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Deforestation

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Climate 101: Deforestation | National Geographic

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The Amazon Rainforest is without a doubt one of the true wonders of the world.

There are amazing animals and creatures and so much to see that it would astound you. This is one big massive rainforest that's for sure.

Read on for cool facts about this awesome place.

What you need to know about the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is in South America and covers 5,438,975km² of land. That's seriously big. It travels across nine different countries. Isn't that amazing! Brazil has 60%, Peru has 13%, and Colombia has 10% while other countries have small parts of the rainforest in their borders.

It is the largest rainforest in the world. Not surprising when you think about how big it is. If it were a state, the Amazon Rainforest is so huge that it would have been the 9th biggest country as a whole. Wow!

The Amazon rainforest has been around for at least 55 million years. Whoa, that is one old rainforest we're talking about!

A lot of the species in the Amazon Rainforest you can't find anywhere else in the world! This is definitely the place to go exploring, to see what you can find. There are over 2.5 million species of insects, more than 40,000 different varieties of plants, 1,500 bird species, and over 2,000 fish species.

If you had to walk down on the floor of the rainforest you wouldn't be able to see all that much as it's seriously dark. Very little sunlight makes it down there as there is a massive big canopy of trees that cover the top of the rainforest. If it started raining, it would take 10 minutes for you to get wet!

Did you know that there are absolutely loads of medicines that we use today that have come from plants in the rainforest, and only 1% of these have been tested? That's amazing. With all those 40,000 species of plants, can you imagine how many more medicines and vaccines could be found to help people?

There are about 50 tribes that are native to the Amazon Rainforest that has never had any contact with the outside world at all! Wow, they would probably get a big shock if they ever had to come into contact with the modern world as we know it today.

In 1500 there were between 6 and 9 million Amazon natives. Today there are only an estimated 250,000 left. The Amazon natives speak about 170 different languages.

If you go exploring, keep a sharp lookout for some dangerous animals like anacondas, cougars, and jaguars! You don't want to be stalked by one of these, do you? But there's more, watch out for vampire bats and poisonous dart frogs too.

About 2.7 million acres of the rainforest are burnt each year, which is bad for everyone as forests and trees help to keep our air clean.

Interesting Facts about the Amazon Rainforest

This is the loudest creature in the Amazon rainforest. You can hear them from almost 1km away. Wow, that's a loud bird, don't think it would be cool to be too close it might hurt your ears!

The name 'Amazon' actually comes from a war between Francisco de Orellana, the first European to travel the length of the Amazon River, and a number of South American tribes. The tribeswomen and men fought together, so Orallana called them Amazons after the fierce female warriors from Greek mythology. Think he must have been pretty scared!

In the Amazon, it rains about every four days in a week...that's a lot of rain. It can add up to 10m a year. That is the same height as a three-story building! No wonder they call it a rainforest!

At different times of the year, the Amazon River can be 480km wide. That's more than the distance between New York City and Boston. Whoa!

The amount of water that flows from the Amazon River into the Atlantic every single day is enough water for all the people of New York City, for an astounding 9 years!

Did you know that this seriously long river doesn't have one bridge that crosses it? Wow!

The Amazon rainforest is more than half of the entire world's remaining rainforests.

The rainforest is home to 10% of the known species in the world. That's a lot for one area!

Scientists think that if climate change were to increase the world's temperature by only 3⁰C then 75% of the Amazon would be destroyed. No way, that's scary!

The Amazon Rainforest is also called the 'Lungs of the Planet'. Why? Well, amazingly it gives us more than 20% of the world's oxygen that we need.

The last 100 years have seen the rainforest being destroyed at about 1.5 acres per second. Yes, you read right, per second.

This is really sad, as all the forests continue to be cut down, 137 rainforest species are destroyed every single day! That is frightening. How many species will become extinct? Scientists think about 50,000 per year!

Everybody thinks that big corporations are coming in and cutting down the trees, but 60% to 80% of the reason that the forest is disappearing is due to cattle ranching. That's quite something.

This is very cool. A new river has been discovered and it's about the same length as the Amazon River. It is 6,000km long and between 200 to 400m wide, which is wider than the mouth of the Amazon River.

But where in the world is this river? Well, it's called the Rio Hamza, and it's underground, yep underground. Even though it's pretty wide, it's more like a big trickle than the flowing gush of the Amazon River. That's amazing.

The Amazon Rainforest is a very precious place on Earth, and we need to protect it to make sure it survives for years to come. Hope you enjoyed these facts and next time you have a Geography test, let's hope you get full marks, now that you know all there is to know!

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Amazon Rainforest Facts for Kids (Explained!)

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The Amazon Rainforest is without a doubt one of the true wonders of the world. There are amazing animals and creatures and so much to see that it would astound you. This is one big massive rainforest that's for sure. Read on for cool facts about this awesome place.

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What are the arguments for and against deforestation?

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Every year an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey is cut down and destroyed. The plants and animals that used to live in these forests either die or must find a new forest to call their home. Why are rainforests being destroyed?

Humans are the main cause of rainforest destruction. We are cutting down rainforests for many reasons, including:

wood for both timber and making fires;

agriculture for both small and large farms;

land for poor farmers who don't have anywhere else to live;

grazing land for cattle;

pulp for making paper;

road construction; and

extraction of minerals and energy.

Rainforests are also threatened by climate change, which is contributing to droughts in parts of the Amazon and Southeast Asia. Drought causes die-offs of trees and dries out leaf litter, increasing the risk of forest fires, which are often set by land developers, ranchers, plantation owners, speculators, and loggers.

In 2005, 2010, and 2015 the Amazon experienced the worst droughts ever recorded. Rivers dried up, isolating communities, and millions of acres burned. The smoke caused widespread health problems, interfered with transportation, and blocked the formation of rain clouds, while the burning contributed huge amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, worsening the effects of climate change.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has experienced several severe droughts in recent decades. The worst occurred in 1982-1983, 1997-1998, and 2015 when millions of acres of forest burned.

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Review questions

Why are reasons for deforestation?

How does climate change affect rainforests?

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Every year an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey is cut down and destroyed. The plants and animals that used to live in these forests either die or must find a new forest to call their home. Why are rainforests being destroyed? Humans are the main cause of rainforest destruction.

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Look carefully to find out why the rainforest is being cut down and what you can do to save it.

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Read here to find out about deforestation.

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Cleared peatland with rainforest in the background. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Social impacts:

1. Loss of culture (indigenous peoples subsistence living in the rainforest). People who live in the rainforest depend on the natural environment for food, shelter, materials for cooking, clothing, etc. If the forest is cut down or if their environment becomes polluted from oil extraction and mining, they are forced to move or risk starvation and sickness.

2. Displacement of people (loss of farmland, forest resources, etc).

3. Social conflicts and struggles over land and natural resources.

4. Conflicts over racial and ethnic rights.

5. Poisoning from oil and mining waste.

6. Economic uncertainty (price fluctuations and high interest rates on outstanding international loans with The World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

What can we do to STOP or at least lessen the amount of deforestation and conserve our own use of natural resources such as wood, oil and gas, electricity, minerals and elements, and water? Brainstorm...here's a start:

Always use both sides of paper when writing, drawing, photo-copying, faxing, etc.

Recycle paper, cans, glass, and plastic.

Read the newspaper on-line.

Buy paper products made from recycled paper: notebook paper, paper towels, toilet paper, books, etc.

Use pencils until they are stubs! Think of pencils as gold (you'll never lose them if you do).

Encourage your parents, relatives, and friends to buy furniture and wood that is Certified. That means the wood was legally cut-down.

If you buy a product and you notice they use wood chips to package it, write to the company and suggest they use another packaging material.

Trees get cut down for cattle to graze. Instead of eating meat, think of eating other sources of protein such as fish, soy, beans, whole-wheat, and nuts.

Buy organic fruits and vegetables. That means there are no insecticides or pesticides (poisonous chemicals) sprayed on the food. If these chemicals kill insects and pests that try and eat the vegetables, think about how harmful they can be to you and the environment.

Instead of buying gold or diamonds, which are mined and cause environmental damage, consider jewelry that is made from materials that are not mined...such as glass.

Encourage your parents, relatives, and friends to drive fuel efficient cars that get good gas mileage. Hybrid and bio-diesel cars get great mileage and use less or no gasoline.

Even better, whenever possible, walk, bike, carpool or use mass transit (bus or train).

Save electricity by turning off lights, t.v., radio, computer, etc when you are not using them.

Save water by NOT taking baths; instead take quick showers (turning off the water while you soap up) and then turning it back on to rinse quickly.

While washing your hands and brushing your teeth, turn off the water. You'll save gallons if you do.

When washing the dishes or your parent's car, turn off the water while washing it with soap. Rinse quickly after washing.

Hmmm, can you think of other ways to conserve wood, oil and gas, electricity, minerals and elements, and water, etc...? Brainstorm with your pen pal or a family member.

Okay, now show YOURSELF what you have LEARNED by answering the following questions:

What does deforestation mean? (Hint: The prefix de- means to remove or reduce).

2. Why does deforestation happen? For what purpose(s)?

3. The largest rainforest in the world is located in:

a.) The Philippines

b.) The Congo Basin in Central Africa

c.) Peru

d.) The Amazon Basin of South America

4. If 2 U.S. football fields are destroyed every second, how many football fields are destroyed in 5 seconds?

5. If 50,000 species become extinct every year, how many will become extinct in half a year?

6. T or F: Rainforests contain over half of all plant and animal species in the world?

7. Fill in the blank: One environmental consequence of deforestation is __________. This occurs when heavy rains wash nutrients from the soil.

8. Name two things you can do as a global citizen to decrease deforestation.

9. Biodiversity refers to:

a.) The loss of animals and plants

b.) A variety, or many different kinds of living things

c.) When animals lose their living space or habitat

d.) An increase in the earth's temperature

10. Fill in the blank: Indigenous people _______ in the rainforest. They depend on the forest for their food, clothing, medicine, cooking and building materials.

Deforestation photos taken by Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler

Deforestation for oil palm

Newly planted oil palm plantation

Smallholder deforestation

Peatlands destruction in Riau

Illegal sand and gold mining

Deforestation for oil palm

Illegal sand and gold mining

Deforestation for oil palm

Deforestation for oil palm

Illegal deforestation for palm oil

deforestation for oil palm

Sunset over a deforested area

Answers are located after the references (please don't look until you have completed all 10 questions).

Pen Pal Letter: Imagine you're in class and your teacher reads an article about a U.S. company which is deforesting a rainforest in Brazil. Your teacher encourages you and your classmates to write letters to the company. Using the information you have learned in this lesson, write your letter to convince the company to STOP the deforestation. Use the facts you have learned to support and provide evidence for your position. Write your letter in the Comments Section after this lesson. You and your Pen Pal will read each other's letters and provide positive feedback to each other.
References:
Kricher, J. (1997). A Neotropical Companion: An introduction to the animals, plants, & ecosystems of the New World Tropics. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Rainforest Action Network web-site: https://ran.org/info_center/factsheets/04b.html

NASA web-site: https://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftp_docs/Deforestation.pdf
Answers to questions:
1. Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations.

2. Logging, mining, oil and gas extraction, cattle ranching, agriculture, and International, National, and Local reasons.

3. d.) The Amazon Basin in South America

4. 2 U.S. football field= 1 second, then

? U.S. football fields= 5 seconds

You can set it up as a proportion: 2/1= n/5, n=10

5. 1/2 of 50,000 or 1/2 x 50,000 or 50,000/2= 25,000 species

6. True

7. erosion

8. Buy paper products made from recycled paper and become a vegetarian

9. b.) A variety, or many different kinds of living things

10. live
How did you do? I bet you did great!
Note: This integrated lesson is designed for 3rd grade students. The following California standards are addressed in this lesson:

Reading: Vocabulary and Concept Development (1.6): Use sentence and word context to find the meaning of unknown words.

Reading Comprehension: Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text (2.6): Extract appropriate and significant information from the text, including problems and solutions.

Writing applications: Write personal and formal letters , thank-you notes, and invitations (2.3): Show awareness of the knowledge and interests of the audience and establish a purpose and context.

Life Science: Students know when the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

Social Studies: Students understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives and the basic structure of the U.S. government (3.42): Discuss the importance of public virtue and the role of citizens, including how to participate in a classroom, in the community, and in civic life.

Algebra and Functions: Students select appropriate symbols, operations, and properties to represent, describe, simplify, and solve simple number relationships: (1.1): Represent relationships of quantities in the form of mathematical expressions, equations, or inequalities.

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Cleared peatland with rainforest in the background. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Social impacts: Loss of culture (indigenous peoples subsistence living in the rainforest). People who live in the rainforest depend on the natural environment for food, shelter, materials for cooking, clothing, etc.