Tropical Rainforests

Question 1

How are rainforests interdependent ecosystems?

Answer 1

Warm & wet climate means that leaves n materials are decomposed quickly by fungi and bacteria

Plants pass on their nutrients when they are eaten by animals

Question 2

How are plants adapted to the rainforest?

Answer 2

Tall trees with buttress roots to support the trunks.
Plants have thick, waxy leaves with drip-tips to allow the water to run off. Trees have smooth, thin bark as there is no need to protect it from cold temperatures.
Climbing plants e.g. Lianas use the tree trunks to climb up to the sunlight.
Plants gradually drop their leaves throughout the year so they can grow all year round.

Question 3

How are animals adapted to the rainforest?

Answer 3

Many animals live in the canopy so have strong limbs for climbing.
Some animals have flaps of skin to glide between trees.
Animals may be camouflaged so they can hide from predators.
Many animals are nocturnal so they save energy and feed at night away from sunlight.
Many animals can swim.
Birds have short, pointy wings so they can manoeuvre between branches.

Question 4

How does a rainforest have high biodiversity?

Answer 4

Biodiversity is the variety of organisms living in a particular area.
Contain 50% of the worlds plant, animal and insect species.
Rainforests are stable an productive environments as its hot & wet all year round. Plants n animals don’t have to cope with changing conditions.
Deforestation can lead to extinction of species and loss of biodiversity.

Question 5

Why are trees chopped down?

Answer 5

• population pressure
• mineral extraction
• energy development
• commercial farming
• logging
• road building
• subsistence farming

Question 6

What are the environmental impacts of deforestation?

Answer 6

• with no trees to hold soil together, heavy rainfall washes away soil causing landslides &a flooding
• without a tree canopy to catch rainfall & tree roots to absorb it more water reaches the soil reducing the nutrients
• trees remove co2 from the atmosphere so deforestation adds more co2 to the atmosphere creating greenhouse effects

Question 7

What are the economic impacts of deforestation?

Answer 7

• creates jobs
• money is made from selling timber, mining and commercial farming
• deforestation destroys resources that country’s depend on
• livelihoods of some people are destroyed

Question 8

Why should you protect the rainforest?

Answer 8

• to preserve its biodiversity which is valuable to people & the environment
• many products are sourced from the rainforest
• protecting the rainforest may reduce the greenhouse effect
• can discover new medicines and products from certain species

Question 9

How can yo sustainably manage tropical rainforests?

Answer 9

• selective logging
• replanting trees
• ecotourism
• international hardwood agreements
• education
• reducing debt
• conservation