Tropical Rainforests Flashcards
Physical characteristics of a tropical rainforest
-very wet with over 2,000 mm of rainfall per year
-Most of the soil is not very fertile.
-The atmosphere is hot and humid
the interdependence of climate, water, eg people have in a rainforest
depedent on each other.
producer definition
They make their own food, which creates energy for them to grow, reproduce and survive.
examples of producers
algae, moss, canopy trees and rubber trees
consumer defintion
a person or thing that eats or uses something
consume examples
sloth, grasshopper,
decomposer defintion
organism that breaks down dead organic material
food chain defintion
a series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.
Food web definition
a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains
What does a nutrient cycle look like
biomass
(littering) litter. (plant uptake)
(decomposition)
soil
explain the distribution of tropical rainforests around the world
They are located mainly by the tropic of cancer and tropic of capriciorn, just above and below the equator
how have plants adapted to the physical conditions of a rainforest
-buttress roots which are large roots containing ridges
-Their leaves and flowers grow in the canopy
how have animals adapted to the rainforest
The sloth uses camouflage and moves very slowly to make it difficult for predators to spot
what would you expect the climate to be like in a tropical rainforest
humid
how does this link to the line of the equator
-near the equator where the sun directly lays
-it’s the shortest distance from the sun
-at the equator hot air rises
explain the emergent layer of a rainforest
-only a few very tall trees break through the canopy and into this area
-the trees are shaped like umbrellas and have long thin trunks
-leaves are big, thick, waxy leaves to protect them
canopy infomation
-most plant and animal life is found here
-it’s made up of overlapping branches and leaves of rainforest trees
-snakes monkeys frogs lizards
-drier and hotter than other parts of the rainforest
under canopy
-thickest layer of the forest where trees stop sunlight reaching plants below
-little sunlight reaches these areas
-it is hot, damp and the airs still
-contains a tangle of shrubs, young trees
the forest floor/ shrub layer
-it is often dark and humid due to constant shade
-where decomposition takes place
-largest animals are found on the forest floor (elephants, tigers and jaguar)
what are the changing rates of deforestation
it is massively increasing
the importance and value of the tropical rainforest on a local, national and international scale
-provide us with food and water
-protecting against soil erosion
what is leaching
heavy rainfall which can quickly dissolve and carry away nutrients
