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Tropical Rainforests

Tropical rainforests exist in areas within 10 degrees north and south of the equator that experience high temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. They have five distinct layers based on height, from the emergent layer of the tallest trees at 30-50 meters down to the undergrowth layer at under 5 meters. Tropical rainforest trees are evergreen with waxy leaves that shed water easily to prevent bacteria growth, and they grow very densely packed together. Due to the constant high rainfall and temperature, the leaf litter decomposes rapidly to supply nutrients in the topsoil, so tropical rainforest trees have shallow and widely spreading root systems to access water and nutrients.

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Nazurah Mutalib
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68 views2 pages

Tropical Rainforests

Tropical rainforests exist in areas within 10 degrees north and south of the equator that experience high temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. They have five distinct layers based on height, from the emergent layer of the tallest trees at 30-50 meters down to the undergrowth layer at under 5 meters. Tropical rainforest trees are evergreen with waxy leaves that shed water easily to prevent bacteria growth, and they grow very densely packed together. Due to the constant high rainfall and temperature, the leaf litter decomposes rapidly to supply nutrients in the topsoil, so tropical rainforest trees have shallow and widely spreading root systems to access water and nutrients.

Uploaded by

Nazurah Mutalib
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tropical Rainforests Tropical rainforests are found in places that experiences equatorial climate.

It is between 10N and S of the Equator. It experiences high temperature (about 27C) and rainfall (above 1500 millimetres) throughout the year. Structure of the forest Tropical rainforest can be divided into five distinct layers according to height. Highest 1) Emergent layer: height of 30m to 50m, the trees have talls, thick and straight thrunks. 2) Canopy layer: height of 15 to 30m, wide shallow and umbrella-shaped crowns to prevent sunlight from penetrating into the lower layers of the forest. 3) Understorey layer: 6m to 15m, narrower and grow where gaps in the canopy allow sunlight to pass through. 4) Shrub layer: up to 6m high. 5) Undergrowth layer: max height of 5m, plant growth is sparse because very little sunlight reaches this layer. LEAVES TRF are evergreens as the leaves remain green all year round due to constant high rainfall thoughout the year. The trees do not shed their leaves at the same time this year. Leaf surfaces are waxy with drip tips to allow rainwater to drain off easily, thus preventing harmful bacteria from growing on them. Density TRF are extremely dense and abundant, which means that plants grow very close to one another. Due to high rainfall and temperature Roots The high temperature and high rainfall all year round cause the leaf litter to decompose and form humus rapidly, supply nutients to the topsoil (uppermost layer of the soil) Hence the roots of trees in TRF are shallow and spread the soil for water and nutrients. Tall trees have buttress roots --> thick and spread out widely to support the great weight of the trees.

Diversity

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