Located between tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn and along the Equator
examples
southeast Asia,Central America,South America,western Africa
forest floor
Very little light reaches the forest floor (2%) - so plants grow slowly.
The ground is covered in fallen leaves, rotting branches and twigs and a network of shallow roots.
When a tree falls, light is able to get in. This encourages young plants to grow fast. They compete for the extra
light and soon fill the gap.
Jaguars, leopards, tigers, elephants and gorillas and lots of
insects live here.
under canopy
Low light conditions (2-15%).
Quite open - there is only dense vegetation along rivers and in openings where light gets in.
Plants adapted to low light grow here.
Birds, butterflies, frogs, snakes and lots of insects live here.
canopy
The second highest layer - 30-45 meters.
The crowns of the trees knit together to form a dense canopy.
The canopy blocks out the sun from lower layers and intercepts (catches) rainfall.
It contains the most plant species.
Birds, monkeys, frogs, sloths, lizards, snakes and many insects live here. This layer contains the most
animal species. Some creatures never go to the forest floor.
emergent layer
The tallest layer - over 40 metres.
Contains only a few tall trees which grow taller than the trees of the canopy.
The plants are made for living in dry conditions because it’s very sunny.
They have small, waxy leaves to prevent them drying out.
Eagles, butterflies, small monkeys and bats all live here.
layers of the rainforest
Climate graph
line graph on top = temperature
bar graph on bottom = percipitation
months along bottom
rainfall (mm) right side
temperature (c) left side
why we need the TRF
river networks
oxygen - the Rainforest vegetation takes in carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen
medicines - a quarter of all natural medicines were discovered here
undiscovered species
food, eg vanilla, chocolate, nuts, ginger
and pepper
resources, such as rubber and bamboo
wood
minerals
adaptations
the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.
examples
camoflauge
nocturnal
tails for balancing
long finger or claws to help grab on to branches
beaks to get fruits and catch prey
sustainable development
economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.
how to stop it
buying from companies that do sustainable development