Amazon Rainforest
Rainforest Case Study: The Amazonian Rainforest
Habitat types of the forest:
Over half of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil but it is also located in other South American countries including Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Bolivia, Suriname and French Guiana.
The rainforest is made up of several different layers. These include:
The emergent layer
Most of these trees are broad-leaved, hardwood evergreens. There is a lot of sunlight here, these trees receive the most, and the trees can tower up to 200 feet tall.
The canopy layer
The trees reach between 60 to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants and tied together with vines. The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms found in the rain forest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops.
The understory layer
This layer receives only 2-15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy. The plants in this area seldom grow to 12 feet. Many animals live here including jaguars, red-eyed tree frogs and leopards. There is a large concentration of insects here.
Forest floor
Almost no plants grow in this area, as a result. Since hardly any sun reaches the forest floor things begin to decay quickly. A leaf that might take one year to decompose in a regular climate will disappear in 6 weeks. The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light
General features:
The average rainfall ranges from 800 mm to 2500 mm.
The average daytime temperature in the Brazilian Amazon region varies from 80 to 90 degrees.
The rainforest houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity
There are not a lot of nutrients in the soil which causes low resilience.
The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world
Habitat types of the forest:
Over half of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil but it is also located in other South American countries including Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Bolivia, Suriname and French Guiana.
The rainforest is made up of several different layers. These include:
The emergent layer
Most of these trees are broad-leaved, hardwood evergreens. There is a lot of sunlight here, these trees receive the most, and the trees can tower up to 200 feet tall.
The canopy layer
The trees reach between 60 to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants and tied together with vines. The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms found in the rain forest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops.
The understory layer
This layer receives only 2-15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy. The plants in this area seldom grow to 12 feet. Many animals live here including jaguars, red-eyed tree frogs and leopards. There is a large concentration of insects here.
Forest floor
Almost no plants grow in this area, as a result. Since hardly any sun reaches the forest floor things begin to decay quickly. A leaf that might take one year to decompose in a regular climate will disappear in 6 weeks. The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light
General features:
The average rainfall ranges from 800 mm to 2500 mm.
The average daytime temperature in the Brazilian Amazon region varies from 80 to 90 degrees.
The rainforest houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity
There are not a lot of nutrients in the soil which causes low resilience.
The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world