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The Tropical Rainforest Notes

Tropical rainforests are dense jungles located near the equator that receive over 2000mm of rain each year. They contain the greatest biodiversity on Earth and have four layers - the emergent layer with the tallest trees up to 200 feet high, the canopy layer where most animals live in the trees up to 130 feet, the understory layer with smaller plants receiving little sunlight, and the forest floor covered in decomposing material. Rainforests are important because they stabilize the climate, maintain the water cycle, provide habitat for many species, and are a source of medicines and foods.

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392 views8 pages

The Tropical Rainforest Notes

Tropical rainforests are dense jungles located near the equator that receive over 2000mm of rain each year. They contain the greatest biodiversity on Earth and have four layers - the emergent layer with the tallest trees up to 200 feet high, the canopy layer where most animals live in the trees up to 130 feet, the understory layer with smaller plants receiving little sunlight, and the forest floor covered in decomposing material. Rainforests are important because they stabilize the climate, maintain the water cycle, provide habitat for many species, and are a source of medicines and foods.

Uploaded by

Edward
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Tropical Rainforest

What is a Tropical Rainforest?


•a tall, dense jungle

•always rains

•gets over 2000mm of rain each year

•the rain is evenly distributed throughout the year

•the range of temperature is usually 24⁰C and


27⁰C
•tropical rainforests are located between the
tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn along
the equator.
Name of Continent Name of region Name of Country
Central America ----- Mexico
South America Amazon Basin Brazil, Peru
West Africa Congo Basin Congo
North Australia ----- Australia
South Asia ----- Indonisia

Layers of the Rainforest


Tropical Rainforests cover only 6% of the Earth’s
surface, but they contain more than 50% of the
world’s plant and animal species. As many as 30
million species of plants and animals live in Tropical
Rainforests.

There are four layers of tropical rainforest:

Emergent Layer
• Trees can be 200 feet high.
• Most trees are broad-leaved, hardwood evergreens.
• Sunlight is plentiful up here.
• Animals found are eagles, monkeys, bats.

Canopy Layer
• the trees grow up to 130 feet tall
• The branches and trunks appear to be tied together
with hundreds of vines.
• About 90% of all rainforest animals live way up high in
the canopy since food is abundant including toucans and
treefrogs.

Understory Layer
• Little sunshine (only about 15%) reaches here, so the
plants have to grow larger leaves to reach the sunlight.
• This layer has many smaller trees, vines, shrubs. The
plants in this area seldom grow to 12 feet.
• Animals found are jaguars and leopards.

Forest Floor
• It's very dark here and so no plants grow here.
• It is an area covered with fallen leaves, seeds, dead
flowers and fruits, branches also decompose very quickly.
• Giant anteaters live in the layer.

Why are Tropical rainforests important？


Tropical rainforests：
• help stabilize the world's climate；
• maintain the water cycle；
• protect against flood, drought, and soil
erosion;
• provide a home to many plants and
animals;
• are a source for medicines and foods;
• support tribal people;
• are an interesting place to visit
Rainforests are often called the lungs of the plant
for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide and
producing oxygen, survival.
Tropical Rainforests maintain the water cycle.
Most rain forest animals can live only in their
natural homes (forests).
Without a home, many of these species could
become extinct.
The roots of the rainforest trees and vegetation
help to hold all the soil together.
This helps stop the washing away of soil, or erosion.

Rainfall 100%,
Transpiration 50%,
Evaporation 25%,
Runoff 25%
Humans are the main cause of rainforest
destruction. We are cutting down rainforests for
many reasons, including:
• wood for both timber and making fires;
• pulp for making paper;

• agriculture for both small and large farms

grazing land for cattle;


• extraction of minerals and energy;

• land for poor farmers don't have anywhere

else to live;
• road construction

Rainforest destruction has many


catastrophe effects:
• soils and nutrients are washed away. When
the trees are cut down, the soil is exposed to
the heavy rain and quickly becomes infertile
and useless, the forest cannot grow again.
• the extinction of plants and animals that
could provide us with food, medicine or
valuable products.
• Global warming. when the trees in the
rainforest are cut down, carbon dioxide is
released to the atmosphere. This carbon
dioxide acts as a blanket, trapping the sun's
heat and warming the planet.
Some steps for saving rainforests around the
world can be abbreviated as TREES:
1.Teach others about the importance of the
environment and how they can help save
rainforest.

2.Restore damaged ecosystems by planting


trees on land where forest have been cut
down.

3.Encourage people to live in away that doesn't


hurt the environment.

4.Established parks to protect rainforests and


wildlife.

5.Support companies that operate in ways that


minimize damage to the environment.

Trees are removed. Trees do not protect soil


for nutrients are washed out by the rain. So is
now less fertile in the and protective surface
becomes dry and compact. It is hard for rain to
soak into the soil, so flooding may occur. New
trees grow more slowly and there are less
species.

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