Welcome to the Rainforest

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Welcome to the Rainforest!
Welcome to the
Rainforest!
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What is a rainforest?

• Rainforests are very warm, wet, and dense
  forests. They provide homes for millions of
  plants and animals, some we dont even know about
  yet! The rainforests arent only havens for
  animals, but they are a very important part of
  the Earths ecosystem. They are a major provider
  of oxygen, and many of the trees and plants are
  used in new drugs to help fight disease.

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Zones of the Rainforest

• The rainforest is divided into four different
  zones or strata. Scientists divided it like this
  based on the different living environments.
  Starting from the top, the strata are

These are trees that are much higher than the
average canopy height. Many birds and insects
live in this portion.
The canopy is the upper level of trees. Insects,
birds, reptiles, mammals and more enjoy these
leafy surroundings.
This is the dark environment that is cool, but
still above the ground. Come here if you need a
break from the sun!
The forest floor is full of animals, especially
insects. Generally, this is where the largest
mammals of the rainforest are.
Science Museum of Minnesota - Rainforest Strata
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Where are Rainforests?
Rainforests are typically found in a band around
the equator. The band reaches from the Tropic
of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn (this is
about 3,000 miles wide) and is called the
tropics.
The high temperatures located at the equator
cause accelerated water evaporation, resulting in
the frequent rain in the tropical areas.
Tropical Rainforests are in red.
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Major Rainforests

• The largest rainforests are in the Amazon River
  Basin (South America), the Congo River Basin
  (western Africa), and throughout much of
  southeast Asia. Smaller rainforests are located
  in Central America, Madagascar, Australia and
  nearby islands, India, and other locations in the
  tropics. Temperate rainforests are found along
  the Pacific coast of the USA and Canada (from
  northern California to Alaska), in New Zealand,
  Tasmania, Chile, Ireland, Scotland and Norway.
  They cover less area than tropical rainforests.
• The Olympic rain forest (located on the Olympic
  peninsula in the state of Washington, United
  States of America) is a temperate rain forest
  near the Pacific ocean.

Temperate Rainforest Web Page
Tropical Rainforest Web Page
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Does it rain in Rainforests?

• It is almost always raining in a rainforest!
  Rainforests get over 80 inches (2 m) of rain each
  year. This is about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) of rain
  each week. The rain is more evenly distributed
  throughout the year in a tropical rainforest
  (even though there are only two seasons). In a
  temperate rainforest, there are wet and dry
  seasons. During the "dry" season, coastal fog
  supplies abundant moisture to the forest.

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How hot is it?

• The temperature in a rainforest never freezes and
  never gets very hot. The range of temperature in
  a tropical rainforest is usually between 75
  degrees F and 80 degrees F (24-27 degrees C).
  Temperate rainforests rarely freeze or get over
  80degrees F (27 degrees C).

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Is the dirt any different?

• The soil of a tropical rainforest is only about
  3-4 inches (7.8-10 cm) thick and is ancient.
  Thick clay lies underneath the soil. Once
  damaged, the soil of a tropical rainforest takes
  many years to recover. Temperate rainforests
  have soil that is richer in nutrients, relatively
  young and less prone to damage.

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The importance of Rainforests

• Tropical rainforests cover about 7 of the
  Earth's surface and are VERY important to the
  Earth's ecosystem. The rainforests recycle and
  clean water. Tropical rainforest trees and plants
  also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
  and store it in their roots, stems, leaves, and
  branches. Rainforests affect the greenhouse
  effect, which traps heat inside the Earth's
  atmosphere.

The Greenhouse Effect
The Earth's Atmosphere
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Animals of the Rainforest

• There are huge amounts of animals in the
  rainforest! There are insects (remember, only
  six legs), arachnids (spiders and ticks), worms,
  reptiles (lizards and snakes), birds (toucans and
  parrots), and mammals (sloths, jaguars, and you
  and me!).
• Remember the strata? Well different kinds of
  animals live in the different sections of the
  rainforest. Birds live in the emergent and the
  canopy (the two tallest parts of the rainforest),
  Animals such as monkeys or sloths live in the
  trees, and bigger mammals, like jaguars, live on
  the forest floor. Insects can be found at all
  levels of the rainforest.

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Prey or Predator?

• As in any food web, there are more plant-eaters
  than meat-eaters (and many more plants than
  plant-eaters). There are also more small animals
  than large animals. There are more insects than
  any other animal in the rainforest!
• Although there is intense competition between
  animals, there is also an interdependence. When
  one species goes extinct, it can affect an entire
  chain of other species and have unpredictable
  consequences
• Animals are always in danger of being eaten
  unless they are on top of the food chain. Some
  forms of staying alive in the world of the
  rainforests are hiding, camouflage, scaring their
  predators, or showing their warning colors.

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Does anyone live there?
There are many native groups of people who live
in the tropical rainforests. Many of these
groups, like the Yanomamo tribe of the Amazon
rainforests of Brazil and southern Venezuela,
have lived in villages in the rainforests for
hundreds or even thousands of years. These tribes
get their food, clothes, and houses from
materials they find in the forests. Forest
people are mostly hunter-gatherers that means
they get their food by hunting for meat (and
fishing for fish) and gathering plants, like
roots and fruit. Many people also have small
gardens in certain areas of the forest. Since the
soil in the rainforest is so poor, the garden
areas must be moved after just a few years, and
another part of the forest is cleared. Many of
the native populations are declining. There are
many reasons for this. The primary problems that
are causing them to be smaller are disease (like
smallpox and measles, which were inadvertently
introduced by Europeans) and governmental land
seizure.
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Destruction of the Rainforests
There are many different threats to rainforests
that are making them disappear before our eyes.
Between droughts, fires, and people cutting down
trees to make room for more commercialized areas
like stores and new buildings, the rainforests
are depleting more and more every year.
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How can I help?
Recycle everything you can. Dont leave water
running. Turn off the lights! Make a compost pile
in your backyard. Dont waste paper, use both
sides. Volunteer! Spread the word! Tell others
about everything youve learned about the
rainforest, and make sure they are aware of the
dangers of them being completely gone from our
planet in the future! For more ideas on how you
can help save the rainforests, try visiting this
web page for more information. How YOU can save
the rainforest