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Kids do Ecology - world biomes: rainforest

Kids do Ecology - world biomes: rainforest
Location | Weather | Plants | Animals | People | Links LOCATION: There are two types of rainforest biomes: temperate and tropical rainforests. Temperate rainforests are found along coasts in temperate regions. The largest temperate rainforests are on the Pacific coast in North America, stretching from Alaska to Oregon. WEATHER: Rainforests are important because they help maintain global weather patterns and rain. Tropical rainforests are lush and warm all year long! Temperate rainforests are also wet, but not as rainy as tropical rainforests. PLANTS: One type of plant often found in a rainforest is an epiphyte. There are about 10 -2 0 species of trees in temperate rainforests that are mostly coniferous, meaning they have needles. Most trees in tropical rainforests have thin, smooth bark. Tropical rainforests are so big that they are divided into four zones. ANIMALS: Tropical rainforests are home to half the plant and animal species on Earth. Rainforest Education Mongabay.com

Tropical Rain Forest  ·  University of Puget Sound Climate Year-round high temperatures characterize the biome, with a daily temperature range exceeding the seasonal range. Day lengths are essentially the same year-round. The microclimate is substantially different above and below the canopy, very significant to plants and insects. Soils Soils of this region are typically latosols. Vegetation Tree growth is luxuriant, with emergent trees to 60 m and canopy trees to 30 m or more. Diversity This zone has the highest plant diversity of any zone. Animal diversity is also highest in this zone, with an almost incomprehensible variety of insects possible in a few hectares of rain forest. Plant Adaptations With intense competition for light, many trees have the ability to remain semidormant under the canopy until a light gap appears, then undertake very rapid growth. Animal Adaptations Animals show year-round activity and very high diversity, thus interactions among species are intense. Human Effects

The average temperature in the rainforest is about 30C, 80F it changer very little through out the year Tropical Rainforest The rainforest that we have chosen to do our project on is in and is called the Amazon Rainforest. You can see on the picture in the upper left corner that the Amazon is the dark green area on the map. This zone which covers much of the northern half of that is east of the and north of the which centers at the equator. It extends through large parts of . This biome is surrounded by dry forests and savannas. In an average year in a tropical rainforest, the climate is very humid do to all of the rain which amounts to about 250cm per year. The climate is found near the equator. 40o F. This is red fungus (Pycnoporus sanguineus) these would be classified in the Fungi kingdom. This is white fungus (Lentinus) and it would be classified in the Fungi kingdom. This is the fern leaf. This is the Cattleya Plant. This is the Toco Toucan. This is the vampire bat. This is Euglena. This is an Actinopod. Howler Monkey The howler monkey is the loudest monkey in the rainforest. 1. 2.

Science for Kids: Tropical Rainforest Biome One of the most fascinating biomes on planet Earth is the tropical rainforest. It is filled with tall trees, interesting plants, giant insects, and all sorts of animals. What makes a forest a rainforest? As you might have guessed from the name, rainforests are forests that get a lot of rain. Rainforests are also very humid and warm. Where are the world's rainforests? There are three major areas of tropical rainforests: Africa - The major tropical rainforest in Africa is in the southern central portion of the continent with the Congo River running through it. Biodiversity The tropical rainforest has the most biodiversity of all the land biomes. Layers of the Rainforest The rainforest can be divided up into three layers: the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. The canopy - This is the top layer of trees. What makes this biome so important? The rainforests are important to the world for many reasons. The Disappearing Rainforests Take a ten question quiz about this page.

Importance of Rain Forests Subject: Importance of Rain Forests andSubject: Saving Rain forests 1. What are the major reasons for the destruction of the rainforests and what people's lives their are hurt by this? 2. Rain forests are complex ecosystems that are essentially self-sufficient when healthy. What can students, of all ages, do to help save the rainforest: Rain forest destruction (in both tropical and temperate climates) is caused almost entirely by purposeful cutting of the forest. Dr. Return to the Ask-An-Earth-Scientist © page

Tropical Rain Forest As you can see from the map to the right, the tropical rainforests are, indeed, located in the tropics, a band around the equator from 23.5 N (the Tropic of Cancer) to 23.5 S (the Tropic of Capricorn) (red lines on map, right). Because the Earth tilts 23.5 degrees on its axis as it travels around the sun, at some point in the year (the solstices, June 22nd in the north, December 22nd in the south) the sun will be directly overhead on one of these lines. At the equinoxes the sun is directly over the equator. Within this band, solar radiation is most intense, and thus the surface of the planet warms the most. Not all of the land in the tropics is tropical rainforest. {*style:<a href=''>*}{*style:</a>*}Another biome similar to the tropical rain forest is the{*style:<b>*} cloud forest.

Tropical Rainforest The layers are: Emergent layer Top layer is the emergent layer, the tops of huge trees as big as 100m that rise high above the rest of the forest, therefore receiving the most sunlight. Canopy The second layer the canopy, tall trees growing close together so that their tops are close, forming a fairly continuous cover. Understorey The third layer is the understorey, smaller trees, bushes, and plants such as ferns. Forest floor The fourth layer is the forest floor, where few plants grow because almost no sunlight reaches it. Why do tropical rainforests have so many species of plants and animals? There are billions of species (kinds) of mammals, insects, birds and reptiles found in tropical rainforests, so many that scientists do not yet know all the species, and new ones are still being discovered.

Amazon Forest Ecology | Global Forest Atlas The most biodiverse place on earth, the Amazon rainforest teems with life. Thousands of tree species, 50,000 species of other plants, and hundreds of thousands of insects can be found throughout the forest habitats of the region. Although the magnitude and complexity of life in the Amazon makes a summary quite difficult, the following general characteristics can be usually be observed. Forest Structure Moist forests of the Amazon basin are normally evergreen forests stratified with 3-4 layers of vegetation: under-story, sub-canopy, canopy, and occasionally the emergents layer. While tropical forests often seem quiet on the ground, the forest canopy buzzes with life. Amazon forest soil Unlike temperate soils, most tropical soils are extremely old and weathered, providing little nutrient input. Dense vegetation also leads to soil acidity, and high amounts of aluminum and iron that can be toxic to many plants and reduce the amount of available phosphorus, an important plant nutrient.

Tropical rainforest climate Worldwide zones of Tropical rainforest climate (Af). A tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually (but not always) found along the equator. Regions with this climate typically feature tropical rainforests, and it is designated by the Köppen climate classification. Description[edit] Distribution[edit] Upland rainforest in Borneo. A tropical rainforest climate is usually found at latitudes within five degrees North and south of the equator, which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Some of the places that have this climate are indeed uniformly and monotonously wet throughout the year (e.g., the northwest Pacific coast of South and Central America, from Ecuador to Costa Rica, see for instance, Andagoya, Colombia), but in many cases the period of higher sun and longer days is distinctly driest (as at Palembang, Indonesia) or the time of lower sun and shorter days may have more rain (as at Sitiawan, Malaysia). Examples[edit]

The Amazon RainForest When one hears 'Amazon Rain Forest', usually images of tall green trees and lots of plants and insects come to mind. When one hears 'nuclear', usually an image of a mushroom cloud appears. Trying to link the two seemingly disparate things is a seemingly unnatural process, but they are linked.Nuclear weapons are quite a recent invention, their unprecedented power has made the extinction of the human race a very definite possibility. We saw demonstrations of their power in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Western part of New Zealand's South Island | Ecoregions Description Location and General DescriptionThis ecoregion lies on the western side of the Southern Alps and is delineated to the north and south by the Buller and Cascade Rivers, respectively, and by the Tasman Sea to the west. In some places, peaks that reach 3,000 m to 3,500 m are just 30 km from the sea. To the east of the fault the land rises abruptly, with steep forested slopes dissected by deep gorges that drain the extensive snow fields above. Uplift of the Alps is continuous but is, in part, offset by rapid erosion, which has been magnified in recent times by land clearance. The maritime influence on climate is pronounced. Southren rata (Metrosideros umbellata) and kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa) grow on younger moraine surfaces that have retained some nutrients in the soil cover. Westland’s rivers vary considerably, from fast flowing mountain torrents to sluggish, tannin stained creeks. The region’s swamps, lakes, and estuaries are the least modified in the country. Yockney, I.

Rarakau Programme “The Land”, as the descendants call it, is owned by the Rowallan-Alton Incorporation (comprised of Maori decedents of the region) and is loated in Te Waewae Bay on the coast between the Wairarakau (Rowallan Burn) and the Waikouau Rivers. These landowners hope to interact with their environment in the ways that their ancestors did before the “first contact” in New Zealand. “A goal of the management and shareholders of the Rowallan-Alton Incorporation is to develop a sustainable revenue stream from our indigenous forest resource. We want to use these revenues to enhance the quality and diversity of the forest by ongoing pest management, so that we, and our as yet unborn mokopuna can forever enjoy the sounds of the Tui, the Kaka, the Kiwi and maybe even the Kakapo. In 2007, Ekos reached out to the community to help them achieve this goal and change forest land-use from logging to ecosystem-protection. 1.

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