The Tropical Rainforest Biome: Goods and Services

Rainforest

A terrestrial biome found near the equator in areas where rainfall is abundant (more than 250 cm/year) and the dry season, if any, is very brief. Forests are very diverse floristically and structurally; trees sometimes reach great heights. Most trees are evergreen; deciduous species, if present, do not all lose their leaves at the same time of year.

Commercial Destruction

Absolute Poverty Deforestation

• Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6%.

• One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second.

• Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.

• Experts estimates that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year.

• 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.

Location

Location of TRF

Biodiversity Hotspots

10km

10km

SPECIES:

Amphibian

Flowering plants

Tree

Birds

Butterfly

Reptile

Ant

60

1,500

750

400

150

100

100

• The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

• More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests.

• One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.

• At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest.

Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%; rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal areas, there is a real dry season. Almost all rain forests lie near the equator.

TRF Ecosystem Services

Supporting Provisioning

Regulating

Cultural

Food Web- Simple?

Nutrient Cycling

Water Cycling

Discuss: What human actions could disrupt this flow of energy?

Plenary:

What has been the most convincing piece of evidence from today’s lesson to show you that the biodiversity of tropical rainforests must be protected?