8.1 - Tropical Rainforest Flashcards
Give an example of how changes in biotic and abiotic components of rainforests affect each other?
- The warm wet climate means plants grow quickly. Dense leaf cover protect forest floor from wind and heavy rainfall + roots hold soil together for less erosion
What are the four layers of tropical rainforests?
Emergents, main canopy, undercanopy, shrub layer
What two types of relationships are there in tropical rainforest?
- Relationships between abiotic and biotic components where a change in one affects the other
- Symbiotic relationships between plants and animals where they depend on each other
What is the shrub layer?
The shrub layer is nearest to the ground where it’s quite dark
What is the structure of the undercanopy?
It is made up of younger trees that have yet to reach their full height, only surviving where there are breaks in the canopy
What is the structure of the main canopy?
It is a continuous layer of trees, which only have leaves at the top. This layer shades the rest of the forest
What is the structure of the emergents?
The emergents are the tallest trees, which poke out of the main canopy layer.
What is the adaption of drip tip leaves?
- They are thick waxy leaves with pointed tips
- This lets water run off of leaves so it’s weight doesn’t damage the plant and fungi can’t grow
What are the adaptions of lianas (climbing plants)?
- No weight supporting stems to use energy for fast growth
- Wrap round existing tree trunks for support to climb
What are general adaptions of trees in the trf?
- Drop their leaves gradually throughout the year so can grow all year
- Smooth thin bark so water runs off easily + no need to protect from cold
What are the adaptions of emergents?
- Big roots called buttress roots to support trunks
- Straight trunks
- Only leaves on top
What are the adaptions of sloths?
- Huge claws allow for hanging upside down
- Green algae grows on fur for camouflage
What are the adaptions of primates?
- Live in the canopy where most food is found
- Have long tails for balance
- Have strong claws to grip trees and branches
What are the adaptions of big cats?
- Camouflaged fur to blend in with shade and sunlight to be undetected by prey
- Can swim across river channels
What are the adaptions of birds in the TRF?
- Powerful beaks to break open nuts
What is the nutrient cycle?
The nutrient cycle is the way nutrients move through an ecosystem
In what 3 ways are nutrients stored in an ecosystem?
- Biomass (living organisms)
- litter (dead organic material)
- soil
Order the nutrient stores in the TRF from largest to smallest?
Biomass, soil, litter
Why are most nutrients stored as biomass in the tropical rainforest and there is a rapid transfer of nutrients?
- Trees are evergreen so dead leaves fall all year round
- warm, mist climate means fungi + bacteria decompose dead organic matter quickly
- Dense vegetation + rapid plant growth mean nutrients are rapidly taken up by plant’s roots
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of organisms living in an area
Why do rainforests have a very high biodiversity? (50% of plant + animal species)
- The rainforest biome has been around for a long time (10mil years) without much change in climate
- The layered structure of the TRF provides lots of different habitats
- Rainforests are stable environments - hot + wet all year round
Why does the layered structure of the TrF mena high biodiveristy?
plants + animals adapt for their particular environment/food source so lots of different species develop
Why does rainforests being stable environments lead to lots of biodiversity?
Plant and animals don’t have to cope with changing climates and there is always plenty of growth / plenty to eat so constant adaption
What do food chains show?
They show what is eaten by what in an ecosystem
What are food webs?
Food webs show how lots of food chains in an ecosystem overlap
Why do tropical rainforests have very complex food webs?
- Lots of different species
- Some animals can be both primary and secondary consumer
