Tropical Rainforest Biome, Description, Climate, Flora and Fauna
| February 23, 2012 | Posted by admin under Natural Wonders and National Parks |
Near the Equator, the climate is warm and moist all year round, creating ideal conditions for plant growth. As a result, trees and other forest plants grow almost incessantly in an endless competition for light. Some plants put all their resources into growing towering trunks, while others are adapted for survival in partial shade. As a result of these different growth patterns, the forest is divided into clearly defined layers, each with its own characteristic animal species.
Animals of the Rainforest
The highest layer, at about 75 metres, consists of giant, isolated trees called emergents. These provide nest sites for predatory birds and feeding platforms for monkeys. Beneath this level is the canopy, where copious light, combined with some protection provided by the emergents, results in a continuous layer of branches and lush foliage up to 20 metres deep. This layer feeds or harbours most of the forest’s animal life.
Tropical Rainforest takes you on a 400 million year journey to illustrate the diversity and beauty of life in the forests. Featuring the birds and primates of the forest canopy and insects of the forest floor, Tropical Rainforest also shows the adventure of researchers challenged to understand the forests even as they disappear. From extreme close-ups to tree-top panoramas, the film lets you experience the forest on its own terms, to better understand and appreciate the treasures of this environment. IMAX 1992
Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide
Fully revised and updated to take into account the latest scientific discoveries and developments, more than fifty new species, and changes to the distribution, population numbers, and conservation status of many animal groups, Animal brings together the expertise of natural history specialists and outstanding wildlife photographers to illustrate, describe, and explain the incredible range of creatures in the animal kingdom.
Below the canopy is the understory – a more open layer made up of shade-tolerant trees. On the forest floor, leaf litter is food for some very small animals as well as support for plants and saplings that grow where sufficient light filters through from above.
This zonal pattern is characteristic of lowland rainforest. At higher altitudes, the trees are lower and the layers are more compressed – an effect that is exacerbated as altitude increases until eventually the trees form elfin forests little more than head high.
Soil is also a vital factor in shaping the forest. I some parts of the Tropics, such as the Rio Negro region of South America, infertile sand results in the growth of stunted trees with leathery leaves.
Deforesting the Earth: From Prehistory to Global Crisis
Published in 2002, Deforesting the Earth was a landmark study of the history and geography of deforestation. Now available as an abridgment, this edition retains the breadth of the original while rendering its arguments accessible to a general readership.
The Tropical Rainforests and Their Importance to the Global Eco-system
The world’s tropical rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate. Sooner than we know we will all become aware of their importance in our lives. Today, more than two-thirds of the world’s tropical rainforests exist as fragmented remnants of their past magnificence. Man in his headlong pursuit of power and dominance over nature continues to destroy the sacred trust to which he is an heir, the planet itself, our home spaceship earth hangs in the balance. What can be done at this late hour to turn the trend back towards sanity?
Tropical rainforests and their importance to the global ecosystem, and for that matter human existence, are paramount. Unequalled in terms of their biological diversity, tropical rainforests are a natural pool of genetic diversity which offers a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield foods, and a plethora of other useful forest raw materials.
They are an important habitat for migratory animals and sustain as much as fifty percent of the species of life on our planet, not to mention a number of diverse and unique indigenous cultures. Tropical rainforests also play an important role in regulating global weather in addition to maintaining regular rainfall, while buffering against floods, droughts, and erosion. They store huge quantities of carbon, while producing more than a significant amount of the world’s oxygen.
Despite their vital role, tropical forests are restricted to the small area of land between the latitudes 22° North and 22° South of the equator, or in other words between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Since the majority of Earth’s land is located north of the tropics, rainforests are naturally limited to a relatively small area relative to the overall global land area.
Like so many other natural places Tropical rainforests are a dwindling resource in the 21st century. The vast areas of forest, swamp, desert, and savanna that carpeted the Earth’s surface a mere five generations ago have now been reduced to scattered fragments. Today, more than two-thirds of the world’s tropical rainforests exist as fragmented remnants. Just a few thousand years ago, tropical rainforests covered as much as 12 percent of the Earth’s land surface, or about 6 million square miles (15.5 million square km), but today less than 5 percent of Earth’s land is covered with these forests or about 2.41 million square miles or 625 million hectares).
Now you can have the world’s rain forests and their sounds at your fingertips!
Over the past 16 years Swiss photographer Thomas Marent has traveled all over the world photographing rainforests, from Peru and Ecuador to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Usually traveling alone, Marent has been known to spend extraordinary lengths of time to get the perfect shot – sometimes 12 days. You can see the results in his first book, Rainforest. The book is his testament – an intimate collection of more than 500 breathtaking animal and plant portraits, and the fascinating stories behind them.
The largest unbroken stretch of rainforest is found in the Amazon River basin of South America. More than half of this forest lies in Brazil, which holds about one-third of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests. Another 20 percent of the world’s remaining rainforest are in Indonesia and Congo Basin, while the balance of the planets rainforests exist scattered around the globe in tropical regions.
The global distribution of tropical rainforests can be broken up into four bio-geographical realms based roughly on four forested continental regions: the Ethiopian or Afro-tropical, the Austral Asian or Australian, the Oriental or Indo-Malayan/Asian, and the Neo-tropical.
Tropical Rainforest Biome
A video on the Tropical Rainforest biome that I made for a Grade 9 biology project. It was created using footage from BBC’s Planet Earth and the song Tortguero, but the narration, writing, and editing is mine.
Therefore it is imperative that what little remains of this vitally important land area is preserved and cherished. For were it to become more atrophied than it already is we may as well throw in the towel and admit that we just didn’t deserve our place on this planet and we can all go to our deaths knowing that we were the generation that turned its back on life itself.
Robert Bagnall
What Kinds of Animals Live in the Rain Forest?
There are two types of rain forests, including temperate rain forests and tropical rain forests, but both possess an abundance of different animal species. Discover the variety of rain forest animals, from giraffes to poison dart frogs, with help from a science teacher and field biologist in this free video on rain forests.
Pacific Coast Rain Forest Stamp
In 2000 the USPS issued the second ecosystem recognized in the educational Nature of America series. The stamp art, painted by John D. Dawson of Hawaii, features 26 animal and plant species cohabitating in their natural environment. The Pacific coast rain forest is an area of pristine wilderness protected by the National Park Service.
It lies on the Olympic peninsula of Washington state in the valleys of the Quinault, Queets, and Hoh rivers. Between 140 and 167 inches (12 to 14 feet) of rain falls in this area each year. The temperature rarely drops below freezing during winter, and summertime highs are usually 80 degrees. Nearly every bit of space in the Pacific rain forest is inhabited by flora and fauna. Towering Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees, which can grow to 300 feet in height and 23 feet in circumference, dominate the landscape.
Incoming search terms:
- rainforest animals
- animals of the rainforest
- rainforest biome animals
