The Rainforest is an area that only covers around 6% to 7% of all of the land in the world but still has more than half of the world’s plant and animal species.
Rainforests are forests that grow near the equator. They have many trees and the climate is warm and has lots of rain. Due to all of the rain, the trees grow very tall and so the sunlight has a hard time reaching the ground.
The climate of the rainforest does not change much so with the rain and the hot temperatures it is a busy place for animals, especially those that live in trees.
Rainforests are very warm and are very humid. They usually have a temperature of 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most rainforests have over 75 inches of rain in a year and some of the areas get over 100 inches of rainfall per year. A rainforest can get so much rain in one year that it would be deeper than two men standing on top of each other.
There are two different types of rainforests:
There are many different types of rainforests such as lowland rainforests, flooded rainforests, swamp rainforests, cloud forests and montane forests.
A lowland tropical rainforest is a rainforest where there are huge trees with lots of rain. In this type of rainforest, you will probably see many different birds and other animals such as monkeys. There also are other animals that walk along the ground.
A lowland tropical rainforest has many features such as:
A flooded rainforest is a place where there is a lot of water and where there is flooding that happens each year. When there is a flooded rainforest, it means that the area is under a lot of water for a lot of the year.
A swamp rainforest is similar to a flooded rainforest except this type of rainforest happens more when the area does not have a good drainage system and it causes water to flood part of the area.
A cloud rainforest is a rainforest that is cooler in temperature than other rainforests and this type of rainforest can be found in higher areas such as on mountains.
A Montane Rainforest is similar to a cloud rainforest but is most likely covered in mist. This type of rainforest is also found higher up and has different types of animals than other rainforests.
The rainforests are found in many different areas. Tropical rainforests, for example, are found close to the equator, where it is very warm. Most of the tropical rainforests are located between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn which are imaginary lines that run parallel to the equator.
Some tropical rainforests are found in:
The largest rainforest in the world is found in South America and it is the Amazon Rainforest. This rainforest is double the size of India and it covers parts of:
Temperate rainforests are found in places that are further from the equator. These rainforests are cooler and are found in areas that are close to the coast.
The largest temperate rainforest is the Pacific Temperate Rainforest Ecoregion and it is located on the western coast of north America and runs from Alaska to California. There are also other temperate rainforests in:
The rainforest comes in different layers: the emergent layer, the canopy, the forest floor and the understory.
The rainforest is home to many insects and animals. Because the trees are so tall, most of the sunlight does not hit the ground so most plants that grow, grow in the trees. The roots of the trees are wide, and the trees grow in layers, but the plants have poor nutrition because the trees take up most of the soil nutrients.
There are more than 1.5 million different species that have been found in the rainforest and there are still millions of species that have not even been discovered yet.
The largest numbers of animals live in the rainforest because of the warmth and the constant water. Many of the animals are poisonous and they camouflage themselves. Some of the animals of the tropical forest include:
These animals eat fruit from the trees and leaves and some insects. Spiders are also known to be in the rainforest. Some say that spiders are so big that they eat birds. Bats and other animals are oftentimes found in large numbers in the tropical forest.
Many of the animals are found in different areas of the rainforest. In the canopy, some of the animals include:
In the Understory layer, the animals include:
Animals of the Forest Floor include:
Because there is so much rain, there is a lot of different plants and vegetation that grows in the rainforest. Most of these plants and trees have features that help them to be able to gather water needed to grow and survive. Some of these plants and trees do not get the sunlight that they need and so they depend on other ways to survive. Some of these plants and trees are:
There are different tribes that live in the rainforests including ones in:
These people are Native Tribes and they follow different traditions that they have learned. No one really knows how many people live in the rainforest.
A lot of rainforests have rivers and streams that run through them or are close to them. These rivers and streams are important because they help to provide water for animals that are living there. The rivers and streams also provide a place for fast swimmers to be able to hunt for their food.
The rainforest is an important place because it is home to so many species of plants and animals. The rainforest also helps to give us plants that provide medicine to us. The rainforest can also give us:
Another important reason that the rainforest is so important is because it helps to soak up much of the carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere. The plants and trees use photosynthesis to make oxygen while getting rid of some of the harmful carbon dioxide.