Tropical Rainforests

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Tropical Rainforests

• By Wade Craycraft and Matt Tuttle

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Where?

• Tropical rainforests primarily exist in South
  America, Africa, and southeast Asia.

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Climate

• Most tropical rainforests are located near the
  equator, and they receive about 12 hours of
  sunlight per day.
• Rainforests, depending on their location, receive
  between 60-260 inches per year. This is most of
  any other biome. Rainforest experience rainfall
  almost every day.
• Temperature rarely drops below 68 degrees F, or
  surpasses 93 degrees.
• Humidity is usually between 77-88 percent.
• Rainforests act as the worlds thermostat,
  regulating temperatures and weather patterns.

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Climatogram
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Layers in Tropical Rainforests

• There are 4 different layers in rainforests.
• The top layer, known as the emergent layer,
  consists of the tops of the tallest trees that
  rise above the rest of the forest. These trees
  get lots of sunlight and protect the layers
  below.
• The next layer is the canopy. This layer consists
  of the crowns of the other taller trees, and
  blocks most of the sunlight from reaching the
  lower layers.
• The next level, referred to as the understory,
  consists of small trees, bushes, and plants that
  require almost no sunlight to survive.
• The last layer, the forest floor, receives less
  than 2 of the sunlight. On the floor is a thin
  layer of fallen leaves, seeds, fruits, and
  branches that decompose very quickly.

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Producers

• Kapok Tree - The kapok tree is found in tropical
  rainforests all over the world. It is an emergent
  tree, reaching 150 feet or higher, with a
  straight trunk, huge buttress roots and an
  umbrella shaped crown. Many species of birds and
  animals make their home in the kapok's branches.
• Rattan- Rattan is a woody vine, a species of
  liana, that grows up from the forest floor, using
  trees as support to reach the upper layers of the
  rainforest to get more sunlight. Some lianas are
  as large in diameter as trees, and thousands of
  feet long. Rattan is used to make rope and
  furniture.

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Genghis Tree- Genghis trees average a height of
around 80 feet tall. The trunk of the Genghis
Tree is about 15 feet in diameter. Genghis Tree
usually averages a life-span of about 75 years.
The leaves that fall from these types of trees
provide food for the animals that live here.
Bananas- Even though they grow on trees, bananas
are not trees. They are giant herbs. After a
year, they reach their full height of anywhere
between 10 and 20 feet. The blossoms eventually
bloom into a fruit, and can be eaten.
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Coffee- It can grow as tall as 30 feet, but is
considered a bush or shrub. From the picture they
look like grapes, but those are berries
containing two coffee beans inside. It takes six
to eight years for the plant to be in full
production and coffee plants can live up to 100
years old.
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Consumers

• Poison Arrow Frog- Poison-arrow frogs are found
  in all tropical rainforests in Central and South
  America. They are known by their bright colors
  which warn other animals that they are poisonous.
  Its poison is one of the most powerful known and
  can cause paralysis or death. It is so potent
  that one millionth of an ounce can kill a dog and
  an amount smaller than a grain of salt can kill a
  human. One frog carries enough poison to kill
  about 100 people. Native hunters use it on the
  tips of their arrows which is how the frog got
  its name. They eat insects and plants, such as
  small beetles and leaves off of trees.

Toucans- There are about 40 different kinds of
toucans. They vary in size from about 7 inches to
a little over two feet. They are found in the
rainforests of Central and South America. The
toucan is very important to the rainforest
because they help to disperse seeds from the
fruits and berries they eat.
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• Capuchin Monkey- Capuchin monkeys live in the
  rainforest of Peru. They are highly arboreal,
  meaning they live mostly in the trees of the
  upper canopy. Their diet consists not just of
  fruit and insects, but also bird eggs, young
  birds, baby squirrels, and small lizards.
  (pictured on the left)
• Squirrel Monkeys- Squirrel Monkeys are some of
  the most commonly seen monkeys in the Central
  American rainforest's. Your average squirrel
  monkey lives about 30 meters off the ground in
  virgin and secondary forests and in cultivated
  areas, usually along rivers and streams. This
  allows them access to their favorite foods. A
  spider monkey's diet includes insects, spiders,
  bird eggs, young birds, fruit and nuts. About 90
  of their diet is composed of soft, tropical
  fruits. (pictured on the right)

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• Sloths- Sloths live in the rainforest of Central
  and South America. The sloth is the slowest
  mammal on Earth. It takes a month for a sloth to
  move 1 kilometer. Sloths are arboreal animals,
  which means that they spend most of their lives
  hanging upside-down from tree branches. They eat,
  sleep, mate, and give birth upside-down in the
  trees. They hold onto tree branches with strong,
  curved claws that are on each of their four feet.
  Sloths are herbivores. They eat leaves, tender
  young trees, and fruit.

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Human Impact on Tropical Rainforests

• Humans have many impacts on Tropical Rainforest.
  One and a half acres of these rainforests are
  destroyed every second (about 72 million acres
  per year) due to human activities. The role of
  humans in the deforestation of the world's
  forests is considerable and extensive. Many
  activities contribute to this loss including
  subsistence activities, oil extraction, logging,
  mining, fires, war, commercial agriculture,
  cattle ranching, hydroelectric projects,
  pollution, hunting and poaching, the collection
  of fuel wood and building material, and road
  construction.

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What is being done to protect rainforests?

• Many countries have seen the destruction of
  rainforests. Many countries have created their
  own agencies/organizations to protect their
  sacred rainforests. Some conservation
  organizations are promoting tree planting to
  replace the trees that have been cut down. There
  are others as well promoting to stop
  deforestation all over the world.

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Sources

• www.wikipedia.comwww.nature.org
• www.pandora.org
• www.blueplanetbiomes.com