Tropical+Rainforest


 * Tropical Rainforests**






 * Geographic Distribution: || They occur near the equator, within the area bounded by latitudes 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S.(emiliechien) ||
 * Climate: || * Temperature is on average 20-25° C and varies little throughout the year: the average temperatures of the three warmest and three coldest months do not differ by more than 5 degrees.
 * Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with annual rainfall exceeding 2000 mm.(emiliechien) ||
 * Soil Fertility: || Soil is nutrient-poor and acidic. Decomposition is rapid and soils are subject to heavy leaching.(emiliechien) ||
 * Typical Plants: || Trees are 25-35 m tall, with buttressed trunks and shallow roots, mostly evergreen, with large dark green leaves. Plants such as orchids, bromeliads, vines (lianas), ferns, mosses, and palms are present in tropical forests. (emiliechien) ||
 * Human Impact Issues: || From 1960s to 1990s, one-fifth of the tropcial rainforests in the world were cleared. Countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Haiti, and Côte d'Ivoire had lost virtually all of their rainforests. Many scientists believe that if the rate of loss of rainforests continues in this parttern, there would be no rainforests left by year 2030.

The cause of this deforestation is from the mainly from developing countries in the West who clear forests to develop some area of their country or consume the forest as a expandable resource. Other factors such as mining for minerals, drilling for oil, and constructing roads also contribute to the decline of the rain forests through deforestationof the rainforests. (Charles Lee) ||

Resources: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/forests.php http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781566603_5/Tropical_Rainforest.html

The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly. Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%; rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal areas, there is a real dry season. Almost all rain forests lie near the equator. Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. Scientists estimate that more than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests. Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen. A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world. Scientists have counted about 100 to 300 species in one 2 1/2-acre (1-hectare) area in South America. Seventy percent of the plants in the rainforest are trees. The annual precipitation of a rain forest is greater than 150 cm. In only a month the rain forest receives 4 inches of rain. The rain forest is different from a lot of other climates. In other climates, the evaporation is carried away to fall as rain in far off areas, but in the rain forests, 50 % of the precipitation comes from its own evaporation. Source: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm