DESTINATION
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
"An interest in nature is always a sign of goodness."
Immanuel Kant
By Manuel Arboleda Grieve
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
"An interest in nature is always a sign of goodness."
Immanuel Kant
By Manuel Arboleda Grieve
AN ENORMOUS BASIN
Few parts of the world can be more enticing and rewarding than a visit to the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest and most biologically diverse tropical ecosystem. Its awe-inspiring tropical exuberance would easily fill 2/3 of the territory of the contiguous U.S., or alternatively, its perimeter would sprawl over the territory of seven South American nations (Brasil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana) covering some 7,000,000 square kilometers. Indeed, the Amazon’s enormous tropical land mass sits in a large – well-drenched – depression called the Amazon Basin so rich and diverse that it baffles the mind! Its vast inventory includes a dazzling variety of fish ranging from the giant cat-fish to the toothy piranha (over 2,500 species); an impressive collection of trees totaling some 16,000 varieties and encompassing over 600 species of palm trees; some 400 varieties of mammals including 110 species of rodents, like the giant capybara which can reach a meter in length. Over 70 species of monkeys, from the howler monkey - the largest and noisiest of the bunch - to the pigmy marmoset, the smallest primate in the world. Then there are over 900 species of amphibians (poisonous or other wise); six species of caimans (relative of the better known crocodile); 196 species of mostly nocturnal snakes including the giant anaconda; and the world’s largest collection of birds, over 2,000 varieties. These mostly monogamous avian “dinosaurs” range from the multi-colored scarlet macaw to the courtly harpy eagle, the world’s most powerful bird of pray. Enter the dolphins, the Amazon’s most endearing mammals. Fortunately, they are the only animals that are not hunted by native Amazonians. Perhaps their cunning intelligence makes them worthy of respect. And let us not forget the staggering profusion of insects and other micro-organism. Literally millions of them – including “civilized” insects like the highly militant army and azteca ants or the agriculturists leaf cutters. In sum, what this epic collection of biological organisms has in common is their domicile: they reside in the colossal Basin of the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s richest tropical ecosystem.
THE RIVER OF ALL RIVERS
But the Basin’s lush greenery and its incredible bounty constitutes only part of the story, the mighty Amazon River and its large family of streams, lakes and tributaries constitutes the other. Together, they embody the world’s most formidable river system. As John Hemming, an authority on the Amazon points out, a satellite view of the Amazon River would “resemble a gigantic tree where twigs join branches that thicken as they move towards a massive central trunk” (the Amazon River). It would also resemble an enormous green carpet “sliced” by sinuous slivers that would constitute the tributaries of the Amazon River. Remarkably, Richard Spruce, a 19th century explorer and devout admirer of the Amazon – and who lived long before the advent of air crafts - left us with a similar impression: “(the Amazon) is the largest river in the world flowing through the largest rainforest uninterrupted save by the rivers that traverse it.”
Let us start with its source. Although there is no consensus among the various expeditions that have tried to locate exact source of the Amazon, they all agree that it originates in one or more glacier-fed snow-packs of the Central Andes (near Arequipa). From this source to the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon logs some 6,430 kilometers, a few kilometers shy of the length of the Nile River, the world’s longest. Most of the other large tributaries also have their birth in the lofty Andes. And like a rock tumbling down a steep hill, these “white” rivers cascade down a vertical drop of some 5,500 meters to the Basin below hauling a massive amount of sediments. To be sure, by the time these rivers reach the confluence of the Maranon and Ucayali River- located only some 80 kilometers south-west of Iquitos (and some 120 meters above sea level) - the river – now milky brown in color - assumes its official name and begins its unrelenting journey to the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of some 3,700 kilometers. Indeed, unhampered by cataracts, dams, or rapids- and enjoying the momentum of the Amazon’s high vertical drop - the river’s velocity is swift and resolute, particularly during the wet season (from December to April). Captain Orellana who, in 1541, became the first European to navigate (almost) the entire length of the river, often commented on the unwavering speed of the river to his scribe, Friar Carvajal,”…it (Amazon) swallowed up the (tributaries) because it came with such a fury and with such great (force), that (we marveled) at the (large numbers of) of trees and dead timber it brought along.” Little wonder then, that the fury of the Amazon is able to push the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean some 65 miles off-shore and thus preventing the creation of a true delta! Instead, it forms a large mangrove - lined estuary punctuated by various islands. Equally remarkable is the volume of fresh water the Amazon moves and discharges. Scientists calculate that 770 billion liters of fresh water pours into the Atlantic every hour, or equivalent to 4.5 trillion gallons in a 24- hour period! That is tantamount to 20% of all the fresh water pouring into the sea from all the rivers of the world, now that’s a river!
Let us start with its source. Although there is no consensus among the various expeditions that have tried to locate exact source of the Amazon, they all agree that it originates in one or more glacier-fed snow-packs of the Central Andes (near Arequipa). From this source to the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon logs some 6,430 kilometers, a few kilometers shy of the length of the Nile River, the world’s longest. Most of the other large tributaries also have their birth in the lofty Andes. And like a rock tumbling down a steep hill, these “white” rivers cascade down a vertical drop of some 5,500 meters to the Basin below hauling a massive amount of sediments. To be sure, by the time these rivers reach the confluence of the Maranon and Ucayali River- located only some 80 kilometers south-west of Iquitos (and some 120 meters above sea level) - the river – now milky brown in color - assumes its official name and begins its unrelenting journey to the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of some 3,700 kilometers. Indeed, unhampered by cataracts, dams, or rapids- and enjoying the momentum of the Amazon’s high vertical drop - the river’s velocity is swift and resolute, particularly during the wet season (from December to April). Captain Orellana who, in 1541, became the first European to navigate (almost) the entire length of the river, often commented on the unwavering speed of the river to his scribe, Friar Carvajal,”…it (Amazon) swallowed up the (tributaries) because it came with such a fury and with such great (force), that (we marveled) at the (large numbers of) of trees and dead timber it brought along.” Little wonder then, that the fury of the Amazon is able to push the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean some 65 miles off-shore and thus preventing the creation of a true delta! Instead, it forms a large mangrove - lined estuary punctuated by various islands. Equally remarkable is the volume of fresh water the Amazon moves and discharges. Scientists calculate that 770 billion liters of fresh water pours into the Atlantic every hour, or equivalent to 4.5 trillion gallons in a 24- hour period! That is tantamount to 20% of all the fresh water pouring into the sea from all the rivers of the world, now that’s a river!
LIVING IN STRATAS
By now we are ready to tackle the question of why is there so much biological wealth in the Amazon and what accounts for its diversity? Part of the answer lies on the interaction of temperature, humidity and rainfall, which, collectively speaking, have created an ideal tropical climate - drenched with rainfall and with an annual year-round temperature averaging 30 c. making it conducive for the bounty of nature to thrive. But these atmospheric conditions are not fortuitous. They were designed by nature millions of years ago (during the Cretaceous) setting the stage for the denizens of Terra Firme (the land portion of the Amazon Basin) to evolve and adapt to a world punctuated by competition, struggle and survival, a drama so well described by Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin, the preeminent 19th century British naturalists. But the tropical trove of the Amazon also depends on the niche each specie plays in maintaining the delicate equilibrium of the Amazon’s biomass. Roles like the one played by bats in dispersing the seeds of a given plant (eg., trees) over a vast area - triggering diversity- and providing sustenance to a myriad of organisms like the giant cockroach who simply love to feast on their dung! But, unlike temperate rainforest, the wide assortment of species in the tropics are located in just a puny track of forest floor and in the great variety of flora it possesses, particularly trees and their three fairly distinct vertical strata or stratum.
Perhaps there is no better way to introduce the cornucopia of life in the Amazon then to book a window seat on an Amazon - bound flight (eg., Iquitos, Manaus). In doing so, the majesty and startling beauty of the Amazon’s canopy (the strata immediately below the emergent) is unveiled as a lush, evergreen carpet extending far into the horizon. And if your lucky, as the plane begins its final approach, you would be able to see that the canopy consists of nothing more than a massive collection of intertwining trees that grow in tight clusters and seem so impenetrable that when downpours occur (mostly in the short-lived wet season and lasting only three or four months), the trees – averaging 30 meters in height – form a “crown” that function as a remarkable umbrella catching the majority of the rain and filtering the oppressive heat and sunlight for the shade-loving plants and animals below. Yet the canopy’s stealth is no match to a few towering emergents like the brasil nut or the kapok tree which often exceed 45 meters in height and have no problem piercing through the canopy and creating their own sun-baked habitat for a group of very specialized plants and animals, like the Amazon’s signature bird, the harpy eagle.
Thus blessed by shade and height, the canopy’s trunk, limbs and branches - bedecked by a plethora of dangling vines of the kind popularized by Tarzan (remember him?) - harbour enough humidity and nutrients - to produced a perpetually drenched and moist eco-system capable of supporting entire communities of plants, animals and other organism. The inventory ranges from exotic epiphytes, moss, and giant ferns, to a collection arboreal mammals like sloths and monkeys who, along with millions, yes millions, of other insects and micro - organisms, spent almost their entire life here, particularly in the canopy’s lofty “gardens.” And while the diet of these organism residing in the “gardens” vary, it does not include nutrients from the host tree, enjoying a kind of “non-aggression” pact known as “symbiosis” in the parlance of science. But there is one sneaky tree that violates the pact and kills its host: the strangling fig, Like its neighbours, the strangling fig sprouts in the canopy but then directs its roots to the trunk hitching a ride to the forest floor by embracing it for support. Once they reach the forest floor, the roots swell and viciously turn on their host by strangling it to death. Now that is gratitude for you!
Then we have the understory, which, like the canopy above, consist of a wide range of plants and animals and other organism that depend on decomposing organic material for nutrients. Indeed, the absence of prolong sunshine here condemns a myriad of critters and creepers to a life of relative darkness punctuated by conflicts for the few scattered flecks of sunlight (and space) that strikes the understory’s crowded world. In the words of Hemming: “it is a dark world, (humid) and dank with the smell of rotting leaves” (referring to the indistinguishable aroma of a rainforest). But the relentless rain, often accompanied by ferocious lighting and thunder- storms, periodically strike the canopy toppling trees in its wake and creating large gashes or gaps in the forest floor, the lowest horizontal strata of the Basin and home to larger and more elusive mammals, like the nocturnal ocelot, the bulky tapir or the jaguar, the king of the rainforest.
Indeed, when these gaps appear, they are subject to prolonged sun light and harsh oppressive heat, features not commonly found in the understory. Undeterred, fungi, bugs, and other critters invade the decomposing trees and set up camp in order to feast on their nutrients. But they are not alone, also rushing to the scene are pioneer plants, like the sun-loving cecropia tree. Nonetheless, in a few years time, as the cecropia tree begins to mature and grow, it would generate shade and beckon humidity and moisture thus signaling its own journey towards mortality! But nature being nature, the cecropia’s own demise also produces the necessary conditions for those shade-loving creatures to return “home,” a “home that may even be even more humid and darker than before, in part because the forest floor receives less than 2% of the share of sunlight striking the entire Amazon rainforest. Clearly then, the euphoric life – cycle of the cecropia tree underscores the stern and predatory world of nature, a binding world that connects all living matter to an endless symphony of creation and destruction.
Equally remarkable is how this uninviting dark world of the forest floor also accounts for some 20% of all nutrients found in the rainforest. Most of which are concentrated in a relatively thin, yet rich, top - soil that rarely exceeds ten centimeters in depth. Little wonder then that the forest floor functions as a cradle for the majority of trees experiencing their first “wink” of life after sprouting from just tiny seedlings! The inventory include such varieties as the over 600 species of palms; the infamous rubber tree and the towering kapok tree, the spiritual guardian of the rainforest to the native people of the Amazon. Ironically, beneath this thin and fragile layer of rich soil lies a sterile and thick layer of clay, often coated with iron (hence the reddish colour), that is totally devoid of nutrients but is so vast and encompassing, that it sprawls over the entire Tierra Firme of the Amazon!
Perhaps there is no better way to introduce the cornucopia of life in the Amazon then to book a window seat on an Amazon - bound flight (eg., Iquitos, Manaus). In doing so, the majesty and startling beauty of the Amazon’s canopy (the strata immediately below the emergent) is unveiled as a lush, evergreen carpet extending far into the horizon. And if your lucky, as the plane begins its final approach, you would be able to see that the canopy consists of nothing more than a massive collection of intertwining trees that grow in tight clusters and seem so impenetrable that when downpours occur (mostly in the short-lived wet season and lasting only three or four months), the trees – averaging 30 meters in height – form a “crown” that function as a remarkable umbrella catching the majority of the rain and filtering the oppressive heat and sunlight for the shade-loving plants and animals below. Yet the canopy’s stealth is no match to a few towering emergents like the brasil nut or the kapok tree which often exceed 45 meters in height and have no problem piercing through the canopy and creating their own sun-baked habitat for a group of very specialized plants and animals, like the Amazon’s signature bird, the harpy eagle.
Thus blessed by shade and height, the canopy’s trunk, limbs and branches - bedecked by a plethora of dangling vines of the kind popularized by Tarzan (remember him?) - harbour enough humidity and nutrients - to produced a perpetually drenched and moist eco-system capable of supporting entire communities of plants, animals and other organism. The inventory ranges from exotic epiphytes, moss, and giant ferns, to a collection arboreal mammals like sloths and monkeys who, along with millions, yes millions, of other insects and micro - organisms, spent almost their entire life here, particularly in the canopy’s lofty “gardens.” And while the diet of these organism residing in the “gardens” vary, it does not include nutrients from the host tree, enjoying a kind of “non-aggression” pact known as “symbiosis” in the parlance of science. But there is one sneaky tree that violates the pact and kills its host: the strangling fig, Like its neighbours, the strangling fig sprouts in the canopy but then directs its roots to the trunk hitching a ride to the forest floor by embracing it for support. Once they reach the forest floor, the roots swell and viciously turn on their host by strangling it to death. Now that is gratitude for you!
Then we have the understory, which, like the canopy above, consist of a wide range of plants and animals and other organism that depend on decomposing organic material for nutrients. Indeed, the absence of prolong sunshine here condemns a myriad of critters and creepers to a life of relative darkness punctuated by conflicts for the few scattered flecks of sunlight (and space) that strikes the understory’s crowded world. In the words of Hemming: “it is a dark world, (humid) and dank with the smell of rotting leaves” (referring to the indistinguishable aroma of a rainforest). But the relentless rain, often accompanied by ferocious lighting and thunder- storms, periodically strike the canopy toppling trees in its wake and creating large gashes or gaps in the forest floor, the lowest horizontal strata of the Basin and home to larger and more elusive mammals, like the nocturnal ocelot, the bulky tapir or the jaguar, the king of the rainforest.
Indeed, when these gaps appear, they are subject to prolonged sun light and harsh oppressive heat, features not commonly found in the understory. Undeterred, fungi, bugs, and other critters invade the decomposing trees and set up camp in order to feast on their nutrients. But they are not alone, also rushing to the scene are pioneer plants, like the sun-loving cecropia tree. Nonetheless, in a few years time, as the cecropia tree begins to mature and grow, it would generate shade and beckon humidity and moisture thus signaling its own journey towards mortality! But nature being nature, the cecropia’s own demise also produces the necessary conditions for those shade-loving creatures to return “home,” a “home that may even be even more humid and darker than before, in part because the forest floor receives less than 2% of the share of sunlight striking the entire Amazon rainforest. Clearly then, the euphoric life – cycle of the cecropia tree underscores the stern and predatory world of nature, a binding world that connects all living matter to an endless symphony of creation and destruction.
Equally remarkable is how this uninviting dark world of the forest floor also accounts for some 20% of all nutrients found in the rainforest. Most of which are concentrated in a relatively thin, yet rich, top - soil that rarely exceeds ten centimeters in depth. Little wonder then that the forest floor functions as a cradle for the majority of trees experiencing their first “wink” of life after sprouting from just tiny seedlings! The inventory include such varieties as the over 600 species of palms; the infamous rubber tree and the towering kapok tree, the spiritual guardian of the rainforest to the native people of the Amazon. Ironically, beneath this thin and fragile layer of rich soil lies a sterile and thick layer of clay, often coated with iron (hence the reddish colour), that is totally devoid of nutrients but is so vast and encompassing, that it sprawls over the entire Tierra Firme of the Amazon!
A VANISHING EDEN
Funny, ask any scholar “what is the foremost threat facing the Amazon today and they will invariably respond, “habitat loss.” Then they will proceed to blame the laundry list of economic projects (eg. mining, petroleum, forestry among others) - launched in the 1960’s - in order to provide economic opportunities to an otherwise unproductive and largely idle labour force living outside of the Amazon Basin. But instead, these economic policies back - fired and spiralled out of control maximizing the Amazon’s carrying capacity and wreaking havoc on its biomass, a process that took nature millions of years to create. But blaming the plight of the Amazon on the failures of these projects without analysing the detrimental impact of Homo Sapien, nature’s most renegaded specie, is misleading. That is why in 2017 scientists advocated the termination of the Holocene epoch – after a 12,000 year run - and proposed the dawn of the Anthropocene to commemorate the adverse effect of human activity on the planet (eg., climate change, ocean acidity). No wonder leading conservationists and naturalists, like Peter Raven, Craig Venter, David Attenborough among others, have unequivocally called for “finding ways to limit and slow human population growth and to start using our (available) resources more efficiently.” Indeed, a drop in the exponential growth of Homo Sapiens’ population would indeed mitigate the assault on the Amazon and stem the tide of extinction thereby giving the marginalized denizens of the Amazon a chance to claim their traditional habitat. After all, nature nurtures life yet we continue to treat it with contempt. The time has come to share the earth.