RAINFORESTS What are the Rain forests? A rain forest can be merely defined as a evergreen forest inhabiting a tropical region, filled with a wide variety of plants and animals, with an annual rainfall of at least 2.5 meters. Simply speaking, they are the richest, oldest, most productive ecosystems on earth. An ecosystem is a living community together with its environment, together both functioning as a unit. Biologist, Norman Myers, states "rainforests are the finest celebration of nature ever known to the planet" (1). There are three main types of rainforests; temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical. Most of the rain forests still left in the world today are tropical. Tropical rain forests cover less then 6% of the earth, yet they contain half of the world’s species. As a matter of fact, rain forests support 90,000 of the 250,000 identifies plant species. A tropical rain forest has three layers: the canopy (treetops), the understory (young trees, ferns, shrubs), and the forest floor. Rain forests have been known as the "womb of life" (1) because they are home to so many species. Temperate (much younger, and more full of nutrients, located along Canada and the United States, among others) and sub-tropical rain forests also contain many ranges of animals (monkeys, birds, snakes, jaguars), however they are not as different. Regardless, the rain forests possess an array of foliage and fauna. Tropical rain forests lie near the equator, which means the temperature is extremely hot, above eighty degrees year round, and the climate is extremely wet. Rainforests cover about two percent of the earth’s surface, or six percent of it’s land mass, and yet they are the primary shelter for over half of the plant and animal species on earth.... ... middle of paper ... ... happening outside our hometown. Remember that this is the future for our generation. We CAN stop the destruction, however that is only is we try to make a difference and spread the word among others. Get involved. People of the Tropical Rain forest. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Hosansky, David. "Saving the Rain forests." The CQ Researcher (1999): pgs. 497-99. Tropical Rain Forests. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1988. The Primary Source: Tropical Forests and Our Future. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1984. Rochman, Hazel. "Tropical Rain Forests/ Wetlands." Booklist (1999): pg. 440. Tangley, David. "Rain Forests for Profit." U.S. News and World Report (1998): pgs. 40-44. Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. Wright, Evelyn. "Giving the Rain Forests a Break." Business Week (1999): pg. 51.
Wright, David, Heather LaRocca, and Grant DeJongh. "Global Problems." The Amazonian Rainforest: Forest to Farmland? The University of Michigan, 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Tropical rainforests are an extremely unique and diverse ecosystem that are located around the earth’s equator. They once covered roughly 7% of the world, but due to human encroachment that has dwindled to just 2%. It is a highly moisture rich environment that typically receives anywhere between 60 and 400 inches of rainfall annually and average humidity ranges from 70 to 90%.
the rainforest are about 70% of plants.the trees are very important and the trees actually give us
The Amazon Rain Forest Is in Danger of Being Destroyed" by Devadas Vittal. Rain Forests. HaiSong Harvey, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2002. Reprinted from Devadas Vittal, Introduction: What Is the Amazon Rainforest? Internet: http://www.homepages.go.com/homepages/d/v/i/dvittal/amazon/intro.html, November 1999, by permission of the author. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010021212&mode=view
FAO: State of the World's Forests. Rome: Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations; 2007. Print.
Moeller, Karla (2013, July 24). Revealing the Rainforest. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved November 29, 2013 from http://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/rainforest
Philip, M., & William F. 2004, ‘Tropical Deforestation and Greenhouse-gas Emissions’, Ecological Applications, (no publication information), Volume 14, Issue 4, pp. 982–986, viewed 23 April 2010,
The controversy over logging, and more specifically clearcutting, is not a new issue in America. Ever since the 1920's and 1930's, when this nation started to become conscious of conservation, citizens have weighed the consequences of logging. Critics have questioned whether the increase in jobs, tax dollars, and economic growth was worth the destruction of forest lands. Regardless of what they believe today, the logging industry had become so efficient that by the late 1980's nearly 100,000 acres of federal land had been clearcut since the industry began. Logging technology has advanced rapidly in terms of speed, to meet the increasing demands for lumber, paper, and other products derived from trees. This in turn has greatly impacted the environment by severely degrading watersheds, leading to increased soil erosion, the diminution in the quality of drinking water, and the decline of fish stocks, among many other consequences. In this essay I will examine the progression of logging equipment throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and discuss how these changes in technology have not only changed the relationship of those who work in the industry, but also haw this has changed the wider relationship of society and nature.
The rain forests are incredible places. They only cover 6 % of the world’s surface however they have more than ½ the world’s plant and animals species. A rain forest can be described as tall and thick jungles. There is a reason behind the forest being called a “Rain forest” and it is because the high rainfall it gets per year. On average, 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 34 ºC or drops below 20 ºC. The average humidity in a rainforest is between 77 to 88%. Rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year.
The destruction of this forest releases 340 million tons of carbon per year according to the World Wildlife Foundation, or WWF, which in turn causes climate changes everywhere around the world. Undiscovered species can hold the key to curing a plethora of diseases, but if those species become extinct, those keys are lost forever. If nothing is done to prevent this, the world’s treasure trove of bio-diversity will cease to exist, creating irreversible damage to not only the South American people, but also the rest of the world. Conversion of the tropical forest into cropland and pasture began a long time ago in Ecuador, before its secession from Spain. Their major crop was cocoa, which was grown along the waterways to be exported as their main source of trade.
The Human Impact on Rainforests Human Impact on Rainforest is it a necessity? Rainforest are the beautiful gift of Mother Nature. It consists of the most magnificent species and plants in the world. 4.2% of the world’s animals live in the rainforest. This statistic it self shows how bad it would be to destroy such essential part of the worlds biodiversity.
Lindsey, Rebecca. "Tropical Deforestation : Feature Articles." Tropical Deforestation : Feature Articles. NASA, 30 Mar. 2007. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Rainforests once covered 14% of the worlds land surface, however now it only covers a mere 6%. It is estimated that all rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Trees are becoming more needed and used everyday. We need them cut down for many reasons such as paper and timber, while also needing them ‘untouched’ for other reasons like oxygen, we have to ask ourselves, which is more important? At the current rate, most of the rainforests are being cut down for resources like paper and timber, but less importance is being placed on main resources like oxygen.
What is a tropical rain forest? A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem that is anywhere near the equator. These areas are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. A tropical rainforests experience high average temperatures and high amounts of rain fall. Tropical rainforests are divided into three parts. The uppermost part is the canopy. This is the layer with the tallest tress. Trees in this climate can reach up to 240 feet (blueplanetbiomes.com). The next layer is the lower canopy. This layer is made up of the smaller tress. The last layer is the forest floor. This is made up of all the plants and bushes. You can find tropical rainforests in many parts of the world like Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and also on the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean islands.
This is alarming since recent data indicates these enormous forests are land-dwelling carbon absorbers that could help to slow worldwide climate alteration. The United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates “eighteen million acres of forests have been destroyed worldwide;” and NASA forecasts “that if current deforestation rates are not reduced, rainforests could become entirely eradicated in a century.” The nations with substantial deforestation are Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa (The Democratic Republic of Congo included), and remote areas of Eastern Europe. Indonesia, the country with the greatest deforestation within the last century, has lost approximately forty million acres of indigenous