Rainforest Biome project-Julie H
Rainforest Biome- JH
Location
The largest rainforests are in the Amazon River Basin (South America), the Cango River Basin (Western Africa), and throughout much of Southeast Asia. Smaller rainforests are located in central America, Madagascar, Australia, and nearby island, India, and other locations in the tropics.
General Characteristics
Because of the lack of seasonal differences, due ti the geographical location of the forests, and the high humidity level the vegetation is luxuriant here. The recurrung features of rainforests are basically the following:
High animal and vegetal biodivestly
Evergreen trees
Dark and Sparse undergrowth interspersed with cleanings
Valleys and Canyons
Tropical rainforest valleys are shaped in a "U" or "V" They usually are a low land area between hills or mountains that allows a river or stream to pass by its base.
Moutains
Mountains are a landform that is formed by the Earth's tectonic plates crashing into one another. The highest Tropical Rainforest mountain is the Pica da Neblina located in the Amazon Rainforest. It was proven by scientist that there were more biodiversity on a tropical mountain than a temperate mountain. Meaning that they had more varieties of species. Sadly these species are decreasing by the day.
Madagascar
This is Madagascar. Madagascar is an island but it is also a Tropical Rainforest.
Bodies of water in the rainforest
Rainforest Waters. Tropical rainforests have some of the largest rivers in the world, like the Amazon, Madeira, Mekong, Negro,Orinoco, and Congo (Zaire), because of the tremendous amount of precipitation their watersheds receive. These mega-rivers are fed by countless smaller tributaries, streams, and creeks.
Humidity
Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%; rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year.
Abiotic Factors
Abiotic factors in a tropical rain forest include water, a warm climate,sunlight, and soil nutrients. All organisms and populations in the tropical rain forest depend on water and warm temperatures. Plants depend directly on sunlight and soil nutrients. "
Biotic Factors
It has different types of animal species and plants as well. Distribution of the Biome: 1) Abiotic Factors: The abiotic factors specific to the Tropical Rainforest are the amount of water, sunlight, soil, precipitation, the temperature, and the climate as a whole.
Ecological concerns or issues
Clear-cut swaths of the Amazon rain forest in Quiandeua, Brazil, are often planted with manioc, or cassava, a shrub grown for its starchy root. Farmers slash-and-burn large parcels of forest every year to create grazing and crop lands, but the forest's nutrient-poor soil often renders the land ill-suited for agriculture, and within a year or two, the farmers move on.
Threats
- Logging interests cut down rain forest trees for timber used in flooring, furniture, and other items.
- Power plants and other industries cut and burn trees to generate electricity.
- The paper industry turns huge tracts of rain forest trees into pulp.
- The cattle industry uses slash-and-burn techniques to clear ranch land.
- Agricultural interests, particularly the soy industry, clear forests for cropland.
- Subsistence farmers slash-and-burn rain forest for firewood and to make room for crops and grazing lands.
- Mining operations clear forest to build roads and dig mines.
- Governments and industry clear-cut forests to make way for service and transit roads.
- Hydroelectric projects flood acres of rain forest.
Solutions
- Sustainable-logging regimes that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut them would save millions of acres of rain forest every year.
- Campaigns that educate people about the destruction caused by rain forest timber and encourage purchasing of sustainable rain forest products could drive demand down enough to slow deforestation.
- Encouraging people who live near rain forests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits, medicines) rather than clear-cutting it for farmland would save million of acres.
- Government moratoriums on road building and large infrastructure projects in the rain forest would save many acres.