The Rain Forest

The Rain Forest

The destruction of the rainforest is a problem that the people of the

world can not continue to ignore. 14 percent of the Earth's land used to be

covered by rainforests yet this number has dropped significantly to only about 6

percent (http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/index.html). Rainforests provide

the people of the world with many necessities, some of which would no longer be

available if rainforests did not exist. In the last 50 years, rainforests have

declined at a terrifying speed of 150 acres per minute or 75 million acres per

year (http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/index.html). People must open their

eyes to the horrible tragedy that will inevitably occur if the citizens of the

world do not realize the seriousness of this problem.

To better understand the importance of the rainforest, one must be

knowledgeable about what a rainforest actually is. The two main types of

rainforests are temperate and tropical. Tropical rainforests are located in

Latin and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and other areas in which

temperatures stay above 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round. They can be found in

85 countries all over the world, however, 90 percent of them are concentrated

into fifteen countries, each containing over ten million hectares. Tropical

rainforests receive 160 to 400 inches of rain each year. Although these dense,

damp forests cover just 5 percent of the Earth's surface, they can provide homes

for between 50 and 90 percent of the Earth's plants and animals

(http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review1.shtml).

Tropical rainforests consist of three distinct layers referred to as the

forest floor, the understory, and the canopy. The forest floor contains very

poor soil which is mainly due to the trees not allowing for ample sunlight to

reach the ground. Because only one to two percent of the light at the top of

the forest's canopy manages to reach the floor below, photosynthesis ceases to

exist. On top of the soil lies a thin layer of the remains of millions of dead

trees, plants, and animals which are quickly broken down by the numerous number

of organisms on the floor (Nichol 45). It contains a variety of insects as well

as larger mammals such as gorillas and jaguars. The understory is home to

smaller mammals such as anteaters, lemurs, and tree kangaroos. It also contains

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...rcent of the Earth's land used to be

covered by rainforests yet this number has dropped significantly to only about 6

percent (http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/index.html). Rainforests provide

the people of the world with many necessities, some of which would no longer be

available if rainforests did not exist. In the last 50 years, rainforests have

declined at a terrifying speed of 150 acres per minute or 75 million acres per

year (http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/index.html). People must open their

eyes to the horrible tragedy that will inevitably occur if the citizens of the

world do not realize the seriousness of this problem.

Sources Cited

http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/index.html

http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review1.shtml

http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review2.shtml

http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review3.shtml

http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review4.shtml

http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review5.shtml

http://www.stevensonpress.com/intro.html http://www.ran.org/ran

http://www.mtc.com.my/lib/formal/fact4/overview.htm

Nichol, John. The Mighty Rainforest. The Netherlands: David and Charles Printing, 1990.