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The Amazon is a land of superlatives. The complex ecosystem covers an area about the size of the continental U.S. The Amazon River discharges 57 million gallons of water per second – in two hours, this would be enough to supply all of New York City's 7.5 million residents with water for a year. Its flora and fauna are abundant. Approximately one of every four flowering plant species on earth resides in the Amazon. A single Amazonian river may contain more fish species than all the rivers in Europe combined. It is home to the world's largest anteater, armadillo, freshwater turtle, and spider, as well as the largest rodent (which weighs over 200 lbs.), catfish (250 lbs.), and alligator (more than half a ton).
The rainforest, which contains approximately 390 billion trees, plays a vital role in stabilizing the global climate by absorbing massive amounts of carbon dioxide-or releasing it into the atmosphere if the trees are destroyed. Severe droughts in both Brazil and Southeast Asia have been linked to Amazonian deforestation, as have changing rainfall patterns in the U.S., Europe, and China. The Amazon also serves as home to millions of people. Approximately seventy tribes of isolated and uncontacted people are concentrated in the western Amazon, completely dependent on the land and river. These isolated groups have been described as the most marginalized peoples in the western hemisphere, with no voice in the decisions made about their futures and the fate of their forests. In this addition to the What Everyone Needs to Know series, ecologist and conservation expert, Mark J. Plotkin, who has spent 40 years studying Amazonia, its peoples, flora, and fauna. The Amazon offers an engaging overview of this irreplaceable ecosystem and the challenges it faces.
Introduction
- What is a Tropical Rainforest?
- What Do We Mean When We Say the Amazon?
- Why is the Amazon Important?
Geology, Soils and Vegetation
- Geological history - What is the geological history of Amazonia?
- Soils - Do large and diverse Amazonian rainforests thrive on poor soil?
- Terra preta - What is terra preta?
- Vegetation - What are the major forest and vegetation types in Amazonia?
- Savannas - What are savannas and how are they created?
- Tepuis - What are tepuis?
- Nutrient cycling - If the soils are so poor, how can lush rainforests flourish?
Rivers
- The Amazon
- Source of the Amazon - What is the source of the Amazon River?
- River types - What are the various river types in Amazonia?
- Aquatic habitats - What are some of the characteristic aquatic habitats of Amazonia?
- Casiquiare canal - What is the Casiquiare Canal?
- Coral reef - Is there a coral reef in the Amazon?
Indians
- 1492 population
- Languages - How many indigenous languages are there in Amazonia?
- Paleoindians, the first arrivals - When did the first humans arrive in Amazonia?
- Shamans - What is a Shaman?
- Shrunken heads - Shrunken heads: fact or fiction?
- Slash and burn agriculture - What is slash-and-burn agriculture?
- Uncontacted tribes - Do uncontacted tribes still exist?
History
- The Struggle for the Amazon
- Treaty of Tordesillas - What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
- Aguirre - Was Werner Herzog's film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," based on a historical figure?
- Teixeira - What role did Pedro Teixeira play in the colonization of the Amazon?
- Mapping - What is the history of the mapping of the Amazon?
- The Advent of the European Scientists
- Merian - Was the first European scientific explorer of the Amazon a woman?
- Darwin - What is the connection between the Amazon and the origins of the Theory of Evolution?
- Agassiz / Harvard
- Amazon Rubber and the Jari Project
- Rubber atrocities - What were the Putumayo Rubber Atrocities?
- Rubber as commodity - How Did Amazonian Rubber Become A Key Global Commodity?
- Rubber / Fordlandia - Why did Henry Ford fail at Fordlandia in Brazil?
- Jari Project - Fordlandia redux - What was the Jari Project, and why did it fail?
- Rondon / Mendes - Who were Cândido Rondon and Chico Mendes?
Amazonian biota
- Animals
- Faunal origins - What is the origin of the Amazonian fauna?
- Vampire bats - Do vampire bats suck human blood?
- Spiders - How dangerous are Amazonian spiders?
- Cats, crocodilians and serpents - Do jaguars, crocs and snakes eat people in Amazonia?
- Frogs - Are there hallucinogenic frogs in the Amazon Rainforest?
- Pink dolphins - Are there pink dolphins in the Amazon?
- Fish diversity - Why does Amazonia harbor the most diverse freshwater fish fauna in the world?
- Candiru catfish - Is the tiny candiru catfish as terrifying as its reputation?
- Electric eels - How dangerous are electric eels?
- Piranhas - Do piranhas deserve their fearsome reputation?
- Sharks - Are there man-eating sharks in the Amazon?
- Plants
- Ayahuasca - What is ayahuasca?
- Bromeliads - What are the aerial aquaria of the Amazon?
- Coca - What is the traditional use of coca in the Amazon?
- Curare - What is Curare and Why is it Important?
- Lianas - Why are lianas so important and yet so poorly understood?
- Figs - Why are strangler figs not considered to be lianas?
- Palms - Why are palms the single most useful group of organisms to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon?
- Palms with economic promise - Which Amazonian palms offer the greatest economic promise for the future?
- Victoria lily - Did an Amazonian water lily serve as the inspiration for steel frame architecture?
Threats
- Cattle - What is the role of cattle ranching in Amazonian agriculture?
- Dams - What is the status of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon?
- Gold - What is the impact of gold mining in the Amazon?
- Agriculture / Big - The Role of Export-Driven Large-Scale Agricultural Production in Deforestation
- Agriculture / Small - What is the role of small-scale farming in deforestation?
- Logging - What is the status of logging in the Amazon?
- Climate Change - How will climate change affect Amazonia?
- Deforestation - What drives deforestation in the Amazon?
- Oil and gas - What is the impact of oil and gas exploration on forest peoples?
- Overhunting - What is the impact of overhunting and overfishing on the Amazon?
- China - What is the Impact of China in Amazonia?
Conclusion
- Conservation - How to Save the Amazon?
Mark J. Plotkin is President of the Amazon Conservation Team. He is the author of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, Medicine Quest, and coauthored The Killers Within.
"There is a lot to learn, and value, from this guide, by an expert immersed in the subject."
– Harvard Magazine
"One can think of the broad themes of the book as scenes on a vast tapestry and the responses to the 67 questions as the threads used by Plotkin to weave the marvelous story of Amazonia. Readers can gaze at one part of the tapestry and later explore another portion, each time coming away with a better understanding of the nature of this extraordinary ecosystem."
– Roger Mustalish, HerbalGram
"As he has done in his other books and films [...] Plotkin blazes a path for others to follow: a storied path that can help us both re-story and restore the precious places persisting on this planet, despite all odds."
– Gary Paul Nabhan, LA Review of Books
"Written in a clear and engaging style, Mark Plotkin's book on the Amazon comes at a crucial time, as more and more of Amazonia's forests are exploited and destroyed and as indigenous leaders, traditional guardians of the forest, are silenced. I could not recommend it more highly."
– Jane Goodall
"At long last: the book on the Amazon we all have been waiting for, with the answers to questions everyone asks – or should ask. Fascinating and superbly written."
– Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University
"Lucky me, I've traveled to the Amazon with Mark Plotkin. Reading his enthralling natural history of its mystery and wonders is the next best thing-and with fewer biting insects."
– Ken Cook, President, Environmental Working Group
"The greatest tropical forest, hemmed in by the longest mountain range, giving rise to the longest, most voluminous river, the wildest wilderness, and half the freshwater and terrestrial species found an Earth – that's what makes up the Amazon and that is what Mark Plotkin evokes in this lively and authoritative guide, based on his decades of experience."
– Adrian Forsyth, Executive Director, Andes Amazon Fund
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