Tropical forest (By: J.Q)
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Tropical rainforests have high biodiversity and receive abundant rainfall. They regulate the Earth's climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Rainforests are found between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and have warm temperatures year-round. They can be divided into four layers - emergent, upper canopy, lower canopy, and forest floor. While rainforests cover only a small portion of the Earth's surface, they are home to most of its plant and animal species. The largest threats to rainforests are deforestation through logging and mining activities, which degrade habitat and increase greenhouse gases.
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Tropical forest (By: J.Q)
- 2. Tropical Rainforests • Noted for their diversity in plants. - A 10 square kilometer area of tropical rainforest may contain 1500 species of flowering plants and up to 750 species of trees. • The richest area is the lowland tropical forest of peninsular Malaysia which contain 7900 species. • Temperatures are warm through the year and rainfall occur almost daily. • Tropical Rainforests are forests that contain a lot of trees. It rains very much and in some rainforests it rains more than an inch everyday.
- 4. • Tropical Rainforest Rainforests can be divided into “ 4 layers” from the top to the bottom.
- 5. Emergent Layer The tallest trees are the emergents, growing as much as 50 metres above the forest floor with trunks that measure up to 4 metres around. And are extremely tall, umbrella shaped trees Most of these trees are broad-leaved, hardwood evergreens. This layer receives a lot of sunlight but are also exposed to winds which can dry up their leaves
- 6. Upper Canopy Layer This is the main layer of the forest, and forms a roof over the lower layers. Also known as upper canopy Most canopy trees have smooth, oval leaves that come to a point. Most of the animals live, because most of the food is available here takes up most of the remaining light, blocking the lower levels from
- 7. Lower Canopy Layer Also known as understory Not very much sunshine reaches this area, so the plants have to grow larger leaves to reach the sunlight. Many animals live here, tree frogs and lots of insects Humidity is very high here and it is in constant shade. .
- 8. Forest Floor Very dark, so almost no plants grow. Things begin to decay quickly - a leaf can decompose in 6 weeks.completely dark. Most of the life here consists of worms and fungi As a result of the physical stratification of the rain forests, there is no dominant species. Each plant or animal thrives on its own layer due to conditions that it finds favorable.
- 9. Location • Tropical Rainforests are found in Africa, Asia ,Australia, and Central and South America. • The largest Rainforest in the world is the Amazon Rainforest. • Rainforests are also found in the tropics between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. Climate • Rainforests stabilize the earth’s climate by absorbing the carbon dioxide (CO2) and then produces oxygen (O2). • In this part of the region the sun is very strong and shines about the same amount of time every day, all year long making the climate warm and stable. • Rainforests also affect local weather conditions by creating rainfall and moderating temperatures.
- 10. Rainforest
- 11. Plant Life in Rain Forests • 2/3 of the world’s plants are found in the Tropical Rainforests. • The plants there provide shelter and food for all the species of animals. As well as absorbing the CO2 (carbon dioxide) and releasing the O2 (oxygen). • Tropical Rainforest plants live in a warm and humid environment which allows a huge variation rare in more of the temperate climates. Commonly found plants in rainforest 1. Epiphytes 2. Climbers 3. Stranglers
- 12. Animal Life in Rainforests • Rainforests are tremendously rich in animal life. • Rainforests are populated with many insects, arachnids, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals Different animals live in different strata of the rainforest. • Birds live in the canopy (upper leaves of the trees) and in the emergents (the tops of the tallest trees). • Jaguars and other animals generally live on the forest floor, but others (like howler monkeys and sloths) are arboreal (living in trees).
- 13. Tropical Rainforests Subtypes of Rainforests • Lowland rainforest – abundant of trees, ferns, and small plants. Lowland rainforests contain the tallest trees of all the types of rainforest, with the largest variety of species • Cloud forests – forest that is wrapped in clouds and mists. • Swamp forests – occupy perennially wet soils and peat forests grow on nutrient poor ones. • Gallery forests – a stretch of forest along a river in an area of otherwise open country and follow river courses into savannah.
- 14. • Lowland Rainforest Swamp forest • Cloud Forest Gallery forest
- 16. Importance of Rainforests • Rainforests turn carbon dioxide into oxygen and reduce the greenhouse effect. • Rainforests plants provide sources of medicines. • Rainforests are the only home of many rare animals. • They also act as a carbon sink, trapping amounts of carbon dioxide which would have otherwise escaped into the atmosphere and which would have contributed to more global warming.
- 17. • source of life • Tropical rainforests cover less than two percent of Earth's surface, but house an estimated 50 percent of all life on the planet. • key source of numerous ecological services which benefit many living creatures on earth. • Forest watersheds help maintain the water cycle. • Forest vegetation absorbs large amounts of water which prevent flooding and bind the soil to prevent erosion. • In the Philippines alone, our forests contain around 663 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass.
- 18. • serve as habitat and food supply source to a wide range of flora and fauna. • In the Philippines alone, 25 million or 33% of the total population in 2000 live in or near forestlands and are dependent on these for a significant portion of their livelihood. • country's 12 million indigenous peoples are also usually located within forestlands. • According to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-WCMC), the Philippines ranks 25th among countries with highest number of amphibian, bird, mammal, reptile, and vascular plant species, counting around 10,127 species Of this number, 6,091 plant species (or 65.8 percent of a total of 9,253 species) and 591 vertebrates (out of 1,309 species) are endemic, of found nowhere else in the world. • only seven percent of forests now remain as original habitat for these species, according to non-government organization (NGO) Conservation International, • fourth in the list of the World’s 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots last February. 2011
- 19. Human Impacts on Rainforest The biggest causes of rainforest destruction are: • Deforestation • Mining
- 20. • Deforestation • - cutting down of tress from an area of land • - Illegal logging Environmental Impacts: - Loss of biodiversity - Soil erosion - Flooding - Global warming
- 21. • Illegal Logging in the Philippines: • Davao
- 22. Illegal Logging in the Philippines: Sierra Madre Cagayan De Oro
- 23. Illegal Logging in the Philippines: Guinsangon Leyte
- 24. • Mining - the process of removing minerals from the ground • Environmental Impacts of Mining - Acid mine drainage - Soil erosion - Formation of sinkhole - Loss of biodiversity - Contamination of soil, air, groundwater and surface water - Acid Mine drainage - Acid Rain
- 25. • Mining in the Philippines Nueva Viscaya
- 26. • Mining in the Philippines
- 27. • The End… • Credits to J.Q