The Amazon Rainforest covering much of North Western Brazil and extending into Columbia, Peru and other South American countries, is the world's largest tropical rainforest, famed for it's biodiversity.
Supporting a huge number of plants and animals and hugely important to our own survival.
What's interesting about Amazon Rainforest:-
- AmazonTropical Rainforest only cover about 6% of the Earth's surface , but they are home to more than half the world's total plants and animals.
- Around 80% of the food we eat originally came from rainforests like coffee, chocolate, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, black pepper, pine apples and corn etc.
- The Amazon forest floor is almost completely dark with the less than 1% of the available sunlight making it through the tree canopy above.
- There are around 3000 fruits found in rainforest and in the west we make use of around 200 of them. However indigenous tribes make use of over 2000.
- We often think that the soil in the rainforest is really fertile to support such a huge range of plant and animal life , but rainforest land is not really any good for farming.
- Some people call the Amazon Rainforest " The World's Lungs" , but decomposition of plant matter absorbs as much as oxygen as the trees produce.
- The Amazon Rainforest absorb a huge amount of heat from the Sun, about 30% of our carbon emission come from one thing-- burning the rainforest.
- If deforestation continues, we'll completely lose the rainforest within the next 40 years.
- The 1/4th part of medicines , we use today ,have their origin in the rainforest and that's after only about 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medicinal properties.
Fact: The Amazon Rainforest is at least 55 million years old.
The name Amazon is said to " arise from a war".
Why these forests are called "Rain" forests??
Plants release water through a process called transpiration.
The moisture helps to create the thick cloud cover that hangs over most rainforest.
Even when it's not raining , these clouds keep the Amazon rainforest humid and warm.
Amazon Rainforest and CO2
Trees play a key role in reducing the pollution level.
They absorb CO2 and release O2 gas . They maintain the balance of CO2 and O2 in environment and keep our nature fresh.
Over the last 150 years, human have been pumping huge amount of CO2 into the nature by burning fossil fuels, coal, natural gas and oil.
But trees or forest absorb the excessive CO2 and release O2 gas, but now a days due to deforestation this balance has been disturbed, which is the major reason of global climate change.
Why Amazon Rainforest not found in India?
Amazon rainforest are not found in India because India is not situated at equitorial region (equator does not pass through India).
Mainly Amazon Rainforest comprises of hot and humid climate.
The forest is densely covered with that of diversified Fauna and Flora , animals and creature.
Rainforests are a powerful natural climate solution:-
Not only do the rainforest regulate global temperature, they also cool and regulate local micro climate, wind and rainfall pattern.
Forests are also natural water filter, keeping pollution control.
Scientists estimate that about 15% of the world's fresh water flows from the Amazon basin alone.
Why Amazon Rainforest are in danger?
Scientists warn that decades of human activity and a changing climate has brought the forest near a tipping point.
They are so-called "rainforest" because it's such a wet place , when the trees pull up water from the Earth, then the water come back in the atmosphere in the form of rain.
The balance is upended by the deforestation, forest fire and global temperature rises.
About 17% of the Amazon Rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years.
If as predicted , global temperature rises by 4°C , much of e Central, Eastern and southern Amazon will certainly become barren scrubland.
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Reference: http://panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/why_amazon_important/
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