Chapter 4.5: The Amazon Rain Forests
The Amazon’s tropical rainforest has been called the “lungs of the world.” In addition to providing habitat for an amazing array of plants and animals, the rainforest is so immense that it has an important influence on the region’s weather as well as the global climate. Because of this influence, the condition of the Amazon is directly linked to the health of the planet. Unfortunately, this rainforest has been disappearing, and it continues to be threatened by a wide variety of human activities.
Before beginning this case study, review the following background on the Amazon rainforest.
Background Materials:
http://theamazonrainforest.org/: good overview of the rainforest and its plant and animal species
http://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/ecoregions: ecoregions and ecology from the forest atlas
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/rainforest_ecology.html: geography and climate
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/: a look at the history and the issues facing the rain- forest
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/deforestation.php: NASA summary of historical deforestation
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/amazon-rainforest/: Greenpeace’s conservation efforts
Textbook References and Links:
Exercise 1: see references above
Exercise 5: Mishra article on smoke and fire in the Amazon: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231015002216
Exercise 6: FIRMS web mapper: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/firemap/
Exercise 8: Helpful links to get you started: http://www.economist.com/node/616834 and
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_conservation.html
Downloadable data and files:
Exercise 5: Mishra 2015.pdf
