1. Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals, and microorganisms would be destroyed . The Amazon rainforest is home to 10% of the world's species, including 40,000 plant species, 3,000 freshwater fish species, over 370 types of reptiles, and 2.5 million species of insects.
Do we need rainforests to survive?
As well as the vivid beauty that comes with great diversity in plants and animals, rainforests also play a practical role in keeping our planet healthy. By absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen that we depend on for our survival. The absorption of this CO2 also helps to stabilize the Earth's climate.
Can we survive without the rainforest?
The short answer is no , Earth would not lose 20 percent of its oxygen if the Amazon Rainforest were lost. ... While algae live, they use carbon dioxide to grow, and they release oxygen into the atmosphere.
Why is it important to save the rainforest?
We need the rain forests to produce oxygen and clean the atmosphere to help us breathe . We also know that the earth's climate can be affected, as well as the water cycle. Rainforests also provide us with many valuable medicinal plants, and may be a source of a cure from some deadly diseases.
Why is the Amazon rainforest so important?
South America's Amazon contains nearly a third of all the tropical rainforests left on Earth. ... People around the world, as well as locally, depend on the Amazon. Not just for food, water, wood and medicines, but to help stabilise the climate, playing a critical role in global and regional carbon and water cycles .
Is the rainforest dying?
The ever-growing human consumption and population is the biggest cause of forest destruction due to the vast amounts of resources, products, services we take from it. Half the world's rainforests have been destroyed in a century , at this rate you could see them vanish altogether in your lifetime!
Can we replace the rainforest?
Rainforest conservation is just as important as trying to reforest other areas. Reforestation can be accomplished by nature, by humans or through a combination of the two. ... However, exotic trees may make the land unsuitable for future rainforest cultivation by changing the soil's original characteristics.
Why are rainforests in danger?
Rainforests are also threatened by climate change , which is contributing to droughts in parts of the Amazon and Southeast Asia. Drought causes die-offs of trees and dries out leaf litter, increasing the risk of forest fires, which are often set by land developers, ranchers, plantation owners, speculators, and loggers.
Why should we stop destroying the rainforest?
Deforestation and the destruction of forest habitat is the leading cause of extinction on the planet. ... Trying to pull deforestation and climate change apart won't work. Trees, forest plants, and forest soils store huge amounts of carbon. When forests are cut, this powerful carbon sink is rendered useless.
Did we save the rainforest?
We didn't save it , but we haven't stopped trying. Environmentalists fret over the fate of the Amazon for good reason: It contains more than half of the planet's remaining tropical rainforest, one-fifth of our global freshwater, and as much as one-third of the world's biodiversity.
How long until the Amazon rainforest is gone?
But recent trends reveal that the changing climate will likely come for this beloved rainforest long before the last tree is cut down. One researcher has even put a date on his prediction for the Amazon's impending death: 2064 . That's the year the Amazon rainforest will be completely wiped out.
How can we save the rainforest?
Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down. Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment. Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife. Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.
Is the Amazon still on fire?
In recent weeks, nine major fires have been burning in the Brazilian Amazon, heralding an unsettling start to another fire season—which experts say could be a bad one after a particularly dry year.
What happens if the rainforest dies?
The short answer is no, Earth would not lose 20 percent of its oxygen if the Amazon Rainforest were lost. ... However, when they die, algae do not decompose on the ocean surface , so they do not draw from the atmosphere the same amount of oxygen that they produced in life. Instead, algae sink.
How much rainforest is left?
Using data from the forest monitoring program Global Forest Watch, Rainforest Foundation Norway found that only 36 per cent of the planet's nearly 14.6 million square kilometres of tropical rainforest remains intact, while 34 per cent of it is completely gone and the remaining 30 per cent has been degraded.
Is the Amazon recovering?
A 2019 report by the Climate Policy Initiative identified that approximately 40% of the deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon's protected areas were undergoing a process of regeneration by 2014, amounting to approximately 2 million hectares (5 million acres).
