The Amazon or the Amazon Jungle is a tropical moist broadleaf forest or rainforest located in South Africa. Covering a land area of 5.5 million square kilometers that spans across nine countries, Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, the rainforest remains an environmentally and economically important land area or region in the world.
The Ecological or Environmental Importance of the Amazon Rainforest
Appreciating the environmental significance of Amazon requires realizing that the entire land area it covers represents over half of the remaining rainforests of the planet. For starters, numerous studies have confirmed that rainforests both emit and absorb carbon dioxide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also noted that processes on natural lands absorb the equivalent of almost a third of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industrial activities.
But how much carbon does the Amazon rainforest take and store? Studies estimated that although the rainforest emits 1.9 billion tons of carbon from dead trees a year, it also absorbs 2.2 billion tons of carbon every year. It essentially breathes in more than it breathes outs. A 2018 study by J. Boone Kauffman et al. also concluded that the specific Amazon mangrove forests stores twice as much carbon per acre as the inland Amazonian forests.
However, a 2018 report published by Public Radio International noted that the capacity of the Amazon rainforest to capture carbon dioxide has reduced. Carlos Quesada, a scientist at the National Institute for Amazonian Research of Brazil, explained that the current carbon-filled atmosphere is changing the climate system, which, on the other hand, is changing how forests behave. He noted further that both deforestation and climate change are affecting how the Amazon absorbs carbon dioxide.
It is also important to note that the Amazon is one of the regions in the world with extensive biodiversity, harboring more than 10 percent of wildlife species. It is specifically home to about 2.5 million species of insects, tens of thousands of plants, and thousands of birds and mammals. The biodiversity of plant species in the rainforest is the highest on the planet with a 2002 study by J. S. Wright noting that that a quarter square kilometer or 62 acres supports more than a thousand tree species and another 1999 study by W. F. Laurence et al. revealed that one square kilometer or 247 acres can contain up to 97790 tons of living plants.
Of course, the rainforest contains several species that can pose a hazard to humans. Large creatures such as the anaconda, black caiman, cougar, and jaguar can attack the human population. The Amazon River is home to electric eel and piranha. The area is also home to numerous vectors of diseases such as vampire bats that can spread the rabies virus, as well as mosquitoes that can cause dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever. These hazards could be reduced or managed through minimal or controlled human interaction and involvement.
The interplay between the different species of Amazon and the natural systems found in it critically contribute to numerous cycles, including the carbon and water cycles, both on a regional and global scale. As an example, the rainforest houses 20 percent of the freshwater in the world. Because the area has a significant capacity to capture carbon through the biological activities of its numerous plant species, it also breathes out oxygen. Estimates noted that the Amazon rainforest produces about 20 percent of the oxygen on earth.
The Social and Economic Importance of the Amazon Rainforest
The existence and preservation of the Amazon Rainforest also have a significant impact on the human society, including the economy or more specifically, the economies of communities and countries around and within the region. Remember that living organisms have intrinsic value that is critical to the maintenance of different natural systems. Of course, the rainforest is also the source of more specific socially and economically valuable products and offshoots.
Millions of people benefit from the services afforded by the rainforest. For starters, the rivers and the entire network of natural bodies of water serve as significant routes of transportations. In addition, the region houses numerous non-timber forest products that fuel the major industries in the surrounding and nearby villages, town, and cities. The water cycle system produced by the Amazon forest to include regular precipitation and annual floods replenishes the nutrients in floodplain areas used for agriculture.
Fishing is the primary source of income and food for riverside communities along the Amazon River Basin. A 2003 study by O. T. Almeida, K. Lorenzen, and D. G. McGrath noted that the commercial fishing sector in the Brazilian Amazon alone generates an annual income of about USD 96.600 million a year. Note that another study by Leandro Castello et al. revealed that Amazonian fish species depend on the rainforest to survive. It specifically noted that lakes with a larger forest density had a greater fishery yield.
It is also worth mentioning that a lot of products were originally derived from the Amazon. Around 80 percent of food products came from the rainforest. Notable examples include coffee, cacao or chocolate, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, cinnamon, pineapples, corn, rice, and bananas, among others. Earlier civilizations that inhabited around or near the region harnessed these products and cultivated them for mass production and consumption.
The pharmaceutical and chemical industries have also tapped the rainforest for various raw materials or substances. Note that researchers have explored rainforests in search of genetic material for agricultural plant breeding. Others have specifically tapped native plant species to discover new compounds for the development of new medicines. A 2015 report from the World Bank explained that the biological diversity of the planet is import both for the pharmaceutical industry and other industries. However, it reminded that deforestation threatens the prospects for related studies.
Experts have expressed the idea that the best way to protect the Amazon rainforest is by highlighting its economic importance. Nonetheless, a study by a team of economists lead by Jon Strand from the Federal University of Minas Gerais revealed that the rainforest could be valued at up to USD 737 per hectare per year. It noted that the economic contribution of Amazon rainforest to the Brazilian economy alone amounts to USD 8.2 billion a year.
Summary of the Environmental and Economic Importance
The following are the ecological or environmental importance of the Amazon rainforest:
• Studies estimated that although the rainforest emits 1.9 billion tons of carbon from dead trees a year, it also absorbs 2.2 billion tons of carbon yearly.
• A 2018 study by J. Boone Kauffman et al. also concluded that the specific Amazon mangrove forests stores twice as much carbon per acre as the inland Amazonian forests.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that processes on natural lands absorb the equivalent of almost a third of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industrial activities.
• Note that the rainforest represents over half of the remaining rainforests of the planet. The rainforest also houses 20 percent of the freshwater in the world.
• It is home to more than 10 percent of wildlife species, harboring 2.5 million species of insects, tens of thousands of plants, and thousands of birds and mammals.
• A 2002 study by J. S. Wright noted that quarter square kilometer or 62 acres support more than a thousand tree species while a 1999 study by W. F. Laurence et al. revealed that one square kilometer or 247 acres could contain up to 97790 tons of living plants.
• Because the area has a significant capacity to capture carbon through the biological activities of its numerous plant species, it also breathes out oxygen. Estimates noted that the Amazon rainforest produces about 20 percent of the oxygen of earth.
Below is the social and economic importance of the Amazon rainforest:
• Millions of people benefit from the services afforded by the rainforest. For starters, the rivers and the entire network of natural bodies of water serve as major routes of transportations.
• It houses numerous non-timber forest products that fuel the major industries in the surrounding and nearby villages, town, and cities.
• The water cycle system produced by the Amazon forest to include regular precipitation and annual floods replenishes the nutrients in floodplain areas used for agriculture.
• A 2003 study by O. T. Almeida, K. Lorenzen, and D. G. McGrath noted that the commercial fishing sector in the Brazilian Amazon alone generates an annual income of about USD 96.600 million a year.
• However, the study by Leandro Castello et al. revealed that Amazonian fish species depend on the rainforest to survive. It specifically noted that lakes with a larger forest density had a greater fishery yield.
• Around 80 percent of food products came from the rainforest. Notable examples include coffee, cacao or chocolate, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, cinnamon, pineapples, corn, rice, and bananas, among others.
• The World Bank explained that the biological diversity of the planet is import both for the pharmaceutical industry and other industries. However, it reminded that deforestation threatens the prospects for related studies.
• Another study by J. Strand et al. revealed that the rainforest could be valued at up to USD 737 per hectare per year. It noted that the economic contribution of Amazon rainforest to the Brazilian economy alone amounts to USD 8.2 billion a year.
Photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT / Adapted / CC 2.0
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Almeida, O. T., Lorenzen, K., McGrath, D. G. 2003. “Commercial Fishing in the Brazilian: Regional Differentiation in Fleet Characteristics and Efficiency.” Fisheries Management and Ecology. 10(2): 109-115. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2400.2003.00320.x
- Castello, L., Hess, L. L., Thapa, R., McGrath, D. G., Arantes, C. C., Reno, V. F., and Isaac, V. J. 2017. “Fishery Yield Vary With Land Cover on the Amazon River Floodplain.” Fish and Fisheries. 19(3): 431-440. DOI: 10.1111/faf.12261
- Eaton, S. 2018, October 2. “The Amazon Used to Be a Hedge Against Climate Change. Those Days May Be Over.” PRI. Public Radio International. Available online
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2019. IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse gas fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems: Summary for Policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available via PDF
- Kaufmann, J. B., Bernardino, A. F., Ferreira, T. O., Giovannoni, L. R., Gomes, L. E. D. O., Romero, D. J., Jimenez, L. C. Z., and Ruiz, F. 2018. “Carbon Stocks of Mangroves and Salt Marshes of the Amazon Region, Brazil.” Biology Letters. 14(9). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0208
- Laurence, W. F., Fearnside, P. M., Laurence, S. G., Delamonica, P., Lovejoy, T. E., Rankin-De Mora, J. M., Chambers, J. Q., and Gascon, C. 1999. Relationship Between Soils and Amazon Forest Biomass: A Landscape-Scale Study.” Forest Ecology and Management. 118(1-3): 127-138. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00494-0
- Mundial, B. 2015, January 13. “Deforestation, A Headache for Natural Medicine.” The World Bank News. The World Bank. Available online
- Strand, J., Soares-Filho, B., Costa, M. H., Oliveira, U., Ribeiro, S. C., Pires, G. F., Rajão, R., May, P., Van Der Hoff, R., Siikamäki, J., Da Motta, R. S., and Toman, N. 2018. “Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services.” Nature Sustainability. 1: 657-664. DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0175-0
- Wright, J. S. 2002. “Plant Diversity in Tropical Forests: A Review of Mechanisms of Species Coexistence.” Oecologia. 130(1): 1-14. DOI: 10.1007/s004420100809