Tropical Rainforests Although a tropical rain forest is merely described as a region of tall trees with year-round warmth and plentiful rain, the definition goes much deeper. Tropical rain forests, jungles that receive at least eighty inches of rain in a year, maintain the natural balance of the world's temperature and climate. Not only do they regulate climate and protect water supplies, but tropical rain forests nurture millions of species of animals, and provide homes for various tribes of people. The world's tropical rain forests represent one of the most fragile and most diverse of all our natural ecosystems, yet are least understood by today's society. Tropical rain forests are also by far the most threatened. There are several facts and statistics that are known about the ever-important rain forests that may be shocking to the newly interested researcher, like myself. Tropical rain forests are located in warm and humid places near the earth's equator. The daily temperature averages in at seventy-five degrees, with twelve hours of sun shining everyday in the tropics. Average annual rainfall is between eighty and one hundred inches, while some forests receive four hundred inches of rain a year. "Occupying no more than seven percent of all the space on earth, they harbor at least half-possibly seventy-five percent -of all forms of life" (Stone 75). This makes it apparent that the importance of rain forests directly effects the world's ever-expanding human population and how we are linked to the massive pressures on tropical rain forests. At one time photographs taken from a satellite of the earth a quarter of a century ago revealed a green belt widely spread interrupted only by the oceans. This expansive ring of... ... middle of paper ... ..., 1963. Gradwhol, Judith and Russell Greenbreg. Saving the Tropical Forests, London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1988. Herndon, Grace. Cut & Run: Saying Goodbye to the Last Great Forests In the West. Telluride, Co: Western Eye Press, 1991. Janzen, Daniel. "Notes From the Guanacaste", Omni, Bob Guccione, Volume 15, NY: Omni Publications International Ltd., April 1993. Lamb, D. Exploiting The Tropical Rain Forest: An account of Pulpwood Logging in Papua New Ginea, John Jeffers, Volume 3, Man and The Biosphere Series, Paris: The Parthenon Publishing Group, 1990. Mitchell, Andrew W. The Enchanted Canopy, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986. Rosillo-Calle, Frank. "Biomass Energy, Forests and Global Warming," Energy Policy, February 1992: 124-131. Stone, Roger D. "The Global Stakes of Tropical Deforestation," U.S.A. Today, March 1988: 74-76.
Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter (drug war facts, Page 1).
The efforts required by reforestation may not initially be cost effective, but it will result in not only the survivability of the environment, but of the country’s economy. Widespread awareness of these ideas will help fight against the natural human tendency towards instant gratification and short-term goals. Different methods of logging can be utilized to allow the rainforests to survive and regrow naturally and at a sustainable
way. Just as there is a variety of animals there is a variety of ecosystems and each ecosystem is
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
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.
In South America lies the largest and most wondrous rainforest in the world, the Amazon Rainforest. This 1.4 billion acre forest represents over half of the planets remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most bio-diverse tract of rainforest in the world. Ten percent of all known species on the planet are found in this rain forest, most of which have yet to be discovered. For the past century, the Amazon has been gradually decreasing in size due to agricultural expansion, ranching, infrastructure projects, energy exploration and illegal logging. At its current state, the Amazon is losing land equal to the size of the state of Delaware every 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 cause 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.
A rainforest is an area of high, mostly evergreen trees with a high amount of rainfall. The biome is the earth’s oldest living ecosystem, being incredibly complex and diverse. The importance of the rainforest, is the huge biodiversity of the place due to the 80 – 90% of species that can be found there, even when it only covers 6% of the Earth’s surface. It is also often called the lungs of the planet, by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen upon which many species depend on. Rainforests also help stabilize the world’s climate and maintain the water cycle by producing rainfall all around the planet. Every year humans are cutting down more and more rainforest all around the globe. The reasons for this deforestation are to have grazing land for cattle, contraction of roads, extraction of energy and minerals and many more. Yet this report will focus on the monoculture of rubber tree plantations on previous rainforest land.
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.
The "Second Lung" of Earth aka the Congo Basin rainforest is a very important rainforest. Likes it nickname, it really has deserved that title from all the carbon dioxide it racks in. Home to over 10000 types of trees and plants and 3000 unique species, this rainforest is the second largest in the world, and it needs to be protected. Deforestation is a major problem in any rainforest, and this one's case of deforestation is severe. They're are many different solutions to save this rainforest like proper farming, safe zones, and improving road construction
Kimmins, J. P. (2004). Forest ecology: A foundation for sustainable forest management and environmental ethics in forestry (3rd ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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.
The structure and density of the species of the deforested mangrove area will be different or lower than the area which have not been deforested.
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.
Just to the northeast of the Australian northern coastline, lies a series of islands that construct what is referred to as the “Melanesia sub-region”. The tropical marine water of the Carol Triangle surrounds the Melanesian sub-region, and it extends from the eastern border of the island of New Guinea in the northeast, stretching to the southeast corner to include Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. Consequently, the Melanesian sub-region features some of the most enduring-undiscovered landscapes of our modern times. In the heart of the Melanesian sub-region sits the world’s second largest island – New Guinea. The eastern portion of the island of New Guinea along with the islands of Bougainville, New Britain, and New Ireland describe the geographic-borders of the Country of Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG is located along the tropical geographic region of the Pacific Ring of Fire between 0o and 12o latitudes, where it receives rainfalls that range between 950 and 10,000 mm per annum (map). This equatorial location along with favorable natural and anthropogenic conditions allowed for a great number of astounding diversity of terrestrial vegetations to evolve and dictate PNG’s landscape. PNG’s landscape is dominated by multiple ecological formations, primarily forests that cover 78% of the total land area. Furthermore, the diversity of PNG’s terrestrial vegetations starts with beach grasses, on coastal lines, moving inland towards lowland tropical forest, and ending mountaintops alpine forests (table).
Thomson, Steve. "Saving B.C's Forests through the Trees." The Filipino Post 12-18 July 2012: 12. Print.