Tropical Rainforest By: Emma Bixenstine

This is a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly. They belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature rarely gets higher than 93 °F or lower than 68 °F Rainfall is usually more than 100 inches a year. Almost all rain forests are close to the equator.

They help regulate world climate and they are very important in the nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon cycles. Nutrients can be hard to find. The heavy rains dissolve nutrients from the forest soil and carries them away.  Plants have to go to extreme lengths to get nutrients before they are washed away.

They have more types of trees than any other area in the world They have more types of trees than any other area in the world. Scientists have counted about 100 to 300 species in a 2 1/2-acre area in South America. 70% of plants are trees. About 25% of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants. A person with leukemia has a 99% chance that they will go into remission because of the rosy periwinkle, a plant located here. More than 1,400 varieties of tropical plants are thought to be potential cures for cancer.

Species do not exist in tropical rainforests Species do not exist in tropical rainforests. Trees of the same species are rarely found growing close together. This prevents mass contamination and die-off from disease or insect infestation. Bio diversity makes sure that there will be enough pollinators to take care of each species' needs. Animals depend on these plants to supply them with a year-round source of food. Most nutrients are within plants, and not within soil. Plants called epiphytes use the entire surface of a tree as a place to live Plants have made many adaptations because they get so much rain. One adaptation helps them shed water off their leaves quickly so the branches don't get weighed down and break. To absorb sunlight on the dark understory, leaves are very large. Over 2,500 species of vines grow and they make up 40% of the canopy leaves. Plant Life

Layers of the Rainforest -Emergent: Trees are spaced wide apart, and are 100 to 240 feet tall. These giant trees have straight, smooth trunks with few branches. -Upper canopy: Trees are 60 to 130 feet. There is a lot of light at the top of this layer, but there is less light below it. Most animals live in this layer because there is so much food here.

-Understory: Trees are 60 feet tall -Understory: Trees are 60 feet tall. This layer is made up of the trunks of canopy trees, shrubs, plants and small trees. There is little air movement and high humidity. This level is in constantly shaded. -Forest floor: This layer is usually completely shaded. Most areas don’t receive that much light, so a minimal amount of bushes or herbs grow here. The top soil is very thin and poor quality. A lot of litter falls to the ground, but it is quickly broken down by decomposers like termites, earthworms and fungi.

Specie Diversity Out of all the biomes, it contains the most specie diversity. The animals have different adaptations, some for capturing prey or escaping prey. Most animals are very smart in that they use specific resources in a way that avoids competition.

Threats It went from covering about 20% of the population to 7%. It is constantly being wiped out for logging operations, agriculture, or oil exploration. Native people living in these rainforests are also effected because they are being pushed out of their habitat by this destruction Animals are threatened by trading, including exotic-pet trading, because some are very valuable and marketable to industries.