facts rainforest
Introduction to the rainforest
In this brief introduction we will discuss the geographical location of tropical forests, some of its main structural features, flora and fauna, the effect on climate and human use.
1) Main locations of tropical forests
In the broadest terms we can find tropical rain forests of Ecuador around between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn in the world, in Asia, Africa, Central America and South America, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Basically speaking on the continents of the Americas to be distributed the following countries: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela. The Amazon is the largest training area more than half of the total area of rainforest in the world. In Africa, the rainforest is in the following countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Central African Republic Central America, Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Madagascar rain forest, etc, but Africa is found mostly in the basin Congo River. It covers an area of one third of total world tropical forests. In Asia and met with the rainforest in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and parts of India.
2) Rainforest
Rainforests are forests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750-2000 mm. The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays an important role in creating tropical forest rain on Earth. About 40 to 75% of all species in the habitats of the world are indigenous to the rainforests. For example, 90% of species Earth's insects are found there. It is estimated that many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical forests have been called "the jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy" because over a quarter of natural medicines discovered there. Tropical forests are also responsible for 28% of oxygen to turn the world over, often misunderstood as oxygen production, processing through photosynthesis of carbon dioxide and store it as carbon through biological sequestration. The understory of a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. This makes it possible to walk through the woods. If the foliage is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense vegetation tangled vines, shrubs and small trees called a jungle. There are several main types of forest, but perhaps the two most important are the tropical forests rainforesttand temperate rainforests. In this article we will discuss only tropical rainforest.
3) Structure of the Forest
A rainforest is usually divided into four main layers, each with different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular area: the emerging, canopy, understory, and forest soil layers.
Emergent layer
The emergent layer contains a small number of very large trees called emerging, which grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45 to 55 m, but occasionally some species grow to 70-80 m tall. They must be able to withstand high temperatures and high winds in some areas. Eagles, butterflies, bats and certain monkeys inhabit this layer.
Canopy layer
The top layer contains most of the larger trees, usually 30 to 45 m in height. Most biodiverse areas are in the forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops. The flag, according to some estimates, is home to 50 percent of all species plants, suggesting that perhaps half of all life on Earth can be found there. Epiphytes attached to the trunks and branches, and obtain water and minerals, rain and dirt that accumulates in plants support. The fauna is similar to that found in the emergent layer, but more diverse. A quarter of all insect species are believed that exist in the forest canopy.
Scientists have long suspected the richness of the canopy as a habitat, but only recently have developed methods practical exploration. As early as 1917, naturalist William Beebe, said that "another continent of life remains to be discovered, not on Earth, but one to two hundred feet above it, extending over thousands of square kilometers. "true exploration of this habitat only began in the early 1980, when scientists developed methods to reach the canopy, such as firing ropes in the trees using crossbows. Exploration of the canopy is still in its infancy, but other methods include the use of balloons and blimps float above the highest branches and the construction of cranes and walkways planted on the floor of forest. The science of accessing the canopy of tropical forests using aircraft, platforms or the like, is called dendronautics.
Understory layer
The understory layer lies between the cover and the forest floor. The understory (or understorey) is home to a number of birds, monkeys, snakes, lizards, and predators such as jaguars, boas and leopard. The leaves are much larger at this level. Insects are also abundant. Many plants that grow to the level of canopy are present in the understory. Only about 5 percent of the sunlight shining on the rainforest reaches the understory. This layer may also be called a shrub layer, although the level of shrubs can also be considered a separate layer.
Forest floor
This is a much understudied area – Perhaps less attractive than the other layers to some. The forest floor, the bottom most layer only receives 2 percent of the sunlight. Only plants adapted to light low can grow in this region. Away from riverbanks, swamps and clearings where it is covered with thick vegetation, the forest floor is relatively clear of vegetation due to low light penetration. It also contains decaying plant and animal matter, which disappears quickly due to warm moist conditions promoting rapid decay. Many forms of fungi grow here which help break down plant and animal wastes.
As an example of the incredible diversity of fungi that have a recent update of Bolivia. In an expedition of 2007, a researcher found more than 276 different mushrooms in the forest, "there Ganoderma lucidum, reishi mushroom drugs or Lingqi, 3 or 4 species of edible oyster mushroom, growing on the palm or tropical wood, more than 20 collections of conks, decaying wood brown rot fungi that decompose slowly tropical hardwood trees, a variety of mushroom Marasmius, a genus not found in the north, two Boletus species, 2 mushrooms only people who seem to be Amanita, Cortinarius groups, 6 collections of Cordyceps, a group of fungi that kill insects, 3 Auricularia (Tree Ear) species, 3 species of Cotylidia, a tropical fungus cartiliginous more than a dozen species of Lepiota, 3 Oudmansellias, 5 or 6 Agaricus, with incredible bluegill, two species of fungi cultivated by termites or ants, one of which produces large edible fruits, a Volvariella in a fig tree, a large number of fungi in the family Xylaria, some with heads white locks, other branched as barbed wire, some long and skinny, short and other cork, two adorable little red cup fungi of the genus Cokeina, about a dozen other species that were members of the family of North American genera, two very different coral fungi, at least one species of fungus that displays bioluminescence and probably 40 or 50 species of fungi that were new to me. Physical signs remain in Bolivia in the National Herbarium of reference. "
4) Flora and fauna
. More than half of the world population of plant and animal species found in the jungle. Tropical forests support a wide range wildlife such as mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates. Mammals may include primates, cats and other families. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, chameleons and other families while birds are families, such as vangidae and Cuculidae. Dozens of families of invertebrates are found in tropical forests. Fungi are also very common in tropical forest areas as feed on the decomposing remains of plant and animal life – see above extract Bolivia. These species are disappearing rapidly due to deforestation, habitat loss, and biochemical releases into the atmosphere. Let's take some specific examples geographical animal communities. In the Amazon, for example, we find: spider monkeys, Golden Lion Tamarins, sloths, giant river otters, toucans, macaws, pink dolphins, electric eels, piranhas, Black Caiman, Anaconda, Jaguar, and poison arrow frogs to name only some of the most famous.
In Congo, we find chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, Okapi, forest elephants, Bonobo, Bongo, boar, etc, perhaps the inhabitants famous tropical forest in Asia, the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), gibbons (Hylobates muelleri) and long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis). In Borneo also have the banteng (Bos javanicus), a kind of buffalo, the Sumatran rhino in danger of extinction (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which is shorter than the continent's elephants, sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and Bear Sun (Helarctos malayanus). Two examples or case studies geography:
A case study Biodiversity – The Amazon
Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are becoming richer in species of African rain forests and Asia. As the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity. One in ten species known the world live in the Amazon rainforest. This constitutes the largest collection of plant life and animal species in the world. The region is home to around 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and about 2,000 birds and animals. According to one estimate so far, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, amphibians, 428, 378 and reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all birds in the world live in the jungles of Amazon.
Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil. The diversity of plant species is the highest of the Earth and some Experts estimate that one square kilometer may contain over 75,000 types of trees and 150,000 species of higher plants. One square kilometer of Amazon rainforest may contain about 90,790 tonnes of living plants. The average plant biomass is estimated at356 ± 47 tonnes ha-1. [To date, an estimated 438.000 species of plants of interest economic and social have been recorded in the region with many more to be discovered or cataloged. The green leaf area of plants and trees in the forest varies about 25% due to seasonal changes. The leaves expand during the dry season when sunlight is maximum, then undergo abscission the season of rain and clouds. These changes provide a balance of carbon between photosynthesis and respiration.
Biodiversity Case Study Two – Borneo
Borneo's forests are a rich biodiversity. According to WWF, the island is estimated that at least 222 species of mammals (44 of them endemic), 420 resident birds (37 endemic), 100 amphibians, 394 fish (19 endemic), and 15,000 plants (6,000 endemic) – more than 400 of whom have discovered in surveys since 1994. In fact, the new species are discovered here yet: Discovery of new species of birds in Borneo in 2009, while walking along 250-meter-high canopy walkway set-up for tourists, Richard Webster found a bird that did not recognize eating mistletoe berries. Took photos of the person and then shared with Dr. David Edwards, an ornithologist at the University of Leeds who has been studying birds in the area for three years. After consulting with several museums, they realized that nobody had ever recorded as a bird. "This discovery demonstrates once again how little is known about the diversity of life on our planet, "said Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Director of the IUCN Species Programme, said." 2010 is the International Year Biodiversity. It is an opportunity to increase our understanding of the nature and function, explaining its importance to the general public, and above all, take action to reduce current threats in order to allow thousands of more discoveries like this in the future. "The discovery has been published in the latest issue (January 2010) of the Oriental Bird Club magazine, BirdingASIA. The species, known only as' flowerpecker glasses, has not yet received a scientific name.
5) Effect of tropical forests in global climate
A natural forest emits and absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide. Globally, long-term flows are roughly in balance, so that an undisturbed forest would have little net impact on atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide Although carbon can have other climatic effects (a cloud formation, for example, by recycling water vapor). N the jungle of today can be considered quiet. deforestation caused by man plays an important role in causing forests to release carbon dioxide as do natural processes such as drought result in tree death. Some climate models run with interactive vegetation predict a large loss of Amazonian rainforest around 2050 due to drought leading to forest dieback and subsequent feedback of releasing more carbon dioxide. We must increase efforts to preserve large tracts of tropical forests everywhere to combat this. Please see the article Dr. Simon Harding "A brief history of Earth's climate."
6) Human uses
Tropical forests provide wood and animal products like meat and hides. Rainforests also have value as tourist destination and for ecosystem services provided. Many foods originally came from tropical forests, and still is mostly grown on plantations in regions that were once pristine forests. In addition, plant-derived medicines are commonly used for fever, fungal infections, burns, gastrointestinal problems, pain, respiratory problems, and treatment of wounds. In fact, human uses of forest products are as diverse and numerous that should form the basis of another article.
Dr. Simon Harding
www.coberongreen.com
www.chronosconsulting.com
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