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People and environments: the Amazon rainforest

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Tropical rainforests are the richest ecosystems on land. Human activity is changing them fast, with effects felt around the world.

The rainforest

Tropical rainforests grow near the Equator, where it is hot and wet all year.
The Amazon in South America is the largest tropical rainforest. About 60% of it is in Brazil.
The forest has layers: emergent trees, the canopy, the understory and the forest floor. It contains a huge variety of species: high biodiversity.

Causes of deforestation

Cattle ranching is the biggest cause of deforestation in the Amazon.
Other causes: growing crops such as soya, logging for timber, mining, building roads and hydroelectric dams, and settlements.
These bring jobs, food and export income to countries like Brazil.

Effects and solutions

Effects: loss of habitats and species; burning and decay release carbon dioxide, adding to climate change; soil is washed away; Indigenous peoples lose land and ways of life.
Solutions: protected areas and national parks; selective logging (felling only some trees); ecotourism; replanting; supporting Indigenous land rights; and international agreements and payments to keep forests standing.
Worked example

Why does deforestation in the Amazon matter to people in Britain?

  1. Trees store carbon; cutting and burning them releases carbon dioxide.
  2. This adds to global climate change, which affects Britain too, for example through extreme weather.
  3. Products bought in Britain, such as beef or soya-fed meat, can be linked to deforestation.

Answer: It adds to climate change, which affects everyone, and British consumers can be linked to its causes.

Key idea

The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest (about 60% in Brazil), with layers and high biodiversity. Causes of deforestation: cattle ranching (biggest), soya, logging, mining, roads and dams. Effects: species loss, carbon release, soil erosion, harm to Indigenous peoples. Solutions: protection, selective logging, ecotourism, replanting.

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