Rainforest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see  Rainforest (disambiguation).

The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland,Australia.

The Daintree Rainforest near Cairns, inQueensland, Australia.

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal

annual rainfall of 1750–2000 mm (68–78 inches)[citation needed]. The monsoon trough, alternatively known
as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating the climatic conditions
necessary for the Earth's tropical rainforests.

Around 40% to 75% of all biotic species are indigenous to the rainforests.[1] It has been estimated
that there may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms still undiscovered
in tropical rainforests. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's
largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there.
[2]
 Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world's oxygen turnover, sometimes misnamed
oxygen production,[3] processing it through photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and consuming it
through respiration.
The undergrowth in some areas of a rainforest can be restricted by poor penetration of sunlight to
ground level. If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a
dense, tangled growth of vines, shrubs and small trees, called a jungle[citation needed]. There are two
types of rainforest, tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest.

Contents
  [hide] 

1 Tropical

2 Temperate

3 Layers

o 3.1 Emergent layer

o 3.2 Canopy layer

o 3.3 Understorey/Under

story layer

o 3.4 Forest floor

4 Flora and fauna

5 Soils

6 Effect on global climate

7 Human uses

8 Native peoples

9 Deforestation

10 See also

11 References

12 Further reading

13 External links

Tropical

Main article: Tropical rainforest

General distribution of tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforests are characterized in two words: warm and wet. Mean monthly temperatures
exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year.[4]Average annual rainfall is no less than 168 cm
(66 in) and can exceed 1,000 cm (390 in) although it typically lies between 175 cm (69 in) and
200 cm (79 in).[5]

Many of the world's rainforests are associated with the location of the monsoon trough, also known
as the intertropical convergence zone.[6] Tropical rainforests are rainforests in the tropics, found in
the equatorial zone (between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn). Tropical rainforest is
present in Southeast Asia (from Myanmar (Burma) to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua
New Guinea and northeastern Australia), Sri Lanka,sub-Saharan Africa from Cameroon to
the Congo (Congo Rainforest), South America (e.g. the Amazon Rainforest), Central
America (e.g. Bosawás, southern Yucatán Peninsula-El Peten-Belize-Calakmul), and on many of
the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaiʻi). Tropical rainforests have been called the "Earth's lungs",
although it is now known that rainforests contribute little net oxygen addition to
the atmosphere through photosynthesis.[7][8]

Temperate
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Main article: Temperate rainforest

General distribution of temperate rainforest.

Temperate forests cover a large part of the globe, but temperate rainforests only occur in few
regions around the world. Temperate rainforests are rainforests in temperate regions. They occur
in North America (in the Pacific Northwest, the British Columbia Coast and in the inland rainforest of
theRocky Mountain Trench east of Prince George), in Europe (parts of the British Isles such as the
coastal areas of Ireland and Scotland, southernNorway, parts of the western Balkans along
the Adriatic coast, as well as in the North West of Spain and coastal areas of the eastern Black Sea,
including Georgia and coastal Turkey), in East Asia (in southern China, Taiwan, much
of Japan and Korea, and on Sakhalin Island and the adjacentRussian Far East coast), in South
America (southern Chile) and also in Australia and New Zealand.

Layers
A tropical rainforest is typically divided into four main layers, each with different plants and animals
adapted for life in that particular area: the emergent, canopy, understorey/understory and forest
floor layers.

Emergent layer
The emergent layer contains a small number of very large trees called emergents, which grow
above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45–55 m, although on occasion a few species will
grow to 70–80 m tall.[9][10] They need to be able to withstand the hot temperatures and strong winds
that occur above the canopy in some areas. Eagles, butterflies, bats and certain monkeysinhabit this
layer.

The canopy at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia

Canopy layer
Main article: Canopy (biology)

The canopy layer contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 30 metres (98 ft) to 45 metres
(148 ft) tall. The densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, a more or less
continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops. The canopy, by some estimates, is home to
50 percent of all plant species, suggesting that perhaps half of all life on Earth could be found
there. Epiphytic plants attach to trunks and branches, and obtain water and minerals from rain and
debris that collects on the supporting plants. The fauna is similar to that found in the emergent layer,
but more diverse. A quarter of all insect species are believed to exist in the rainforest canopy.
Scientists have long suspected the richness of the canopy as a habitat, but have only recently
developed practical methods of exploring it. As long ago as 1917, naturalist William Beebe declared
that "another continent of life remains to be discovered, not upon the Earth, but one to two hundred
feet above it, extending over thousands of square miles." True exploration of this habitat only began
in the 1980s, when scientists developed methods to reach the canopy, such as firing ropes into the
trees usingcrossbows. Exploration of the canopy is still in its infancy, but other methods include the
use of balloons and airships to float above the highest branches and the building of cranes and
walkways planted on the forest floor. The science of accessing tropical forest canopy using airships
or similar aerial platforms is called dendronautics.[11]
Understorey/Understory layer
Main article: Understorey

The understorey/understory layer lies between the canopy and the forest floor. The
understorey/understory is home to a number of birds, snakes and lizards, as well as predators such
asjaguars, boa constrictors and leopards. The leaves are much larger at this level. Insect life is also
abundant. Many seedlings that will grow to the canopy level are present in the
understorey/understory. Only about 5% of the sunlight shining on the rainforest canopy reaches the
understorey/understory. This layer can be called a shrub layer, although the shrub layer may also be
considered a separate layer.

Forest floor
Main article: Forest floor

Rainforest in the Blue Mountains,Australia

The forest floor, the bottom-most layer, receives only 2% of the sunlight. Only plants adapted to low
light can grow in this region. Away fromriverbanks, swamps and clearings, where dense undergrowth
is found, the forest floor is relatively clear of vegetation because of the low sunlight penetration. It
also contains decaying plant and animal matter, which disappears quickly, because the warm, humid
conditions promote rapid decay. Many forms of fungi growing here help decay the animal and plant
waste.

Flora and fauna

West Usambara Two-Horned Chameleon (Bradypodion fischeri) in the Usambara Mountains,Tanzania.

More than half of the world's species of plants and animals are found in the rainforest. [12] Rainforests
support a very broad array of fauna, including mammals,reptiles, birds and invertebrates. Mammals
may include primates, felids and other families. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, chameleons and
other families; while birds include such families as vangidae and Cuculidae. Dozens of families of
invertebrates are found in rainforests. Fungi are also very common in rainforest areas as they can
feed on the decomposing remains of plants and animals. Many rainforest species are rapidly
disappearing due to deforestation, habitat loss and pollution of the atmosphere. [13]

Soils

This section requires expansion.

(December 2008)

Despite the growth of vegetation in a tropical rainforest, soil quality is often quite poor.
Rapid bacterial decay prevents the accumulation of humus. The concentration
of iron and aluminium oxides by the laterization process gives the oxisols a bright red colour and
sometimes produces mineral deposits such asbauxite. Most trees have roots near the surface,
because there are insufficient nutrients below the surface; most of the trees' minerals come from the
top layer of decomposing leaves and animals. On younger substrates, especially of volcanic origin,
tropical soils may be quite fertile. If rainforest trees are cleared, rain can accumulate on the exposed
soil surfaces, creating run-off and beginning a process of soil erosion. Eventually streams and rivers
form and flooding becomes possible.

Effect on global climate

A natural rainforest emits and absorbs vast quantities of carbon dioxide. On a global scale, long-term
fluxes are approximately in balance, so that an undisturbed rainforest would have a small net impact
on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels,[14] though they may have other climatic effects
(on cloud formation, for example, by recycling water vapour). No rainforest today can be considered
to be undisturbed.[15] Human induced deforestation plays a significant role in causing rainforests to
release carbon dioxide,[16] as do other factors, whether human-induced or natural, which result in tree
death, such as burning and drought.[17] Some climate models operating with interactive vegetation
predict a large loss of Amazonian rainforest around 2050 due to drought, forest dieback and the
subsequent release more carbon dioxide.[18] Five million years from now, the Amazon rainforest may
long since have dried and transformed itself into savannah, killing itself in the progress (changes
such as this may happen even if all human deforestation activity ceases overnight). [19] The
descendants of our known animals may adapt to the dry savannah of the former Amazonian
rainforest and thrive in the new, warmer temperatures.[19]

Human uses
Aerial view of the Amazon rainforest, taken from a plane.

Further information: Human uses of tropical rainforst

Tropical rainforests provide timber as well as animal products such as meat and hides. Rainforests
also have value as tourism destinations and for the ecosystem services provided. Many foods
originally came from tropical forests, and are still mostly grown on plantations in regions that were
formerly primary forest.[20] Also, plant derived medicines are commonly used for fever, fungal
infections, burns, gastrointestinal problems, pain, respiratory problems, and wound treatment. [21]

Native peoples

This section requires expansion.

(December 2008)

On January 18, 2007, FUNAI reported also that it had confirmed the presence of 67

different uncontacted tribes in Brazil, up from 40 in 2005. With this addition, Brazil has now overtaken
the island of New Guinea as the country having the largest number of uncontacted tribes. [22] The
province of Irian Jaya or West Papua in the island of New Guinea is home to an estimated 44
uncontacted tribal groups.[23] The tribes are in danger because of the deforestation, especially in
Brazil.

Central African rainforest is home of the Mbuti pygmies, one of the hunter-gatherer peoples living in
equatorial rainforests characterised by their short height (below one and a half metres, or 59 inches,
on average). They were the subject of a study by Colin Turnbull, The Forest People, in 1962.
[24]
 Pygmies who live in Southeast Asia are, amongst others, referred to as “Negrito”.

Deforestation

Main article: Deforestation
Jungle burned for agriculture in southernMexico.

Tropical and temperate rainforests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance

throughout the 20th century and the area covered by rainforests around the world is shrinking.
[25]
 Biologists have estimated that large numbers of species are being driven to extinction (possibly
more than 50,000 a year; at that rate, says E. O. Wilson of Harvard University, a quarter or more of
all species on Earth could be exterminated within 50 years) [26] due to the removal of habitat with
destruction of the rainforests.

Another factor causing the loss of rainforest is expanding urban areas. Littoral rainforest growing
along coastal areas of eastern Australia is now rare due to ribbon development to accommodate the
demand for seachange lifestyles.[27]

The forests are being destroyed at a rapid pace. [28][29][30] Almost 90% of West Africa's rainforest has
been destroyed.[31] Since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago, Madagascar has lost two thirds of its
original rainforest.[32] At present rates, tropical rainforests in Indonesia would be logged out in 10
years and Papua New Guinea in 13 to 16 years.[33] According to Rainforest Rescue, a main reason
for the increasing deforestation rate especially in Indonesia is the expansion of oil palm plantations to
meet the growing demand for cheap vegetable fats and biofuels. In Indonesia, palm oil is already
cultivated on nine million hectares and, together with Malaysia, the island nation produces about 85
percent of the world’s palm oil.[34][unreliable source?]

Several countries,[35] notably Brazil, have declared their deforestation a national emergency.

[36]
 Amazon deforestation jumped by 69% in 2008 compared to 2007's twelve months, according to
official government data.[37] Deforestation could wipe out or severely damage nearly 60% of
the Amazon Rainforest by 2030, says a new report from WWF.[38]

However, a January 30, 2009 New York Times article stated, "By one estimate, for every acre of rain
forest cut down each year, more than 50 acres of new forest are growing in the tropics..." The new
forest includes secondary forest on former farmland and so-called degraded forest.[39]