Biome: Rain Forest
By: Jason Tompa, Katie Lekh, Ryan
Birmingham and Hailey Fuzak
•
•
•
•
Locations
Northern South America (Brazil)
Central America (Costa Rica)
Western Central Africa (Congo)
Islands in the Indian and Pacific
Oceans (Sri Lanka)
• South East Asia (Malaysia)
• Generally just above and
below the equator
Tropical Rainforest Climate
Temperature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tropical climates are moist for all months
with average temperatures of above 18
degrees Celsius
Latitude range for the rainforest climate is
15-25 degrees for North and South of the
equator
Average temp is about 77 degrees
Fahrenheit
Temperature rarely goes above 93 degrees
Fahrenheit or below 68 degrees
Fahrenheit
Approx. same temp all year round
Due to the closeness to the equator the
rainforest is subjected to more solar
radiation making it much hotter
Average humidity is between 77-88%
Precipitation
• Humid because of the
heavy rainfall Annual
precipitation is above 50260 in.
• Per month, the rainforest
receives about 4 in of rain
• 50% of the rainforests
precipitation comes from
the rainforests evaporation
Tropical Rainforest Climate
Pictures from:
http://www.geographyhigh.connec
tfree.co.uk/s4wstrfstuds.html
Tropical Rainforest Soil
• The top soil layer of the rainforest
is very thin and of poor quality
• The soil of tropical rainforests is
very shallow and poor in nutrients
• There are almost no soluble
nutrients
• Because of the years of heavy
rainfall all the nutrients in the soil
have been washed away
• The nutrient cycle (when vegetable and animal matter
decomposes and nutrients are released back to the soil to be taken up by again by
of the soil is very poor
• The top soil layers are stained red
from the acidic-iron oxides
plants)
Tropical Rainforest Soil
Pictures from:
http://www.sln.org.uk/geography/schools/blythebridge/gcseecosystemtropicalrf.
htm
Why Should you live in the Tropical
Rainforest?
• It is a very warm environment
• It is easy to get water
• It is close to the equator so the temperature is
basically the same year round
Vegetation
• There are 4 layers of trees in
the rainforest:
– Emergent (100-240 feet tall,
spaced wide apart)
– Upper Canopy (60-130 feet tall,
blocks most light from continuing
on to Understory)
– Understory (60 feet tall with
shrubs and plants)
– Forest Floor (Receives little to no
light so there is barely any growth)
• A shrub layer receives about 3
% of the light that filters in
through the canopies. These
shrubs are capable of a sudden
growth surge when a gap in the
canopy opens above them.
Plant Adaptations
• With over 80 inches of rain per year, plants
must shed water off their leaves quickly so
the branches don't get weighed down and
break.
– drip tips, grooved leaves, and oily coatings to
shed water.
• Leaves are very large to absorb as much
sunlight as possible.
– leaf stalks that turn with the sun to absorb
the maximum amount of light.
• Leaves in the upper canopy are dark green,
small and leathery to reduce water loss in
the strong sunlight. Some trees will grow
large leaves at the lower canopy level and
small leaves in the upper canopy.
• Ferns and mosses do well, along with
epiphytes. These are plants that grow on
other plants, such as larger trees to get
sunlight.
Epiphyte and Moss
Vines
• Over 2,500 species of
vines grow in the
rainforest. Lianas start
off as small shrubs on
the forest floor. The
liana and the tree grow
towards the canopy
together. The vines
grow from one tree to
another and make up
40% of the canopy
leaves.
Why Should You Live in the Rainforest?
•
•
•
•
There is a lot of plant diversity
Plants can be used as different kinds of medicine
You will be protected from the sun’s harmful rays
The different layers provide a lot of different living
spaces for different species
• The large leaves can be used for shelter
• The vines can help you climb trees for food
Animals
• There is enormous
biodiversity in
rainforests. There are
exotic and colorful
insects, amphibians,
reptiles, and more.
• Earthworm
Eclectus Parrot
Eyelash Viper
Flying Fox
Flying Squirrel
Fruit Bat
Gecko
Armadillo
Gibbon Monkey
Gold Frog
Golden Toad
Goliath Beetle
Gorilla
Great Horned Owl
Harpy Eagle
Hawk
Hoatzin
Horned Palm Viper
Howler Monkey
Sloth
Tucan
More on TeacherVision:
http://www.teachervisio
n.fen.com/rain-forestecology/animals/6238.h
tml#ixzz1diWvvub7
Adaptations
• For animals to live in the Tropical
Rainforest multiple adaptations
may be made in attempt for
more sunlight or food.
• Some animals adapt by
– developing a stronger beak to
break through shells.
– Being able to live and climb trees.
– Adapting the ability to produce
long sound effects
– Different color skin for camouflage
Why should you live in the Tropical
Rainforest?
• More than half of the world’s
animal species live there
• Year round warmth with
temperatures of about 77°
Fahrenheit
• There is a lot of water, and one
pond may contain more diversity
in fish then in all waterways in
Europe.
• In two and a half acres, there can
be between 40 to 100 different
species.
Human Factor: Adaptations
• The tribes are conservationists, they
never take more then they need
because then they might not have
enough next year.
• They are more concerned with how
they are harming the environment
then how productive they can be
• They are physically fit because of
the little stress in their environment
and the hard work they have to do
to survive.
Human Factor: Adaptations
• They are lucky if they live to be
40 years old
• They need large territories for
small groups of people to
survive
• Each tribe has developed their
own culture
• They are semi nomadic
• They have to deal with high
temperatures (tanner skin, no
walls on houses) and a lot of
rain (being able to climb, both
to get food and escape floods)
Human Factor: Adaptations
• They have developed a
sophisticated way of
communication by using
different sounds
• They have to know what plants,
fungi and animals are edible
• Better hearing because their
sight is useless on the dark floor
of the forest. They use to
hearing to tell what part of the
forest they are in
• Hunt with poison darts, and fish
by making nets out of vines
Human Factor: Opportunities
– Study all the bio diversity present in the rain forest
– Learn different tribal remedies
– Discover new types of medicine because of all of the
plant diversity
– Learn a new culture
– Help protect and save the rainforest and the world
Human Factor: Limitations
– Their can’t be big populations of
people, can only survive in small
groups
– 1 in every 2 child dies in the rain
forest
– The different tribes have no
immunity to western diseases so as
more western people work in the
rain forests the tribes are being
introduced to new diseases that
they can’t handle
– Food is very difficult to find
because of the poor soil and most
life is in the canopy, and the
humans live on the ground
Human Factor: Pros/ Cons
Pros
• Get to see new/ different kinds
of species
• Living in the most diverse place
on Earth
• New/ different kinds of
medicine
• Experiencing a simpler life
• Helping the planet because you
will use less resources
• Get to experience new culture
• It’s a very warm environment
Cons
• Living in a very dark, wet place
• Hard to find food, and a lot of
competition for it
• Short life span
• Have to deal with your habitat
being destroyed by mining and
logging and farming, which
leads to soil erosion
Work Cited
Barber, Nigel. "depletion of rain forests." Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=ethics0370&SingleRec
ord=True>.
Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science. 9th. Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2002. Print
G, Michael. "Rainforest Climate."Tropical Rainforest. Blue Planet Biomes, 2001. Web. 15 Nov
2011. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rnfrst_climate_page.htm>.
"List of Rain Forest Animals (Reference) - TeacherVision.com." Teacher Lesson Plans,
Printables & Worksheets by Grade or Subject - TeacherVision.com. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.teachervision.fen.com/rain-forestecology/animals/6238.html>.
"Rainforest Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm>.
“Rainforest Facts." Wealth of the Rainforest - Pharmacy to the World from Raintree
Nutrition, Inc. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm>.
G, Michael. "Rainforest Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. 2001. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm>.
Rainforest Tribes." People's Trust. Young People's Trust for the Enviroment, n.d. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
<http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/rainforest-tribes/92>.
"Virtual Jungle- Survival." Science and Nature. BBC, n.d. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/jungle/vjsurvival.shtml>.
"The Effects of Destorying Tropical Rainforests." Physical Enviroment. Mc Neil Web Services,
2003. Web. 15 Nov 2011. <http://www.scalloway.org.uk/phye2.htm>.