Tropical Rainforests

Rainforests are the most fragile of all of the Earth's biomes. They can be found in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The diversity that can be found in rainforests is unparalleled by any other biome. This makes the rainforest out to be the most intriguing of all biomes. There is thought to be millions of other species inhabiting these areas which have been yet to be discovered.

Daily precipitation and warm temperatures yearly are two of the biggest characteristics of rainforests. The annual rainfall usually falls between 80 and 180 inches and is largely made up of recycled water from its own trees. Contrary to once popular belief, the soil of the rainforest is lacking in minerals and nutrients. This occurs because the quick decomposition cycle caused by the warm weather, bacteria, ants, and fungus. Nutrients that is in the soil, quickly is taken in by the roots of the various vegetation.

The rainforest is teeming with many different species of wildlife. The rainforest is an ideal climate for many animals because the temperatures are usually constant throughout the year (temp. usually ranging between 75-80 degrees), animals never have to worry about being cold during the winter months, water & shade are in abundance, along with many places to hide from predators.

Insects make up the largest group of animals found in the rainforests, with ants being the largest group. Ants can be found in large colonies patrolling the forest floors. They help clean the forest floor by eating dead plant and animal life. Many species of ants can be found living in trees and are ready to protect their homes from any intruder.

The tropical rainforest's largest predators are cats like panthers & jaguars; and larger reptiles such as crocodiles & some snakes. Some people may think that it would be members of the Great Ape family, but they are herbivores aside from chimpanzee's who dip and dabble in cannibalism. Most medium and small sized animals are herbivores.

Plant life in the rainforest is also very diverse. Since over 80 inches of rain fall occurs annually, plants have made many adaptations that help them shed excess water from their leaves so the branches don't break under the pressure from the water. Many plants have grooved leaves, also many plants have grown oily leaves which makes the water run off faster. Since only extremely small amounts of sunlight reach the lower levels of the rainforest, many plants have leaves are very large to obtain more sunlight. Some trees have even evolved to have leaf stalks that follow the movement of the sun so they can always absorb the maximum amount of light possible. Leaves towards the top of trees tend to be greener and thicker to reduce the amount of water lost from the sunlight beaming on them constantly. Since the ground of the rainforest is shallow and wet, many trees have stilt roots for extra support.

The rainforest is divided into 4 different parts: the Emergent layer, the Canopy layer, the Understory layer, and the Forest floor. The Emergent layer is comprised of the trees which grow above the canopy, usually reaching heights of 45-55 meters high, some even manage to grow higher than that. They are able to withstand very high temperatures and high winds. Species that live in this layer can include eagles, butterflies, bats, and some primate species.

The Canopy layer is found under the Emergant layer and is made up of most of the larger trees, which usually grow 30-45 meters tall. A lot of the diverse population of animal life can be found in this layer which is almost a non-breaking cover of foliage comprised of the dense treetops. A quarter of all insect species, and almost 40% of plant life is believed to be in the canopy layer. Exploration of the canopy has only truly begun in the 1980's with the advent of newer technologies to help us get high up in the dense forest where the canopy is found.

The 2 sunlight deprived layers are the Understory and Forest floor. The understory is between the canopy and the forest floor. Many reptiles, birds, mammals, and insects can be found here. The infant seedlings which will one day (if the rainforest is still around in the very near future) make up the canopy can be found here. Only 5% of the sunlight is able to reach this layer of the rainforest. The forest floor has very little vegetation because of the poor sun