Threats to the biodiversity:
The amazon rainforest covers a large spread of land, much of which is being shared with humans. And as one might imagine, when it comes to sharing land, humans usually win, thus, there are quite a few threats to the amazonian rainforest. Many of these threats have to do with larger companies and farms that require the land or tree's that reside in the area, such as:
• Logging, which causes many of the tree's to be cut down and used for furniture, flooring, and many other items that we use, as well as to clear roads through the area and create dig sites for mining companies. A good amount of those tree's are also turned into pulp by paper companies- which takes large amounts of tree's to do so. And other companies [power plants] use tree's to help generate electricity. With all these uses, deforestation is taking a large toll on the rainforest.
• Many animals that use tree's and plants for cover are loosing their homes due to the large amounts of deforestation.
• Because tree's absorb and store greenhouse gases, with the extreme loss of tree's, more of these greenhouse gases are staying in the atmosphere, which can cause the temperature in the rain forest to increase.
• Over time, the climate changes can begin to seriously affect the rainforest life- with temperatures rising, less rain is beginning to fall, which has a negative take for the plant life as most rainforest plants depend on large amount of rain.
• When it comes to farmers and large companies, they often will use a technique called 'slash-and-burn,' which is to cut down the tree's occupying the area they wish to use for farm and crop land, and then burn the area to create a field for agriculture or livestock. Often, once a field looses nutrients in the soil, it is used for cattle instead, while other area's go through the slash-and-burn process to make more agriculture fields.
• And another large, and very powerful threat to the rainforest, are the hydroelectric projects that sometimes cause acres of the land to be flooded.
The amazon rainforest covers a large spread of land, much of which is being shared with humans. And as one might imagine, when it comes to sharing land, humans usually win, thus, there are quite a few threats to the amazonian rainforest. Many of these threats have to do with larger companies and farms that require the land or tree's that reside in the area, such as:
• Logging, which causes many of the tree's to be cut down and used for furniture, flooring, and many other items that we use, as well as to clear roads through the area and create dig sites for mining companies. A good amount of those tree's are also turned into pulp by paper companies- which takes large amounts of tree's to do so. And other companies [power plants] use tree's to help generate electricity. With all these uses, deforestation is taking a large toll on the rainforest.
• Many animals that use tree's and plants for cover are loosing their homes due to the large amounts of deforestation.
• Because tree's absorb and store greenhouse gases, with the extreme loss of tree's, more of these greenhouse gases are staying in the atmosphere, which can cause the temperature in the rain forest to increase.
• Over time, the climate changes can begin to seriously affect the rainforest life- with temperatures rising, less rain is beginning to fall, which has a negative take for the plant life as most rainforest plants depend on large amount of rain.
• When it comes to farmers and large companies, they often will use a technique called 'slash-and-burn,' which is to cut down the tree's occupying the area they wish to use for farm and crop land, and then burn the area to create a field for agriculture or livestock. Often, once a field looses nutrients in the soil, it is used for cattle instead, while other area's go through the slash-and-burn process to make more agriculture fields.
• And another large, and very powerful threat to the rainforest, are the hydroelectric projects that sometimes cause acres of the land to be flooded.
Habitat Destruction:
Within the Amazon rainforest, there are thousands upon thousands of different organisms- many of which have yet to even be discovered! With the wide spread range of the Amazon there are still many areas that have not been explored, however, with the areas that humans have discovered and explored, has come the destruction and fragmentation of those areas. While it may not always be obvious at first, the creatures that have lived in the Amazon rainforest for so long are slowly disappearing due to the destruction of their habitat. It wouldn't be fair to say that just a few organisms are having their habitats destroyed and fragmented, because with the amount of logging now-a-days, many organisms are having this problem. However, a few of these organisms have taken the habitat loss critically, and now register as endangered species. Here are just a few species that have reached that status due to habitat destruction and fragmentation:
The Harpy Eagle:
One of the largest extant species of eagles in the world, the Harpy Eagle, or American Harpy Eagle, is a creature that was once found wide spread throughout parts of central America. Now, this bird can only be found in the most remote parts of the Amazon Basin, as well as some parts of Mexico, and a few of its South American ranges. Throughout all these places, the bird has come to reach multiple status's: near threatened, threatened with extinction, critically endangered, and even extirpated in most of its former range in Mexico. If one thing can be made clear, it is that this species is quickly becoming endangered, and has dwindled greatly in numbers over the years.
The main reason for its decline in numbers is primarily due to habitat loss- from logging, ranching, farming, and mining. The Harpy Eagle is known to rarely go into open areas, and more than often prefers to stay in denser forested areas where it can use the tree canopies as cover for hunting. Because of this, the logging and creation of sudden open places are causing the Harpy Eagle to drive deeper and deeper into the amazon and other regions. While some of the birds have already taken a new hiding, others have been caught in the opened areas- where it is hunted by farmers as a threat to livestock, as well as being made an irresistible target for hunters due to its large size.
Thankfully, some foundations such as, the Peregrine Fund, have taken it into their hands to monitor and track some of these birds, as well as take a few of them into captivity for breeding and research to hopefully keep this species from going extinct anywhere in the near future.
Within the Amazon rainforest, there are thousands upon thousands of different organisms- many of which have yet to even be discovered! With the wide spread range of the Amazon there are still many areas that have not been explored, however, with the areas that humans have discovered and explored, has come the destruction and fragmentation of those areas. While it may not always be obvious at first, the creatures that have lived in the Amazon rainforest for so long are slowly disappearing due to the destruction of their habitat. It wouldn't be fair to say that just a few organisms are having their habitats destroyed and fragmented, because with the amount of logging now-a-days, many organisms are having this problem. However, a few of these organisms have taken the habitat loss critically, and now register as endangered species. Here are just a few species that have reached that status due to habitat destruction and fragmentation:
The Harpy Eagle:
One of the largest extant species of eagles in the world, the Harpy Eagle, or American Harpy Eagle, is a creature that was once found wide spread throughout parts of central America. Now, this bird can only be found in the most remote parts of the Amazon Basin, as well as some parts of Mexico, and a few of its South American ranges. Throughout all these places, the bird has come to reach multiple status's: near threatened, threatened with extinction, critically endangered, and even extirpated in most of its former range in Mexico. If one thing can be made clear, it is that this species is quickly becoming endangered, and has dwindled greatly in numbers over the years.
The main reason for its decline in numbers is primarily due to habitat loss- from logging, ranching, farming, and mining. The Harpy Eagle is known to rarely go into open areas, and more than often prefers to stay in denser forested areas where it can use the tree canopies as cover for hunting. Because of this, the logging and creation of sudden open places are causing the Harpy Eagle to drive deeper and deeper into the amazon and other regions. While some of the birds have already taken a new hiding, others have been caught in the opened areas- where it is hunted by farmers as a threat to livestock, as well as being made an irresistible target for hunters due to its large size.
Thankfully, some foundations such as, the Peregrine Fund, have taken it into their hands to monitor and track some of these birds, as well as take a few of them into captivity for breeding and research to hopefully keep this species from going extinct anywhere in the near future.
The Golden Lion Tamarin:
These little creatures are a tiny species of monkey that weigh only around a pound. These monkeys like to form social family groups, where the males will often help care for the young, and the young will learn from the older. Because Tamarin's live primarily in the trees, during the night they will sleep in hollows and forage by day while travelling from branch to branch.
Unfortunately, these rare primates are being driven to extinction along with their native home in Brazil's Atlantic coastal rainforest's. It's the same common reasons stated again- logging, agriculture, and industry. These factors are causing the Tamarin's habitat to vanish, and are bringing the Tamarin's with them.
Because of things like logging and industry, the parts of the rainforest that these creatures call home are being divided and broken into separate, smaller pieces of land that no longer touch, making it so the Golden Lion Tamarin's do not have large enough patches of land to roam and live in.
Sadly, these species are already on the endangered list, and have little being done about it.
These little creatures are a tiny species of monkey that weigh only around a pound. These monkeys like to form social family groups, where the males will often help care for the young, and the young will learn from the older. Because Tamarin's live primarily in the trees, during the night they will sleep in hollows and forage by day while travelling from branch to branch.
Unfortunately, these rare primates are being driven to extinction along with their native home in Brazil's Atlantic coastal rainforest's. It's the same common reasons stated again- logging, agriculture, and industry. These factors are causing the Tamarin's habitat to vanish, and are bringing the Tamarin's with them.
Because of things like logging and industry, the parts of the rainforest that these creatures call home are being divided and broken into separate, smaller pieces of land that no longer touch, making it so the Golden Lion Tamarin's do not have large enough patches of land to roam and live in.
Sadly, these species are already on the endangered list, and have little being done about it.
Along with the great Harpy Eagle, and Golden Lion Tamarin, there are quite a few other endangered organisms in the Amazon rainforest- such as, some species of Orchids and Bromeliad trees, the Three-Toed Sloth, Hyacinth Macaws, Jaguars, and Poison Dart Frogs, as well as a number of others. Because the Amazon rainforest is home to so many organisms, it is only natural that some become endangered, but with the amount of human activity in parts of it, more and more species are beginning to hit that list. And it's only a short while before those endangered reach extinct, and those doing well become threatened.
Of course, it is not just human activity that can be blamed for this. While our interaction with the ecosystem certainly is becoming destructive, there are also other organisms that are doing just the same. These organisms are called invasive species, and in Brazil's rainforest alone, there is recorded to be over 300 invasive species. Possibly one of the most damaging invasive species to the Amazon rainforest is:
The Wild Boar:
This large species of pig is native to much of Northern and Central Europe, much of Asia, and the Mediterranean Region. Over time it has been introduced to a number of other countries, and has taken an explosive turn in population in certain countries such as Australia and America. In the Amazon rainforest, these pig subspecies have become rather threatening to the surrounding native plants and animals.
Because of their foreign decent, Wild Boars have begun to transmit diseases to the indigenous species- much like what happened to the Native Americans when the Europeans came into contact with them, the native species have yet to build an immunity to these diseases because they have never encountered them before, and now, many of the native species are catching these diseases and dying from them.
Another, more destructive, side of the Wild Boar, is their tendency to eat and destroy the natural flora, as well as farmers crops.
Of course, it is not just human activity that can be blamed for this. While our interaction with the ecosystem certainly is becoming destructive, there are also other organisms that are doing just the same. These organisms are called invasive species, and in Brazil's rainforest alone, there is recorded to be over 300 invasive species. Possibly one of the most damaging invasive species to the Amazon rainforest is:
The Wild Boar:
This large species of pig is native to much of Northern and Central Europe, much of Asia, and the Mediterranean Region. Over time it has been introduced to a number of other countries, and has taken an explosive turn in population in certain countries such as Australia and America. In the Amazon rainforest, these pig subspecies have become rather threatening to the surrounding native plants and animals.
Because of their foreign decent, Wild Boars have begun to transmit diseases to the indigenous species- much like what happened to the Native Americans when the Europeans came into contact with them, the native species have yet to build an immunity to these diseases because they have never encountered them before, and now, many of the native species are catching these diseases and dying from them.
Another, more destructive, side of the Wild Boar, is their tendency to eat and destroy the natural flora, as well as farmers crops.
What's being done about it?:
With all these issues, there has to be something being done about them, right? Of course! Some of the solutions to these projects are not in affect, and simply ideas waiting to be used, but some of the problems are being fully addressed and taken care of. For instance:
Logging, industry and agriculture:
Some of the things that can and are being done about these three factors are, logging companies that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut giant clumps of them; this would save millions of acres of forest every year. Another solution is to plant two new trees for every tree cut, the process can be long, but in the end, there are more trees than before. And to possibly even slow deforestation, there could be campaigns that teach people about the destruction of the rainforest and encourage consumers to purchase items not made from the limited rainforest's. When it comes to roads and factories being built, if the government put suspensions on these projects another thousands of acres would be saved.
Because so many plants in the Amazon rainforest can and are used for medicines and hopeful cancer cures, farmers could harvest the plants rather than clear cut them, to save the forest surrounding their chosen location.
Endangered species:
The solution to stopping animals from becoming endangered only follows the solutions to the above. Until deforestation and the building of roads through their habitats stops, species will continue to decline in numbers. There are smaller things that can be done of course, such as teaching people of these animals and encouraging them to help stop the destruction of their homes, as well as groups that capture and keep endangered animals to keep for breeding and other purposes so that the species do not go extinct.
Invasive species:
Now that these animals and plants are in the Amazon rainforest, not much can be done about them, unless the answer is "kill them all." However, in Brazil, The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources has put restrictions on the species that may be brought into the country in the future, so with any luck no more threatening organisms will be brought in.
With all these issues, there has to be something being done about them, right? Of course! Some of the solutions to these projects are not in affect, and simply ideas waiting to be used, but some of the problems are being fully addressed and taken care of. For instance:
Logging, industry and agriculture:
Some of the things that can and are being done about these three factors are, logging companies that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut giant clumps of them; this would save millions of acres of forest every year. Another solution is to plant two new trees for every tree cut, the process can be long, but in the end, there are more trees than before. And to possibly even slow deforestation, there could be campaigns that teach people about the destruction of the rainforest and encourage consumers to purchase items not made from the limited rainforest's. When it comes to roads and factories being built, if the government put suspensions on these projects another thousands of acres would be saved.
Because so many plants in the Amazon rainforest can and are used for medicines and hopeful cancer cures, farmers could harvest the plants rather than clear cut them, to save the forest surrounding their chosen location.
Endangered species:
The solution to stopping animals from becoming endangered only follows the solutions to the above. Until deforestation and the building of roads through their habitats stops, species will continue to decline in numbers. There are smaller things that can be done of course, such as teaching people of these animals and encouraging them to help stop the destruction of their homes, as well as groups that capture and keep endangered animals to keep for breeding and other purposes so that the species do not go extinct.
Invasive species:
Now that these animals and plants are in the Amazon rainforest, not much can be done about them, unless the answer is "kill them all." However, in Brazil, The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources has put restrictions on the species that may be brought into the country in the future, so with any luck no more threatening organisms will be brought in.