Question

How do human beings impact the Amazon Rainforest?

Answer 1

Not only for local tribes and cultures, but also for the rest of the world, the Amazon rainforest has long been recognised as a repository of ecological resources. In terms of size and diversity, it is also the only rainforest that we have left.

Complete answer:
The human influence on the Amazon Rainforest is grossly underestimated. The main explanation for Amazon deforestation is human activities related to agriculture. Not only does the forest dramatically diminish every year but the natives are also destroyed and exploited (at a rate of 150 acres per minute).

The region's biodiversity is seriously endangered, to say the least. Every year, up to 50,000 species could be lost. Several rainforest medicinal plants include essential drug ingredients worldwide, which along with forest trees, are extracted indiscriminately. Deforestation, therefore, is also related to illegal logging and timber smuggling.

The region's water holding capacity has fallen significantly, so so has soil fertility. Large surface temperature changes are often correlated with a decline in evapotranspiration and precipitation. This implies that sustainable farming practises must be enforced without delay and that parts of the deforested areas must be permitted to regrow.

Between 1990 and 2005, heavy degradation of the Amazon rainforest occurred: much of the deforested region was ranched by cattle. Land cover in Brazil has been cleared for soy farming. All this has turned the climate of the area from more humid to dry conditions. If this continues, a point of no return can reach the biome.

Note: The integrity of the forest itself is also affected by these kinds of impacts, with primary forests turning into scrub that consists of smaller trees and shrubs. This would result in a loss of habitat and a decrease in biodiversity for animals which rely on the primary forest.