Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
- Amazon forests are 50% of the world’s rainforest, Known as lungs of the world, these forests sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide
- High species diversity (1% area and more than 10% of global species diversity)
- Supports 30 million population
- The Amazon has a long history of human settlement, but in recent decades the pace of change has accelerated due to an increase in the human population, the introduction of mechanized agriculture, and integration of the Amazon region into the global economy.
- Conversion for cattle grazing, Industrial agricultural production and Logging are primary reasons for destruction.
- Mining, subsistence agriculture, dams, urban expansion, agricultural fires, and timber plantations also result in significant forest loss in the Amazon.
- Deforestation isn't the only reason the Amazon is changing. Global climate change is having major impacts on the Amazon rainforest.
- Higher temperatures in the tropical Atlantic reduce rainfall across large extents of the Amazon, causing drought and increasing the susceptibility of the rainforest to fire.
- Computer models suggest that if current rates of warming continue, much of the Amazon could transition from rainforest to savanna.
Published date : 06 Nov 2020 05:16PM
