Life in the heights
Tropical rainforests cover only 6 % of the Earth's surface but yet they contain MORE THAN 1/2 of the world's plant and animal species!
Tropical forests contain more species than any other ecosystem, and a higher proportion of unique species. As people cut off large areas of tropical plants and trees, entire species are vanishing forever.
A
Rainforest can be described as dense jungle. The reason it is called a
"rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per
year. A tropical rain forest gets more than 1.5 meters of rain per year,
although some can get more than five meters.
There are
two types of rainforests, tropical and temperate. Tropical rainforests are
found closer to the equator and temperate rainforests are found
near coastal areas.
EMERGENT
LAYER
The tallest
trees are the emergents, towering as much as 60 meters above the forest floor
with trunks that measure up to 5 meters of diameter. Most of these trees are evergreens with broad leaves. Sunlight is plentiful up here. Animals found
are birds, butterflies and small monkeys live with bats, snakes and bugs.
CANOPY
LAYER
This is the
primary layer of the forest and forms a roof over the two remaining layers.
Most canopy trees have smooth, oval leaves that come to a point. It's a maze of
leaves and branches. Many animals live in this area since food is abundant. The
canopy is the home to birds, monkeys, frogs, as well as lizards,
snakes and many insects.
Little
sunshine reaches this area so the plants have to grow larger leaves to reach
the sunlight. The plants in this area rarely grow to 3 meters. This layer is the
home to birds, butterflies, frogs and snakes.
This is the
layer that grows between the smaller trees of the understory and the forest
floor. This layer is made up of ferns and small shrubs.
FOREST
FLOOR
The forest
floor is very dark. This is due to the trees above stopping the sunlight from
entering the forest. It is estimated that only 2% of the sunlight actually
reaches the floor. The soil on the floor is covered in a layer of leaves, twigs
and dead plants. The dead leaves are alive with invertebrates and
microorganisms. Mosses and ferns grow on the forest floor where it is warm,
damp and shady. The soil is very sandy with only a thin layer of rotting
vegetation. The forest floor is home to some of the larger animals of the
forest such as tigers and elephants in Asia, gorillas and leopards in Africa and tapirs and
jaguars in South America.
Tropical forests of all varieties are disappearing rapidly as humans clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to make materials for construction and fuel, and to build roads and urban areas.
Rainforests
are the most productive and most complex ecosystems on Earth. Destroying them
alters the Water Cycle, causing drought, floods and soil erosion. The cutting
and destruction of the Rainforests also changes the Earth's Surface, and it
alters wind and ocean current patterns, and changes rain fall distribution.
