The Rainforest By Chloe Tobin

Contents !!!! Where are rainforests located The importance of rainforests Rainforest layers The forest floor and the understory The spider monkey The toucan The monarch butterfly Why do rainforest trees grow so tall Did you know Huli tribe Rafflesia Bromeliads Passion flower How do forest floor animals find food conclusion

Where are rainforests located Tropical rainforests are located near the equator. The map below shows the location of the worlds tropical rainforests, rainforests only cover about 6% of the worlds surface yet, it is home to over half of the worlds plants and animals.

The importance of rainforests *help stabilize the worlds climate *provide a home to many plants and animals *maintain the water cycle *protect against flood drought and erosions *are a source of medicines and food *support tribal people *are an interesting place to visit

rainforest layers There are four layers in the rainforest They are the forest floor, the understory The canopy and the emergent layer. The forest floor is 0 feet above the ground. The understory is 0 to 60 feet above the ground The canopy is 60 to 130 feet and the emergent Is 130 to 160 feet above the ground.

The forest floor and the understory The forest floor: only two percent of light that reaches the canopy can get threw the forest floor, so the forest floor is dim. this dim light slows the growth of many light demanding plants. when a tree falls down everything is different because the extra light allows a lot of lianas and herbs to grow. Rates of growth are incredible The understory:plants that survive in the understory include dwarf palms and species like the ginger family. these plants can grow up to 12 feet in length. Many plants in the understory rely on insects for their food. this layer has the largest amount of insects.

Spider monkey Spider monkeys are found in the tropical rainforests of central and south America as well as in regions far north as Mexico these monkeys prefer wet forests rather than dry regions and are mostly found living in the upper canopy, almost never coming near the ground. spider monkeys eat 90% fruit and some nuts ,seeds, and insects spider monkeys get there food in small groups early in the mornings.

The Toucan The toucan is a brightly coloured bird commonly found in central and South America. Toucans are birds with variety in colour as well as size. They are bright in colour having red blue yellow or orange. There bill is approximately half the size of their body. They live in trees in groups of six or seven birds. They have big claws to help them balance on trees.

Monarch Butterfly Monarch butterflies are species of poisonous butterflies that feed on milkweed plant. they are mainly found in North America. they appear beautiful and have bright coloured scaly wings. Their predators fall sick if they eat them due to the poison pilots have reported monarch butterflies flying as high as eleven thousand feet

Why do rainforests trees grow so tall. rainforest trees are so tall because they grow to reach the sunshine high up in the forest canopy. the warmth and the moisture of the rainforests regions allows the trees to grow quickly. rainforests trees such as teak can grow about to about 50 metres tall or as high as a lighthouse many different fruits and nuts grow on the trees these are eaten by a great variety of animals.

Did you know that??? A animal called the sloth looks green because tiny plants called algae grow on its fur Sloth's live in the rainforests in South America, and the green colour helps them to blend in with green leaves around them Sloth's crawl very slowly among branches using large hooked claws. they feed on leaves and fruit and only climb to the ground once a week to go to the toilet.

The Huli Tribe The huli are one of the many tribes that live in remote highland forests of Papua new guniea.They live by hunting, gathering plants, and growing crops. Men and women live separately ,in large group houses. The men decorate their bodies with coloured clay and wear headdresses for ceremonies. The latest estimates put their population at around 150,000 they have lived in their current area for about 1,000 years.

The Rafflesia The rafflesia is about one meter wide and weighs about nine kilograms. It is the worlds largest bloom. It is also one of the rarest and most endangered plants. this flower is a great example of how fragile some areas of the rainforest are. the rafflesia is a disembodied flower. strands of fungus like tissue are its only body outside the flower. The rafflesia has an odder that smells like rotting meat. it attracts flies and beetles into the plants. when it is fully grown it lasts only one week

The Bromeliads Bromeliads are related to the pineapple family. Their thick waxy leaves form a bowl shape in the centre for catching rainwater. Some bromeliads are can hold up to seven gallons of water and are miniature ecosystems in themselves providing homes for several creatures including frogs and snails.

Bromeliads

Passion Flower The passion flower lives throughout the tropical and semitropical zones from South America to North America. There are over 200 species of passion flower with the most common found in the Amazon region the passion flower is a hardy woody vine growing up to thirty feet in length. it has striking large white flowers with pink or purple centres and great edible fruit.

Pink And Purple Passion Flowers

How do forest-floor animals find food Some animals that live on the forest floor such as agoutis, follow monkeys and parrots to find food. they gather the fruits and nuts that accidentally fall to the ground. Agoutis are relatives of guinea pigs and have big, strong front teeth to gnaw open nuts that many other animals find too hard.

Did you know Leaf cutter ants chew off pieces of rainforest leaves and then carry them back to their nest. They feed on the fungus that grows on the rooting leaves.

Conclusion I really enjoyed doing my project about the rainforest. I have learned a lot of interesting plants animals and tribes. I think the rainforest is a truly amazing place.

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