Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems Deforestation in Brazil How quickly

Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems Deforestation in Brazil How quickly are the tropical rainforests being destroyed?

Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems – Deforestation in Brazil Ø About 60% of Brazil is covered in tropical rainforest; Ø It is home to one-third of all the world’s rainforest; Ø The Amazon forest in Brazil contains 56, 000 species of plants which have been identified. It has one-third of all the animal species in the world;

Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems – Deforestation in Brazil Ø Less than 20% of Brazil’s rainforest is officially protected. Only 8. 5% is found in conservation areas; Ø Some estimates suggest that if deforestation continues at its current rate, the entire Amazon rainforest will be destroyed or damaged by the end of this century.

Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems - Deforestation in Brazil The large box on the right and the circle below represent the size of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil at the start of 1970. Estimated amount of rainforest in Brazil at the start of 1970 = 4, 100, 000 km 2 Click the buttons below to see how much has been destroyed. 1 small square represents 1, 000 km 2 242, 495 km 2 Click here to see how much was destroyed between 1971 and 1990 Click here to see how much was destroyed between 1991 and 1995 Click here to see how much was destroyed between 1996 and 2000 Click here to see how much was destroyed between 2001 and 2005 Percentage of forest remaining Click here to see how much was destroyed between 2006 and 2010 Click here to see how much was destroyed between 2011 and 2015 This box represents the UK at the same scale Click here to compare the size of the Amazon rainforest to the UK