Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of the world

Tropical rainforests are rainforests generally found near the equator. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the They are common in Asia, Africa, South America, Central America, and on many of the Pacific Islands. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The Pacific Ocean contains an estimated 20000 to 30000 Islands (the exact number has yet to be precisely determined Within the World Wildlife Fund's biome classification scheme, tropical rainforests are considered a type of tropical wet forest (or tropical moist broadleaf forest) and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforests. A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of Plants Animals and The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF also known as tropical moist forests, are a Tropical and Subtropical Forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF also known as tropical moist forests, are a Tropical and Subtropical Forest Minimum normal annual rainfall between 1,750 millimetres (69 in) and 2,000 millimetres (79 in) occurs in this climate regime. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year. ^[1] Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. ^[2] Tropical rain forests are called the "world's largest pharmacy" because over one-quarter of modern medicines originate from its plants. ^[3] The undergrowth in a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. ^[4] This makes it possible for people and other animals to walk through the forest. A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned for any reason, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense tangled growth of vines, shrubs and small trees called a jungle. Jungle usually refers to a dense Forest in a hot climate such as a Tropical rainforest. ^[5]

Characteristics

Tropical rainforest in Borneo, Indonesia

The tropical rainforests are home to more species or populations than all other biomes combined. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The leafy tops of tall trees-extending from 50 to 80 meters above the forest floor-forms an understory. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria Organic matter that falls to the forest floor quickly decomposes, and the nutrients are recycled.

Rainforests are characterized by high rainfall. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to This often results in poor soils due to leaching of soluble nutrients. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel A nutrient is food or chemicals that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment Oxisols, infertile, and deeply weathered, have developed on the ancient Gondwanan shields. Oxisols are an order in USDA soil taxonomy, best known for their occurrence in Tropical Rain forest, 15-25 degrees north and south of the Equator Gondwana (ɡɒnˈdwɑːnə originally Gondwanaland) was a southern Supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Ma ago A shield is generally a large area of exposed Precambrian Crystalline igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks that form tectonically Rapid bacterial decay prevents the accumulation of humus. Humus (Origin 1790–1800 Latin: earth ground) is the organic material in Soil lending it a dark brown or black colouration The concentration of iron and aluminium oxides by the laterization process gives the oxisols a bright red color and sometimes produces mineral deposits (e. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 WikipediaNaming A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific g. bauxite). Bauxite is the most important Aluminium Ore. It consists largely of the minerals Gibbsite Al(OH3 Boehmite γ-AlO(OH and On younger substrates, especially of volcanic origin, tropical soils may be quite fertile, as are the soils of many seasonally flooded forests, which are annually replenished with fertile silt. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Fertility is the natural capability of giving life As a measure "Fertility Rate" is the number of children born per couple person or population Fertility is the natural capability of giving life As a measure "Fertility Rate" is the number of children born per couple person or population Silt is Soil or rock derived Granular material of a Grain size between sand and clay

Rainforests are home to two-thirds of all the living animal and plant species on the planet. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. It has been estimated that many hundreds of millions of new species of plants, insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered and, as yet, unnamed by science. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described A microorganism (also spelled micro organism or micro-organism and also called a microbe) is an Organism that is Microscopic (usually Rainforests are also often called the "Earth's lungs," however there is no scientific basis for such a claim as tropical rainforests are known to be essentially oxygen neutral, with little or no net oxygen production. Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the ^[6][7]

Amazon river rain forest in Peru

Tall, broad-leaved evergreen trees are the dominant plants, forming a leafy canopy over the forest floor. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round Taller trees, called emergents, may rise above the canopy. The upper portion of the canopy often supports a rich flora of epiphytes, including orchids, bromeliads, mosses, and lichens, who live attached to the branches of trees. An epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attaches to a living plant The undergrowth or understory in a rain forest is often restricted by the lack of sunlight at ground level, and generally consists of shade-tolerant shrubs, herbs, ferns, small trees, and large woody vines which climb into the trees to capture sunlight. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree A(n herb (ˈhɝb or /ˈɝb/ see pronunciation differences) is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties flavor scent or the like A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta A vine is any plant of Genus Vitis (the Grape plants or by extension any similar climbing or trailing plant The relatively sparse under story vegetation makes it possible for people and other animals to walk through the forest. In deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, or forests where the canopy is disturbed for some reason, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense tangled growth of vines, shrubs and small trees called jungle. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree Jungle usually refers to a dense Forest in a hot climate such as a Tropical rainforest.

The temperature ranges from 20°C to 25°C (77°F to 82°F) and 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm) of rainfall yearly. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale.

Layers

Amazon river

The rainforest is divided into five different parts, each with different plants and animals, adapted for life in the particular area. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers These are: the floor layer, the shrub layer, the understory layer, the canopy layer and the emergent layer. Only the emergent layer is unique to tropical rainforests, while the others are also found in temperate rainforests such as the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía

The emergent layer contains a small number of very large trees which grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45-55 m, although on occasion a few species will grow to 70 m or 80 m tall. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International They need to be able to withstand the hot temperatures and strong winds. Eagles, butterflies, bats and certain monkeys inhabit this layer. Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the Bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a A monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys two of the three groupings of Simian Primates the third group being

Human uses

Habitation

Tropical rainforests currently support only small human populations. Food resources within the forest are extremely dispersed due to the high biological diversity and what food does exist is largely restricted to the canopy and requires considerable energy to obtain. Rainforest soils are often thin and leached of many minerals, and the heavy rainfall can quickly leach nutrients from rainforest plots cleared for cultivation. Nonetheless, tribes of people do live deep inside some rainforests, for example, the Yanomami people in the Amazon rainforest. The Ya̧nomamö are a large population of native people in South America. Many agriculturalists, particularly within the Amazon and New Guinean rainforests, obtain their food primarily from farm plots cleared from the forest and hunt and forage within the forest to supplement this. Other peoples described as rainforest dwellers are hunter-gatherers who subsist in large part by trading high value forest products such as hides, feathers, and honey with agricultural people living outside the forest. Some groups have farmed the Amazon for millennia by enriching the soil through very slow burns. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel In fact, when Europeans first went down the Amazon River, they wrote about the heavily populated villages they passed. Other groups of hunter-gatherers have exploited rainforest on a seasonal basis but dwell primarily in adjacent savanna and open forest environments where food is much more abundant. A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria See also Natural environment The '''biophysical''' environment is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the Biological ^[8]

Cultivated foods and spices

Coffee, chocolate, bananas, mangoes, papayas, Macadamia nuts, avocados, and sugar cane all originally came from tropical rainforests, and are still mostly grown on plantations in regions that were formerly primary forest. CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting Trees in the Flowering plant family Anacardiaceae The papaya (from Carib via Spanish) is the Fruit of the Plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. Macadamia is a Genus of nine Species of Flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a Disjunct distribution native The avocado ( Persea americana) (from Nahuatl āhuacatl) also known as aguacate ( Spanish) butter pear or Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae In the mid-1980s and 90s, 40 million tons of bananas were consumed worldwide each year, along with 13 million tons of mangoes. Central American coffee exports were worth US$3 billion in 1970. Much of the genetic variation used in evading the damage caused by new pests is still derived from resistant wild stock. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded by Humans as injurious or unwanted Tropical forests have supplied 250 cultivated kinds of fruit, compared to only 20 for temperate forests. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. Temperate rainforests are Coniferous or broadleaf Forests that occur in the Temperate zone and receive high rainfall Forests in New Guinea alone contain 251 tree species with edible fruits, of which only 43 had been established as cultivated crops by 1985. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known ^[9]

Pharmaceutical and biodiversity resource

Tropical rain forests are called "the world's largest pharmacy" because of the large amount of natural "medicines" discovered there. For example, rain forests contain the "basic ingredients of hormonal contraception methods, cocaine, stimulants, and tranquilizing drugs" (Banks 36). Hormonal contraception refers to Birth control methods that act on the hormonal system Cocaine ( benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a Crystalline Tropane Alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant Stimulant drugs are Drugs that temporarily increase alertness and awareness A sedative, or more specifically a sedative-hypnotic, is a substance that depresses the Central nervous system (CNS resulting in calmness relaxation sleepiness Curare (a paralyzing drug) and quinine (a malaria cure) are also found there. Curare ''rah'' ree is a common name for various Arrow poisons originating from South America Quinine (ˈkwaɪnaɪn kwɪˈniːn ˈkwiːniːn is a natural white Crystalline Alkaloid having Antipyretic (fever-reducing antimalarial, Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including

Tourism

Currently one of the largest economic values of tropical rainforests comes in the form of tourism. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel People travel both nationally and internationally to experience rain forests firsthand. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered International or internationally most often describes interaction between Nations or encompassing two or more nations constituting a group or association having The economic benefits of tourism are the most promising way in which rainforests may be preserved.

Leading group informational tours through the forest is also common, nature hikes, climbing through the canopies, camping, biking and animal/insect watching are all also common forms of tourism done in the forest.

Negative Impacts

As tourism becomes more popular in the tropical rainforests there are many different negative impacts that come from it, these being depletion of natural resources, pollution, and more. A resource is any physical or virtual entity of limited availability or anything used to help one earn a living Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Taking walks/hikes in the forest, off-roading or biking and camping all can trample vegetation, introduce weeds and change plant composition. Bringing in any outside influences that come in contact to the plants and nature of the forest can destroy or leave a major impression on the plants. There are also many other environmental impacts on the forest caused by tourism such as: changes in soil condition, increased soil erosion, alterations of faunal composition, increase and introduction of weeds, development of social trails or paths through the forest, changes in water quality, habituation of native fauna, alterations of plant life and composition, and spread of soil pathogens. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Water quality is the physical chemical and biological characteristics of Water in relationship to a set of standards

Positive Impacts

Onset dates and prevailing wind currents of the southwest summer monsoon.

Although tourism in the tropical rainforests does have a good amount of negative effects, there are also three main important positive effects it also has. Having an increase in tourism in the rainforest has increased the economic support also, allowing more revenue to go into the protection of the tropical rainforest. Tourism can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas and habitat. Revenue from park-entrance fees and similar sources can be owed specifically to pay for the protection and management of environmentally sensitive areas. The government also contributes revenue into the protection of the forest; such funds can be used for overall conservation programs and activities, such as protection services and developmental programs. Tourism also has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment and to spread awareness of environmental problems when it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. With people being aware of the environment due to tourism it can cause more environmentally conscious behavior. Tourism has had a positive effect on wildlife preservation and protection efforts, notably in Africa but also in South America, Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific. ^[10]

Tourism in the Tropical rainforest has increased over the years having many different effects on the tropical rainforest around the world. With tourists wanting to visit the untouched parts of the world they can leave behind negative effects of altering nature/vegetation and positive effects of donating revenue which will contribute into the protection of the tropical forests

Animals of the rainforest

Rainforests support a very broad array of fauna including mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates. Mammals may include primates, felids and other families. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, the poison dart frog, chameleons and other families. Birds include such families as vangidae and Cuculidae. Dozens of families of invertebrates are found in rainforests. More than two-thirds of the world's species of plants and animals are found in the rainforest.

Ecosystem services

In addition to extractive human uses rainforests also have non-extractive uses that are frequently summarized as ecosystem services. Humankind benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural Ecosystems. Rain forests play an important role in maintaining biological diversity, modulating precipitation infiltration and flooding, increasing scientific knowledge and in the spiritual well-being of humans. Such ecosystem services are of use to humans without the need for any modification or management of the forest itself.

References

• Mann, Charles C. , 1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus New York: Knopf, 2005 ISBN 0739464418

See also

• Amazon Rainforest
• Rainforest
• Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
• Temperate rain forest
• List of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions

External links

• Rainforest Action Network
• Info on Amazon Rainforest, the largest rainforest in the world
• Rain Forest Info from Blue Planet Biomes
• Passport to Knowledge Rainforests

Conservation efforts

There have been many conservation efforts:

• World Wildlife Fund
  • Amazon - What you can do