Amazon forest

The Amazon forest is a wet Tropical forest located in the Amazonian Bassin in South America. The Amazonian basin extends on 7 million km ² and the forest itself on 4,2 million km ², located on 9 countries, primarily the Brésil (with 60% of the forest), but also the Ecuador, the Colombia, the Venezuela, the France ( via the department of the Guyana), the Suriname, the Guyana, the Bolivia and the Peru. This forest represents more half of the remaining tropical forests. The Amazon forest is the richest and diversified area of all the existing tropical forests.

Biodiversity

The wet tropical forest is the Biome which has most important specific Biodiversité, and the tropical forests of America have more species than the wet forests of Africa or Asia. Being the greatest area of wet tropical forest of America, the Amazon forest has an unequalled biodiversity.

The area shelters approximately 2,5 million species of insects, 10.000 of plants and 2.000 of birds and mammals. Currently, at least 40.000 species of Plant S, 3.000 Poisson S, 1.294 Bird X, 427 Mammalian S, 427 Amphibian S and 378 Reptile S were scientifically classified in the area. The scientists described between 96  660 and 128  843 species of Invertebrate S only with the Brazil.

The diversity of species of plants is most important on Earth. Certain experts estimate that one square kilometer could contain more 75  000 types of trees and 150  000 species of higher plants. One square kilometer of Amazon forest can contain 90  790 tons of alive plants. Currently, an estimate of 438  000 species of plants having an economic interest and social were indexed in the area, much more remainder with being discovered or were classified.

Deforestation

The Déforestation is the conversion of wooded areas into not-wooded zones. More of the fifth of the Amazon forest was already destroyed, and that which remainder is threatened. In the space of only ten years, the surface of forest lost in Amazonia reaches between 415  000 and 587  000 km ² - twice size of the Portugal - with the major part of lost forest becoming of the pastures for the bétail.1996, one reported that Amazonia is in increase of 34% compared to 1992. -->

In Brazil, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (National research institute space) produced every year of the figures on deforestation. Their estimate is based on 100 to 220 images taken during the dry season by the satellite Landsat, and considers only the loss of the biome of the Amazon forest - not the loss of natural space or Savane in the forest. According to the INPE, the biome of the Amazon forest, originally of 4  100  000 km ² in Brazil, were tiny room to 3  403  000 km ² in 2005, which represents a loss of 17,1%.

A new report/ratio of the Brazilian congressional committee said that the Amazonia disappears at the rate/rhythm from 52  000 square kilometers per annum. At this rate/rhythm the Amazon forest will have disappeared in 2050 .


Brittleness of the Amazon forest

As opposed to what much of people think, the grounds of Amazonia are relatively poor. The majority of the noneasily flooded Amazonian grounds ( will terra firm ) are not very fertile. However, they are strewn with pockets of good grounds ( will terra roxa )  : these grounds are anthrosols resulting from the human activity, and enriched by progressive accumulation by waste and ashes. These are the grounds which are cultivated nowadays. Indeed, it is partly because of this last action that the Amazon forest is now in danger.

The forest system is extremely sensitive to the least local change, such as dryness, Déforestation, opening of the Canopée. The latter result in the draining from the layers, the destruction of the Microorganisme S ensuring the renewal of the biogenic salts, the erosion of the ground, the scrubbing of the nutritive elements.

Development

Amazonia is not very favourable with the extensive agriculture. Nevertheless, it has the essential resources to nourish the Indians of Amazonia. An intensive agriculture seems possible : to see on this subject Terra lent .

The Amazonian grounds are used to increase surfaces of gigantic farms devoted to the extensive breeding of Bovin S. These farms are defended by pistoleros , kinds of private guards charged to protect the land and buildings. They are opposed in particular to movements like MST.

The research carried out after 1966 showed that its basement conceals many richnesses. In addition, Amazonia becomes the independent source of provisioning of industries of the Bois, because of the progressive exhaustion of the forests of Asia and Africa. Thus, the share of wood (on the level mondial ?) coming from Brazil it passed from 14% to 85% in two decades. Approximately 80% of cut wood are of illegal origin (trunks of too low diameter for example).

The exit of only one tree often requires the demolition of a great number of other trees, generally, the populations autochtones alive on these territories are decimated.

The highway network

Amazonia is crossed by many roads and highways which for the majority were built in an illegal way by the forest owners. These roads enable them to penetrate in the middle of the forest to reach the rare gasolines. This network covers a length of more than 170  000  km. It ensures the transport of wood and the loggers. But, this network also serves of land great landowners or the gangsters who adapt the grounds which skirt the roads while falsifying or while using of the Corruption. This act of appropriation names grilagem .

Only some transportation routes are official like:

  • the transamazonienne beam of is in west,
  • the BR-163 known as " highway of the soja" cut south of the Mato Grosso to the north of the Parà.

Ecosystems

  • Tropical forest of plain sempervirente: richest and the most diversified. Strong proportion of leguminous plants. Kinds represented: Bertholletia , Bombax , Calycophyllum , Carapa , Cedrela , Cordia , Couroupita , Dimorphandra , Eperua , Eschweilera , Ficus , Goupia , Hevea , Hura , Hymenaea , Hymenolobium , Inga , Manilkara , Ocotea , Parkia , Pithecellobium , Platymiscium , Pouteria , Pterocarpus , Stychnos , Swartzia , Swietenia , Ferruled , Vochysia , Vouacapoua . Palm trees: Attalea , Astronium , Mauritia .
  • seasonal Forest sempervirente: in the east and the North-West, where the rains are lower than 2  000 mm/an. The renewal of the sheets takes place during the dry season.
  • Forest of campina: forest sempervirente with foliage coriace (caatinga Amazonian). Trees from 20 to 30 m height of the kind Eperua , Micranda .
  • Forest of carrasco: weak vegetable, xerophilous, shrubby cover (7 to 8 m), develops on the white sand grounds covered with a thin layer of black humus.
  • Forest of Varzea
  • Forest of Igapo

See too

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