Bibliography

Works Cited 

"Amazon Rainforest." - Wikiveler. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.wikiveler.com/south-america/attractions/amazon-rainforest/>. 

"Amazon Rainforest Photos: Amazon Rainforest and Cattle Pasture." Amazon Rainforest Photos: Amazon Rainforest and Cattle Pasture. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/photos/deforestation-3.html>. 

"Amazon Rainforest Photos: In the Shade of the Forest Canopy." Amazon Rainforest Photos: In the Shade of the Forest Canopy. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/photos/scenery-3.html>. 

"Amazon Rainforest (region, South America)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/18707/Amazon-Rainforest>. 

"Amazon." Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. World Wildlife Fund, 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://worldwildlife.org/places/amazon>. 

Amsel, Sheri. “Habitat Coloring Pages.” Rainforest (Amazon) Coloring Page. Exploring Nature Educational Resource. © 2005 - 2012. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=44&detID=1370>

"The Brazilian President Can Stop This." Amazon Rainforest. Greenpeace, 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/forests/amazon/Tell-President-Dilma-Rousseff-to-veto-the-new-Forest-Code-bill/>. 

Butler, Rhett A. "Amazon Destruction." Amazon Destruction. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html>. 

Butler, Rhett A. "Charts and Graphs about the Amazon Rainforest." Charts and Graphs about the Amazon Rainforest. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/charts.html>. 

Butler, Rhett A. "Data Aggregations Found on Mongabay.com." 404 Error: Page Not Found / (none). N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_conservation.html>. 

Environmental Maps Enviro-Map.com. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://enviro-map.com>.

Leader, Jessica. "Amazon Deforestation: NASA Images Show The Great Rainforest Disappearing." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Aug. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/amazon-deforestation-nasa-photos_n_1748759.html>. 

"'One Cow Per Hectare' in Deforested Amazon." : Discovery News. N.p., 03 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://news.discovery.com/earth/zooms/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-cattle-waste-110903.html>. 

"Protected Areas Cover 44% of the Brazilian Amazon." Mongabay.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0420-protected_amazon.html>. 

"Rainforests of Brazil—An Environmental Status Report." Rainforests of Brazil—An Environmental Status Report. N.p., 5 Feb. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20brazil.htm>. 

"Rio 20: Climate Change Damage Could Cost Latin America $100 Billion Per Year | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building." Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building Rio 20 Climate Change Damage Could Cost Latin America 100 Billion Per Year Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://inhabitat.com/rio20-climate-change-damage-could-cost-latin-america-100-billion-per-year/>. 

Walsh, Bryan. "The Battle for the Amazon Heats Up Again." Time, 05 June 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2116466,00.html>. 

Map of the Amazon Rainforest

Source: http://enviro-map.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/amazon_forest.jpg

Images of the Amazon Rainforest

Historic:

Source: http://www.wikiveler.com/south-america/attractions/amazon-rainforest/images/amazon-rainforest-home.jpg

Source: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/photos/scenery-3.html

Present:

Source: http://inhabitat.com/rio20-climate-change-damage-could-cost-latin-america-100-billion-per-year/

Source: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/photos/deforestation-3.html

Source: http://news.discovery.com/earth/2011/09/03/amazon-278x225.jpg

Spatial Scale of the Ecosystem

The Amazon rainforest lies in South America and covers approximately 2,300,000 square miles of land. The Amazon is a regional rainforest that envelops eight developing countries with its extravagant beauty.

Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/18707/Amazon-Rainforest

Historical State of the Ecosystem

The Amazon rainforest is located in South America and stretches its roots through Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The landscape of this ecosystem is extraordinary, containing: “one in ten known species on Earth, 1.4 billion acres of dense forests, half of the planet's remaining tropical forests, 4,100 miles of winding rivers, 2.6 million square miles in the Amazon basin, about 40 percent of South America”(WWF, 2012). It is also described as the most diverse place on the planet, containing thirty percent of the world’s species, specifically, housing more than 40,000 plant species, 1,700 bird species, 695 amphibians, 578 mammals, and 651 types of reptiles.  

Sources:
http://worldwildlife.org/places/amazon
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20brazil.htm

Source: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=44&detID=1370

Current Human Impacts on the Ecosystem

Human impacts on this ecosystem have been mainly negative, resulting in deforestation. The main method utilized for deforestation in the Amazon is known as slash and burn. Of the many factors involved in the deforestation of the Amazon, one is poorly planned infrastructure, which leads to illegal logging. Also an effect of this is building and improving dams for hydropower, to keep up with Brazil’s high demand for energy. Building dams is destructive to the ecosystem in terms that it blocks river connectivity and disrupts the accessibility of the fish to the river. Due to high demand for natural resources, the Amazon is also a target for illegal extraction because of its richness in those natural resources. The result of this illegal extraction of natural resources is disruption of nature and its inhabiting species. The biggest human impact on this ecosystem involves cattle ranching and agricultural expansion. The high demand for beef and soy results in industries requiring more space for the cattle grazing pastures and crop cultivation; thus, leading to the clearing away of the forest and affecting the wildlife in the specific region. As time goes by, these huge corporations cause a chain reaction, driving out small farmers, which results in them adopting subsistence agriculture for their own survival. In conclusion the current human impacts on this ecosystem have been devastating.

Source: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html

Source: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/charts.html

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/amazon-deforestation-nasa-photos_n_1748759.html

Future of this Ecosystem

The future for this ecosystem does not look too bright if the current human impacts are not taken action against. If no further action is taken, the death of the Amazon is inevitable. As long as industrial benefits and economic profits are put forth as priorities, the Amazon will continue to suffer and although deforestation has decreased since 2004, 2000 square miles are still lost each year. The main factor of this forest clearing is due to cattle ranching and the high demand for beef all around the world. Cattle ranching isn’t a light issue because as demand for beef continues to increase, so will deforestation of the Amazon. This industrial “cash crop” already accounts for 70 percent of deforestation. Taking these factors into consideration, one can conclude that the forest is at a huge risk of vanishing during our lifetime.

Source: http://coolsciencenews.blogspot.com/2012_06_03_archive.html

How to Improve Human Impact on the Ecosystem

There are many measures that can be taken to reduce the human impacts on this ecosystem. One of the many factors that can be taken into consideration is rehabilitating previous forested lands. Doing so would make more rational use of the land by restoring old forest and species within it. Another step that can be taken is expanding protected areas. Doing this would result in conservation of the forest and the wildlife that lives within it. A third factor that might be helpful is having harsher land policies and law enforcement because doing this would make people think twice before harming the Amazon. Lastly, a small, but powerful act is getting the word out about the forest and its wildlife and petition when possible. This action, although one might think it is useless, it is in fact very useful in bringing about positive effects. The more people that know about this cause, the more there will be that are willing to come forth and help with this issue. One example of this was when Brazil passed a new Forest Act that loosened forest policies. When it was passed, people responded and petitioned against it, this eventually led President Dilma to partially veto the bill. Although this was a small step, it was effective in lessening some harm on this ecosystem. 

Sources: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_conservation.html http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/forests/amazon/Tell-President-Dilma-Rousseff-to-veto-the-new-Forest-Code-bill/

Human Impact on the Ecosystem

Human impacts on this ecosystem have been bad. First off the method of slash and burn has been mainly linked to this rainforest’s deforestation. Other human activities that have terribly affected the rainforest are: cattle ranching, subsistence agriculture, poorly planned infrastructure improvements, commercial agriculture, logging, and fires.

Source: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html

Benefits People get from the Ecosystem

The Amazon rainforest is known as the “Lungs of our Planet” because it accounts for twenty percent of earth’s oxygen. Also the Amazon is significant for the people in terms of medicinal advancements. The tropical plant ingredients, found in the tropical plants of rainforests, aid in the development of medicines that help cure AIDS, cancer, etc.

Fun Fact: “Today 121 prescription drugs sold around the world come from plant-derived sources. Although 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest ingredients, scientists have tested only 1% of tropical plants” (blueplanetbiomes, 2003).

Source: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm

Protected Areas and their Status

Out of the entire Amazon rainforest, protected areas only account for 44 percent. The conservation status of these protected areas is not great because deforestation continues to occur. This is due to poor management and low staffing in certain protected areas. 

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0420-protected_amazon.html