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Table of Contents
- cover
- half title
- The Amazon
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- What is a tropical rainforest?
- What do we mean when we say “the Amazon”?
- What makes the Amazon important?
- 2 Geology, Soils, and Vegetation
- What is the geological history of Amazonia?
- Do large and diverse Amazonian rainforests thrive on poor soils?
- What is terra preta?
- How does nutrient cycling help lush rainforests flourish?
- What are the major forest and vegetation types in Amazonia?
- What are savannas, and how are they created?
- What are tepuis, and what makes them unique?
- 3 Rivers
- Where does the Amazon River begin?
- What are the various river types in Amazonia?
- What are some of the characteristic aquatic habitats in Amazonia?
- What is the Casiquiare Canal?
- Is there a coral reef in the Amazon?
- 4 Amazonian Biota
- Plants
- What is ayahuasca?
- Why are bromeliads known as the aerial aquaria of the Amazon?
- What is the traditional use of coca in the northwest Amazon?
- What is curare, and why is it important?
- Why are lianas so important, and yet so poorly understood?
- What are strangler figs, and why are they not considered to be lianas?
- Why are palms the most useful group of plants to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon?
- Did an Amazonian water lily serve as the inspiration for steel frame architecture?
- Animals
- What is the origin of Amazonian fauna?
- Do vampire bats drink human blood?
- How dangerous are Amazonian spiders?
- What are Amazonia’s most formidable predators?
- Are there hallucinogenic frogs in the Amazon rainforest?
- Are there pink dolphins in the Amazon?
- Why does Amazonia harbor the most diverse freshwater fish fauna in the world?
- Is the tiny candiru catfish as terrifying as its reputation?
- How dangerous are electric eels?
- Do piranhas attack humans?
- Are there sharks in the Amazon?
- 5 Indigenous Peoples
- When did the first humans arrive in Amazonia?
- How many people were living in Amazonia in 1492?
- What are the indigenous languages in Amazonia, and why is it important to study them?
- What is a shaman?
- Are shrunken heads fact or fiction?
- What is slash-and-burn agriculture?
- Do uncontacted and isolated tribes still exist?
- 6 History
- What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
- Who were the conquistadors, and why was Lope De Aguirre considered the worst?
- What role did Pedro Teixeira play in the colonization of the Amazon?
- What is the history of the mapping of the Amazon?
- Who was the first European scientific explorer of the Amazon?
- What is the connection between the Amazon and the origins of the theory of evolution?
- Did Harvard send an expedition to the Amazon to disprove Darwin’s theory of evolution?
- How did Amazonian rubber become a key global commodity?
- What effect did the rubber industry have on Amazonia?
- What was Fordlandia?
- What was the Jari Project, and why did it fail?
- Has Amazonia produced any heroes?
- 7 Amazonia’s Uncertain Future
- Is cattle ranching a major cause of Amazonian deforestation?
- What is the status of hydroelectric dams in Amazonia?
- What is the impact of gold mining in Amazonia?
- What is the role of large-scale agricultural production in deforestation?
- What is the role of small-scale farming in deforestation?
- Who farms in Amazonia?
- What is the status and impact of logging in Amazonia?
- How will climate change affect Amazonia and vice versa?
- What is the Trans-Amazon Highway, and how has it driven deforestation?
- What is the impact of oil and gas exploration and extraction on local peoples?
- What is the impact of overhunting and overfishing in Amazonia?
- What impact is China having on Amazonia?
- What caused the Amazon fires of 2019?
- 8 Conclusion
- How can Amazonia be saved?
- Notes
- Index