Tropical Rainforests Flashcards
Where are all over the rainforests
All of the rainforests in the world are near the equator and in the Southern Hemisphere.
What’s a biome?
A large scale community of organisms that has evolved from the interactions of the earths spheres.
Why is the rainforest biome special?
It has very unique adaptations. Hot, wet, humid. 50% of world oxygen is produced here.
How many layers does the rainforest have?
Has 4 distinct layers.
How tall do the trees grow and why?
They grow from 40 to 60m tall.
This is because they all struggle to be the tallest to get to the sunlight. They can do this by using all of its energy for the trunk to grow tall, then when it’s at its limit it blooms it’s branches and leaves.
What animals live there?
Jaguars, blue dart frog, parrots, butterflies, mountain gorillas, 🦧 orangutans.
Give all the names of all the rain forests in the world.
Amazon rainforests, Central American rainforest, Sumatra rainforest, Borneo rainforest, New Guinea rainforest, Asian rainforests, African rainforest, Madagascar rainforest.
What continent doesn’t have any rainforests?
Antartica and Europe
4 layers of rainforest names.
- Emergent
- Canopy
- Under canopy
- Forest floor.
What fraction of our ingredients in medicine is from the rainforest?
1/4 ingredients in medicine is from rainforest plants. (Quinine=malaria tablets.)
What percent of trees grow in the rainforest?
1/3
1000 different types of trees; if these trees were to go into deforestation then there wouldn’t be enough resources, medicine in the future.
What does emergent layer do?
They grow up to 40m (or above) in effort to get sunlight.
They poke up above the rainforest canopy. It is very sunny here and only the strongest and tallest plants reach this height. The strong winds help to disperse the seeds from the tallest trees to other parts of the forest
What does the canopy layer do?
Below the tallest emergent layer, is the canopy. This layer receives plenty of sunlight and rain, with a refreshing breeze. The thick branches and large leaves of the tall tree spreads out to make a leafy roof, preventing sunlight from getting through to the layers below.
What does the under canopy do?
The under canopy is the layer above the forest floor. This area is shady and cooler. There is very limited sunlight, seedlings lie until larger plants die. The gap is left in the canopy so sunlight beams down at the forest floor. There is 1 seed in 10million that is able to fill in the gap so they all struggle in effort to grow.
What does the forest floor do?
The forest floor is the lowest layer where it is dark, hot and damp. Only 2% of sunlight gets through the thick canopy trees and understory plants to reach the forest floor. Dead leaves fallen from trees and plants in layers above cover the ground.
