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Facts about Rainforest

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About half of the world's tropical rainforests are in the South American countries of Brazil and Peru.

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A subtropical rainforest is one that lies immediately north or south of the tropics (north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn) to about 35 degrees latitude.

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Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the mid-latitudes in areas of high rainfall.

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Protection and regeneration of the rainforests is a key goal of many environmental charities and organizations, including the Rainforest Alliance and the Nature Conservancy.

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Today, there are over 100 pharmaceutical companies and several government agencies researching plants from the rainforest for possible cures for AIDS, cancer, and other diseases.

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Many of the medicines that humans use come from the rainforests.

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Seventy percent of these cancer-fighting plants are found in the rainforest.

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Some estimate that tropical rainforests cover 12 percent of the land surface.

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An exceptional diversity of life forms can be seen in rainforests, which hold most of the earth's species of plants and animals, each with their own peculiar shapes, structures, and functions.

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Currently, over 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources, including one quarter of Western pharmaceuticals that are specifically derived from rainforest plants.

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Despite the extensive growth of flora in a rainforest, the actual quality of the soil is quite poor because high rainfall tends to leach out soluble nutrients.

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The undergrowth in a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level.

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Tropical and subtropical rainforests are found in a belt around the equator and in the humid subtropics, and are characterized by warm, humid climates with high year-round rainfall.

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Rainforests help to conserve water by soaking up the moisture, acting like a sponge and decreasing the risk of flooding.

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The rainforest can be divided into four different parts, each with different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular area.

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A quarter of all insect species are believed to exist in the rainforest canopy.

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A temperate rainforest is one that lies north or south of the subtropics and usually near the ocean, which moderates its climate.

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Being integral to the water cycle, if a rainforest is cleared, droughts increase and the area may become desert.

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A rainforest is a very dense, relatively warm, wet forest.

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Rainforests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1.7 meters (about 5 1/2 feet) and 2 meters (about six 1/2 feet).

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Estimates of the percent of the world's species found in rainforests range from 50 percent to even 90 percent.

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Rainforests provide a number of foods for people, including cocoa, coffee, fruits, nuts, and spices, as well as products such as rubber, tannins, resins, and gums.

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Temperate coniferous rainforests are quite rare, occurring in small areas of western North America, southwestern South America, and northern New Zealand.

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Tropical and temperate rainforests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance throughout the twentieth century, and the area covered by rainforests around the world is rapidly shrinking.

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Rainforests once covered about 14 percent of the Earth, but have been reduced in size now to only about 6 percent of the Earth's surface.

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Such extensive loss of rainforest can be tragic for both developing and developed nations alike.

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A tropical rainforest is one that lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

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Rainforest soils tend to be poor, due to leaching of the minerals by the high rainfall.

A Rainforest can be described as a tall, dense jungle. The reason it is called a "rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year. The climate of a rain forest is very hot and humid so the animals and plants that exist there must learn to adapt to this climate.

Definition of rain forest. 1 : a tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches (254 centimeters) and marked by lofty broad-leaved evergreen trees forming a continuous canopy — called also tropical rain forest. 2 : temperate rain forest.Dec 17, 2017

By absorbing carbon dioxide, rainforests help to reduce the effects of worldwide climate change. In addition to the important role rainforests play in Earth's climate, they also are an important home to about half of the species of plants and wildlife on the planet.

Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.More items...

Logging. This is believed to be the second largest cause of deforestation. Timber companies cut down huge trees such as mahogany and teak and sell them to other countries to make furniture.

That is more than 150 acres lost every minute of every day, and 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues. It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year.Dec 21, 2012

The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact.

This is equivalent to 40% of the yearly carbon loss from deforestation -- when entire forests are chopped down. Logging. The human impact on the Amazon rainforest has been grossly underestimated according to an international team of researchers from Brazil and the UK, led by Lancaster University.May 22, 2014

The rainforests are home to half of the Earth's plant and animal species. They are winter homes to many birds that breed in temperate latitudes. Tropical rainforests are some of the most beautiful wildernesses on our planet. ... Tropical rainforests help maintain global rain and weather patterns.

Below are 35 facts on Tropical Rainforests. Fact 1: Rainforests only cover around 2 percent the total surface area of the Earth, but really about 50 percent of the plants and animals on the earth live in the rainforest. Fact 2: Rainforests are the forests that receive high amount of rainfall.

Tropical rainforests are forests with tall trees, warm climates, and lots of rain. In some rainforests it rains more than one inch nearly every day of the year! Rainforests are found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest in South America.

Rainforests are populated with insects (like butterflies and beetles), arachnids (like spiders and ticks), worms, reptiles (like snakes and lizards), amphibians (like frogs and toads), birds (like parrots and toucans) and mammals (like sloths and jaguars). Different animals live in different strata of the rainforest.

The Coolest Plants Found in the Amazon RainforestHeliconia Flower (Lobster-Claw) ... Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) ... Orchids. ... Cacao (Theobroma cacao) ... Giant Water Lilies (Victoria amazonica) ... Passion Fruit Flower (Passiflora) ... Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) ... Monkey Brush Vine (Combretum rotundifolium)More items...

Most of the animal species found in the rainforest are invertebrates, including insects, arachnids (such as spiders and scorpions), and worms. Amazingly, about one quarter of all animal species that have been named and described by scientists are beetles.

Tropical rainforests are home to a huge diversity of reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, and crocodiles) and amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and worm-like caecilians). These are found in virtually all rainforest habitats, ranging from the high canopy to streams and creeks.

Tropical rainforests have four layers:Emergent Layer. These giant trees thrust above the dense canopy layer and have huge mushroom-shaped crowns. ... Canopy Layer. The broad, irregular crowns of these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 60 to 90 feet above the ground. ... Understory. ... Forest Floor. ... Soil and Nutrient Recycling.

In the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil live tribes who have no contact with the outside world. Illegal loggers and cattle ranchers are invading their land and bringing disease. They won't survive unless this stops. ... Brazil's Amazon is home to more uncontacted tribes than anywhere in the world.

At one time Amazon River flowed westward, perhaps as part of a proto-Congo (Zaire) river system from the interior of present day Africa when the continents were joined as part of Gondwana. Fifteen million years ago, the Andes were formed by the collision of the South American plate with the Nazca plate.Jan 26, 2017

Rainforests are often called the lungs of the planet for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and producing oxygen, upon which all animals depend for survival. Rainforests also stabilize climate, house incredible amounts of plants and wildlife, and produce nourishing rainfall all around the planet.

Rainforests also help to stabilize Earth's climate. ... By absorbing carbon dioxide, rainforests help to reduce the effects of worldwide climate change. In addition to the important role rainforests play in Earth's climate, they also are an important home to about half of the species of plants and wildlife on the planet.

We need the rain forests to produce oxygen and clean the atmosphere to help us breathe. We also know that the earth's climate can be affected, as well as the water cycle. Rainforests also provide us with many valuable medicinal plants, and may be a source of a cure from some deadly diseases.

More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.Dec 21, 2012

7 steps you can take to help save the Amazon and the world's rainforests, from the Rainforest Action Network.1) Reduce your paper and wood consumption. ... 2) Reduce your oil consumption. ... 3) Reduce your beef consumption. ... 4) Hold businesses accountable. ... 5) Invest in rainforest communities. ... 6) Support the grassroots.More items...

Since 1978 over 750,000 square kilometers (289,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana. ... By the 2000s more than three-quarters of forest clearing in the Amazon was for cattle-ranching.Jan 26, 2017

The Coolest Plants Found in the Amazon RainforestHeliconia Flower (Lobster-Claw) ... Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) ... Orchids. ... Cacao (Theobroma cacao) ... Giant Water Lilies (Victoria amazonica) ... Passion Fruit Flower (Passiflora) ... Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) ... Monkey Brush Vine (Combretum rotundifolium)More items...

There are approximately 10 million species of animals, plants and insects known to man and more than half of them call the rainforest home. There are approximately 3000 fruits that grow in the rainforest that are edible. Many plants around the world have medicinal qualities.

The smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to grow on their surface. Lianas are climbing woody vines that drape rainforest trees. They have adapted to life in the rainforest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach available sunlight.

Despite being slow, sloths are well adapted to their environment. They are built perfectly for life in the trees because their arms that are longer than their legs and curved feet for grasping branches. They cannot walk, but are actually good swimmers. They move slowly, but this helps them stay unseen by predators.

Ninety per cent of the world's vine species grow in tropical rainforests. Lianas are a type of climbing vine found throughout tropical rainforests. They have thick, woody stems and come in various lengths (up to 3,000 ft) and varying shapes.

Herbivores only eat plants. They do not eat any other animals. Howler Monkeys, Fruit Bats, and Blue and Yellow Macaw are some of the herbivores that live in the Amazon Rain Forest. This is where they are in the food chain: plants > herbivores > carnivores.

Below are 35 facts on Tropical RainforestsFact 1: Rainforests only cover around 2 percent the total surface area of the Earth, but really about 50 percent of the plants and animals on the earth live in the rainforest.Fact 2: Rainforests are the forests that receive high amount of rainfall.More items...

Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is found, unlike in temperate deciduous forests. Most tropical rainforest soils relatively poor in nutrients. Millions of years of weathering and torrential rains have washed most of the nutrients out of the soil. More recent volcanic soils, however, can be very fertile.

The largest rainforests are in the Amazon River Basin (South America), the Congo River Basin (western Africa), and throughout much of southeast Asia. Smaller rainforests are located in Central America, Madagascar, Australia and nearby islands, India, and other locations in the tropics.

RAINFORESTS IN AFRICA. Most of Africa's remaining rainforests are found in the Congo river basin on the Atlantic Ocean side of the continent. The Congo rainforest is famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants as well as its native population of forest dwellers known as pygmies.