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importance of tropical rainforests environmental sciences essay
importance of tropical rainforests environmental sciences essay
importance of tropical rainforests environmental sciences essay
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Tropical rainforest and its challenges
Tropical rainforest can be found near the the equator, the average rainfail is over 110 inches per year and consistently in warm temperature at about 25°C to 27C° and vary little from month to month (Molles, 2005). This warm temperature creates suitable condition for plant growth and variety of animal species to live there. The condition of rainforest made it can harboured higher diversity of organism than any other terrestrial biome. Even it only cover over two percent of earth surface but at least half of plant and animal species has be recorded from all over the world in tropical rainforest (Corlett and Primack, 2008).
Besides that, rainforest also contribute to human economy by provide raw material, timber, foods and so on. A single rainforest may support several thousand species of insects. Most rain forest plant species depend to animal, from bats, bird, butterflies and bees for pollination of flower. According to Molles (2005), rainforest soils are often nutrient-poor, acidic low in organic matter. However, rainforest plants are adapted at conserving (Corlett and Primack, 2008).nutrients by beneficial partnership call mycorrhizae.
Nowadays, tropical has been threatened, anthropogenic activity such as deforestation rainforests cause disappearing of tropical rainforest at an alarming rate, more than half of rainforest has been cut for the last century, there is about 2,000 trees per minutes are cut down in rainforest from all over the world (Corlett and Primack, 2008). . The increasing industrialization and human population densities are so worrisome, this will place additional pressure on both the physical environment and on biodiversity of remaining rainfore...
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...es was noted as new record in Peninsular Malaysia. Moreover, there is also few species of uncertain status.
1.5 Significance of this study
Odonata is one of the bio indicators of the environment that show us which one of the habitat that contain the good environment. By studying the temporal changes in Odonata community, it gives information about the health of ecosystem. Moreover, this study also gives information relationship the Odonata community and factors that influence it. Thus, helping in monitoring and managing the environment and conservation of Odonata community.
1.6 Objective of this study
The major aim of this study
I. To compare the diversity of Odonata community between previous study (2005/2006) and the present study (2012/2013).
II. To study the relationship between temporal changes of Odonata community between 6 years and environments factors.
Ecosystems are a system involving the interactions between a community of living organisms in a particular area and its nonliving environment. In the tropical forest there are many living and nonliving organisms that interactive for the daily growth and life in the forest. Tropical forest’s cover about seven percent’s of the earth and contains approximately fifty percent of the worlds’ species. Tropical rain forest is and interesting ecosystem, it contains different and a wide variety of species. All the species interact with one another to help sustain way of life.
Of all of the issues that effect the planet Earth from a Global Change standpoint, one of the most visible and highly publicized is the issue of rainforest destruction. The loss of this emerald on the planet's crown will end life as we know it, if something is not done...
Tropical rain forests and temperate forests are two different types of forests. They differ in density, diversity of species, regions, altitudes and their usefulness to humans. This usefulness is referred to as values. The values obtained from forests are aesthetics, scientific and educational purposes. In addition forests have the ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide released into the air from man’s endeavours. This CO2 contributes to the sudden increase in global warming. The total value of a forest ecosystem is the combined value of each individual species living within that habitat.
Tropical rainforest have lots of rain because it is very hot and wet due to its location along the equator. That means that there is more direct solar radiation hitting the land and sea there than anywhere else. They release moisture into the atmosphere which returns to the ground as rain. It rains more than ninety days a year in tropical rainforests and the strong sun usually shines between the storms. The water cycle repeats often along the equator. The main plants in this biome are trees. Tropical rainforests store water like a huge sponge. In fact, it’s believed that the Amazonian forests alone store over half of earth’s rainwater a lot of the rain that falls on the rain forest never reaches the ground. It stays within the trees because the leaves act as a shield, and some rain never gets past the trees to the smaller plants and grounds below. Surprisingly, soil in rainforests is very poor in nutrients. This is because the nutrients are stored in the vast numbers of trees and plants rather than in the soil. Tree roots bind the soil together, while the canopy protects the soil from heavy rains. W...
Farmers are a large problem for the tropical rain forests in South America. When farmers need more land, they start to chop trees down in the rain forest to make more space for farming. Rainforests once covered more than 14 percent of the earth. Sadly, rainforests now cover about 6 percent of the earth, which leads to the destruction of various animals’ habitats.
The ecosystem I have chosen is tropical rainforest. In the following paragraphs, I am going to firstly introduced the structure of tropical rainforest in brief, with the second part of the plant ecology and last the diversity within this ecosystem.
The earth is divided climatically and geographically into specific areas where there are similarities in communities of vegetation, organisms and animals. These ecosystems are often referred to as biomes. Differences in biomes usually consists of identifiable plant structures where there is a specific pattern of ecological activity. Biomes are also major types of habitats for different types of organisms and animals.
No matter where a person lives, even if it is not near a rain forest, the complete destruction of rain forests will affect living conditions. For years rain forests have provided countries around the word with valuable resources, minerals, lumber, and energy. In Brazil alone the rain forests contains 45% of Brazil’s hydroelectric power. The minerals found in the rain forests of Brazil are estimated to value 1.6 trillion dollars, while the lumber that the rain forests can provide total 1.7 trillion dollars (“In the Forest” 1). Nutrients from decomposing organisms can be found throughout rain forests, including in soil and in trees. To continue destroying forests also destroys the important materials that they are providing to humans.
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%. A high average year round temperature, coupled with the moisture rich environment, creates an ecosystem that allows for a level of biodiversity seen nowhere else on the planet. This also results in a specific type of layering design that allows the system to survive and recycle its nutrients.
The next topic for discussion in this paper is ecology. This will include, preferred habitats and interactions with abiotic and biotic elements of the environment.
Nowadays deforestation is the one of the most important and controversial environmental issues in the world. Deforestation is cutting down, clearing away or burning trees or forests. Particularly tropical rainforests are the most waning type of forests because of its location in developing countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, central African countries and Brazil. Deforestation rate in those regions is high enough to worry about, because of large economic potential of forest areas. As the result of causes such as agriculture land expansion, logging for timber, fire blazing and settling infrastructure there might be serious impacts in future. For instance, extinction of endemic species of animals and plants which will be feral, increase of greenhouse gas emissions which may lead to global warming and consecutive catastrophes, destruction of home for indigenous residents which is considered as violation of human rights. Some people can argue with these drawbacks telling that deforestation have more valuable benefits such as growth of economics, production of food and providing better opportunities for life for poor families. However, these benefits are quite temporary and government of that countries and world organisations tries to halt deforestation proposing several solutions. Deforestation problem is especially acute in the Brazilian Amazon, where its rate is much high comparing with other regions. This paper will describe world-wide rainforests, causes and effects of deforestation, and evaluate possible solutions of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Landscape fragmentation contributes to loss of migratory corridors, loss of connectivity and natural communities, which all lead to a loss of biodiversity for a region. Conservation of biodiversity must include all levels of diversity: genetic, species, community, and landscape (CNHP 1995). Each complex level is dependent upon and linked to the other levels. In addition, humans are linked to all levels of this hierarchy. A healthy natural and human environment go hand in hand (CNHP 1995). An important step in conservation planning, in order to guarantee both a healthy natural environment as well as a healthy human environment, is recognizing the most endangered elements.
Simply speaking, rainforests are basically the foundation of the earth. The most important role that rainforests play is ‘the lungs of the earth’. This is extremely vital to the earth’s survival as the trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide which they use to help grow and let out oxygen which we need to live. This system is known as the carbon-oxygen cycle and with numbers of rainforests declining, it is highly threatened. The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, alone is known to produce half of the world’s oxygen. A break down in the carbon-oxygen cycle means that we will not only have less oxygen, but an increase in carbon dioxide which eventually leads to global warming. This occurs as carbon dioxide traps heat which actually keeps the earth warm, with the right amount of carbon dioxide that is. This is called the greenhouse effect and occurs naturally however due to decreasing number of trees, there is more carbon dioxide than needed which traps extra heat making the earth hotter than needed, this is known as global warming which also causes a rise in sea level.
Rainforests help stabilize the world's climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is believed to contribute to climate change through global warming. Therefore rainforests have an important in addressing global warming.
Tropical rainforests have many species of plants and animals. They are very interesting and many scientists today study it. Rainforests are an important part of our environment and it is important for us to protect it. That’s why we have to stop global warming.