every ecosystem consists of producers and consumers, the producers being at
the bottom of an ecological pyramid and the consumers split into different
trophic levels depending on their food and their function.
- Example:

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Carbon Cycles
● The Carbon cycle is the process where CO2
travels from the atmosphere to organisms then
back to the atmosphere.
● Plants take CO2 from the air and use it to make
food
● Animals then eat the plants and either store it in
their bodies or release it through respiration.

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Water Cycle
● Water makes up 70% of the earth's surface
and exists in all organisms
● The water cycle is the process where water
is circulated through bodys of water,
atmosphere, and land
● The stages of the cycle; evaporation,
condensation, precipitation, and surface
runoff
● Importance: purification, supports plants
and animals life, and disturbs water to
ecosystems.
Nitrogen Cycle
- Nitrogen is the most abundant element in the atmosphere
- Used by cells as the building block of proteins and nucleic acids, like
DNA.
- To be used in cells however, it has to go through the nitrogen cycle to
make the N2 into useable forms such as ammonia or nitrates
- Parts of the Cycle: Nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, and
dentrification
- One single organism does not go through all these parts of the cycle,
it usually goes through only one depending on how much nitrogen it
needs and the type of nitrogen molecules it can use.

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Species Survivability
● Deforestation has changed species survivability because it gets rid of the
much need habitat for the species meaning that they are more likely to go
extinct.
● It has also affected the water cycle creating massive floods and dryer soil
which in turn kills the species of the amazon.

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Human Dependence
- All the vegetation in the Amazon serves as a carbon sink, taking in billions of
metric tons of CO2 every year.
- With all the CO2 being absorbed, it produces around 20% of the oxygen in the
world.
- Humans depend on it to keep the flow of oxygen going and to somewhat
prevent climate change from getting any worse.

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Current Solutions
● Political movements pushing for laws
against deforestation and spreading
awareness
● Protected areas have been increased to
about half of the whole rainforest
● Laws against deforestation are enforced
through satellites monitoring and law
enforcement on the ground
● Companies cooperating due to political
pressure and negative publicity
New Solutions
● More areas should become natural parks and protected areas.
● Use technology to increase productivity in agricultural areas, so less land is
needed.
● Trees can also be replanted were deforestation has occurred so the Amazon
can recover.
● These solutions would allow plants life and species population to return and
stop species extinction in the amazon.
Raising Awareness
Instagram: @save.the.amazon

Website: https://savetheamazon2019.weebly.com/
Work Citied
https://sciencing.com/deforestation-effects-ecosystems-8845.html

https://www.aquaexpeditions.com/blog/wildlife/endangered-animals-amazon/