Geography and Ecosystem of the Rainforest
Rainforests of the world are located around or near the equator, ensuring
the warm weather and wet climate.
Rainforest land is not of a high altitude, so the earth is rich and fertile.
The largest rainforests are in Brazil, Indonesia, and Zaire.
There are also many rainforests in southeast Asia and small tropical islands.
The rainforest floor is the lowest level of the rainforest, followed by the
srub layer, which are not inhabited by many animals.
The forest floor rarely gets any sunlight, so few plants or animals can survive there.
But waste that finds its way down from the upper layers is immediately
broken down by the decomposers such as fungi and termites.
Then it is the understory(or lower canopy), and canopy.
The canopy is where most of the animals and thrive because of the warm
sunlight and abundant supply of food.
Some animals never leave the canopy their entire lives.
The uppermost layer are the emergents, the few trees that stretch around
10 meters above the canopy, acting as a shield against the heat of the sun and drying winds.
The rainforest has a very short nutrient cycle.
Most of the nutrients are found in the living plants and layers of dead leaves on the canopy floor.
Decomposers quickly turn the dead plants and animals into nutrients that
find their way right back into the roots of the living plants.
A study in the Amazon Rainforest showed that 99% of the nutrients are
located in the roots of the rainforest,
so cutting down the forests takes away all the nutrients that might have
been recycled back into the environment.
Rainforests of the world are located around or near the equator, ensuring
the warm weather and wet climate.
Rainforest land is not of a high altitude, so the earth is rich and fertile.
The largest rainforests are in Brazil, Indonesia, and Zaire.
There are also many rainforests in southeast Asia and small tropical islands.
The rainforest floor is the lowest level of the rainforest, followed by the
srub layer, which are not inhabited by many animals.
The forest floor rarely gets any sunlight, so few plants or animals can survive there.
But waste that finds its way down from the upper layers is immediately
broken down by the decomposers such as fungi and termites.
Then it is the understory(or lower canopy), and canopy.
The canopy is where most of the animals and thrive because of the warm
sunlight and abundant supply of food.
Some animals never leave the canopy their entire lives.
The uppermost layer are the emergents, the few trees that stretch around
10 meters above the canopy, acting as a shield against the heat of the sun and drying winds.
The rainforest has a very short nutrient cycle.
Most of the nutrients are found in the living plants and layers of dead leaves on the canopy floor.
Decomposers quickly turn the dead plants and animals into nutrients that
find their way right back into the roots of the living plants.
A study in the Amazon Rainforest showed that 99% of the nutrients are
located in the roots of the rainforest,
so cutting down the forests takes away all the nutrients that might have
been recycled back into the environment.