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Plants and animals of the Tropical rainforests

How do they survive in this hot, wet environment?

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All AboutRainforests

What is a Rainforest?Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests. They

are havens for millions of plants and animals.

Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. The plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. These plants are also very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness.

The Tropical Rainforest is a forest occurring in tropical areas of heavy rainfall. It is abundant with many species of wildlife and vegetation. Rainforests cover less than two percent of the Earth's surface. They are home to some 50 to 70 percent of all life forms on our planet. Rainforests are the most productive and most complex ecosystems on Earth

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Where areTropical Rainforests?

Where are tropical rainforests? Tropical rainforests are located in a band around the equator (Zero degrees latitude), mostly in the area between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S latitude). This 3,000 mile (4800 km) wide band is called the "tropics."

The equator is an imaginary circle around the earth, halfway between the north and south poles. Temperatures at the equator are high. These high temperatures cause accelerated evaporation of water, which results in frequent rain in forested areas in the tropics.

There are rainforests in South and Central America, Africa, Oceania (the islands around Australia), and Asia. Tropical rainforests cover only about 7% of the Earth's surface.

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Structure of the rainforest

The dominant plants in a rainforest are giant trees. The hot wet climate enables them to grow all year round, and they remain evergreen, continuously shedding their leaves and growing new ones.

The average height of rainforest trees is about 45 metres, although the emergence (trees which tower above the others) may go as high as 90 metres. Smaller trees growing the under story (layer between the canopy and the forest floor).

Several layers can be identified within the forest

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A Emergent

tree canopy

B Large trees

of Middle layer

C Lower tree

layer

D Shrub/small

tree layer

E Ground vegetation

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

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Canopy layer - formed by the crowns of the tall trees and contains a mass of branches, Leaves, flowers and fruit. Conditions in the canopy vary, and include: •Hot sunshine •Heavy rainfall •Tropical storms

Middle layer - the Vegetation here is more sparse. The trees tend to have pointed crowns and, when a giant tree falls, they grow quickly to fill a gap in the canopyConditions within the forest on more or less constant: •There is little variation in temperature •The air is moist and still •Rain on the canopy drips to the forest floor several minutes later

•A breeze is rare, even during storms

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Shrub layer - scattered shrubs, saplings (young trees) and ferns.

Herb layer - a few non-woody, soft stemmed plants with thin leaves.

Leaf litter - thin layer covers the forest floor.

Soil layer - most roots growing the top 10 centimetres

whether nutrients are found.

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Layers of the Rainforest

Different animals and plants live in different parts of the rainforest. Scientists divide the rainforest into strata (layers) based on the living environment. Starting at the top, the strata

are:

•EMERGENTS: Giant trees that are much higher than the average canopy height. It houses many birds and insects.

•CANOPY: The upper parts of the trees. This leafy environment is full of life in a tropical rainforest and includes: insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, and more.

•UNDERSTORY: A dark, cool environment under the leaves but over the ground.

•FOREST FLOOR: Teeming with animal life, especially insects. The largest animals in the rainforest generally live here.

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Emergents are the tallest trees and are usually over 50 metres tall. The Kapok tree is an example of an emergent. The sea of leaves blocking out the sun from the lower layers is called the canopy. The canopy contains over 50% of the rainforest wildlife. This includes birds, snakes and monkeys. Lianas (vines) climb to the canopy to reach this sun light.

The under canopy mainly contains bare tree trunks and lianas.

The shrub layer has the densest plant growth. It contains shrubs and ferns and other plants needing less light. Saplings of emergents and canopy trees can also be found here.

The forest floor is usually dark and damp. It contains a layer of rotting leaves and dead animals called litter. This decomposes rapidly (within 6 weeks) to form a thin humus, rich in nutrients.

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The following plant adaptations enable tropical plants to live in the hot, humid, and wet

conditions of the tropical rainforest.

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Plant Adaptations

1. Bark In drier, temperate deciduous forests a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from

the tree's trunk.2. Lianas Lianas are climbing woody vines that drape rainforest trees. They have adapted to life in the rainforest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach available sunlight.

3. Drip Tips The leaves of forest trees have adapted to cope with exceptionally high rainfall. Many tropical rainforest leaves have a drip tip. It is thought that these drip tips enable rain drops to run off quickly. Plants need to shed water to avoid growth of fungus and bacteria in the warm, wet tropical rainforest

4. Buttresses Many large trees have massive ridges near the base that can rise 30 feet high before blending into the trunk. Why do they form? Buttress roots provide extra stability,

6. Epiphytes Epiphytes are plants that live on the surface of other plants, especially the trunk and branches. They grow on trees to take advantage of the sunlight in the canopy

7. The trees don’t waste time growing branches as they could use this energy to grow faster and reach the sunlight first!

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Strong scent and bright

colours of flowers

attract insects which

assist in pollination

Strong scent of fruits attracts

animals, which feed on the

fruit and assist in dispersal

of the seeds

Thick, waxy surface of

leaves protects against

hot sun, heavy rain,

and strong winds

Aerial roots of

epiphytes absorb

moisture from the

air Tall straight trunks

no side branches

Thin, smooth bark

Buttress roots

Shallow spreading

root system

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Wide roots stop these enormously tall trees from falling over. They also wind above the ground looking for food and nutrients rather than digging beneath the ground

where nutrients are scarce.

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These specially designed leaves allow all the

rainwater to drip off the leaf quickly so it doesn’t get too heavy and break!

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Have their roots in the ground and then climb up

the trees to reach the sunlight.

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Rainforest plantsAnd the enormous the number of different species of plants grow in

rainforests, with many species occurring only in one particular region.

Unlike other forests, rain forests have an abundance of :

Epiphytes plants which live above the ground growing on

tree trunks and branches, Example orchids,

ferns, mosses

Climbing plants including large woody climbers called lianas

which are rooted in the soil and usually reach the

canopy. The climbers twist around the tree trunks,

and loop from one tree to another in the canopy,

binding the trees together.

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Orchid - sun-loving roots

attached themselves to

branches and absorb nutrients

Pitcher plant - a carnivorous plant.

slippery rim

tendril

Insects falling into the

pitcher are digested, and

nutrients which are released

are absorbed by the plant.

Parasitic plant

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Animals that Live in Rainforests:Ridiculously huge numbers of animals live in rainforests, including microscopic animals, invertebrates (like insects and worms), fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. The different rainforests of the world support different populations of animals. A few animals from each rainforest are listed below:

•South America -•insects (morpho butterfly, Julia butterfly, Monarch butterfly, and millions of other insects) •mammals (jaguar, ocelot, didelphid opossums, sloth, howler monkey, spider monkey, capybara, many bats, marmosets, procyonids, peccaries) •birds (quetzal, macaw, tinamous, curassows, hoatzins, hummingbirds, eagles, ovenbirds, antbirds, flycatchers, puffbirds, toucans, jacamars, tanagers, tapirs, troupials, honeycreepers, cardinal grosbeaks, xenops) •reptiles (anaconda, caiman, iguanas, lizards, microteiid lizards, boas, and coral snakes), amphibians (poison arrow frog, etc.) •fish (electric eel, piranha), and millions of other animals.

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So everybody wants a piece of the action!

The rainforests have a lot to offer……..

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The trees are being cut down at an alarming rate!

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So why are the trees being removed…………………

MiningSettlements

Timber Cattle Ranching

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So what does it mean for us?Yummy McDonalds!

Iron Ore to make steel

Luxurious furntiture

Exciting holidays!

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But it’s not all good news!

Medicines from the rainforest will be lost!

Burning the trees adds to global warming!

Trees release oxygen which we need to breath!

And what about the poor old animals?

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