water cycle case study

Question 1

why are the deforestation issues in Amazonia occuring for

Answer 1

• over 20% of the forest has been destroyed, at an accelerating rate in the last 50 years due to:
  1. by combination of cattle ranching
  2. large scale commercial agriculture for biofuels and soya beans
  3. general development of towns and roads and legal and illegal logging

Question 2

how does deforestation issues in Amazonia cause environmental issues (2)

Answer 2

• it contains 60% of the world’s rainforest, it has large environmental impact by removing co2 so having less co2 which adds to the global greenhouse gas emissions as there is less trees
• El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) can lead to significant occurance of droughts= exacerbating forest fires + further destruction

Question 3

How does deforestation of the Amazonia impact the water cycle (4)

Answer 3

• in forest environment 75% of intercepted water is returned by EVT to atmosphere which reduces to around 25% when forest is cleared
• the drier the climate can lead to desiccation + further rainforest degradation
• the destruction of it causes more water run off into the Amazon drainage system exacerbating the possibility of severe flooding and mudslides, also leads to aquifer depletion, as less water infiltrates to recharge them
• overland flow increases the amount of soil erosion and degradation as nutrients are washed away