Tropical Rainforest
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Transcript of Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest: An Introduction
Description of a rainforest
1. Densely wooded
2. Location: Warm, tropical and wet climate
3. Soil: Nutrient Poor-hard to grow crops
4. Rainfall: Average 80 inches/year
(sometimes as high as 400 inches/yr)
Difference between tropical rain forest & temperate rain forest
• 1. Tropical rainforest: Located in the tropics; very warm climate and LOTS of rain
• 2. Temperate rainforest: More seasonal, less rain
Remaining rainforests
Dark Green Areas= only remaining rainforest left
Layers of the tropical rainforest
* Tall Trees- 150ft tall; branches at the highest level; act like an umbrella
* VERY THICK! Less than 2% of sunlight reaches the next layer; animals live here
* Trees grow to about 12ft. Home of leopards, snakes, and insects
Shrub layer * Grow shorter than 12 ft
* No growth, no sunlight & 100% humidity
• The Soil: Few nutrients, decomposition occurs quickly. The nutrients are absorbed by the trees
• Buttress Root System: Above ground or very shallow root system
Why is the rainforest so important?
• Contains 90% of all living “things”
• 70% of all plants have cancer fighting properties
• Large amount of oxygen produced in the rainforest
How & why the rainforests are being destroyed
• Slash and Burn:
Cutting down the forest for farms, roads, & other development. The trees are then burned
• Bio Diversity: Many types of animals, insects, & plant life
• Deforestation: Cutting down large areas of forest