Amazon

  Tropical Rainforest

Introduction Brazil Amazon Tropical Rainforest Temperature no higher than 93 F (34 C) or lower than 68 F (20 C) Precipitation varies widely from 1500 mm to 2000 mm per year with 3 – 5 months dry seasons

Amazon Rainforest Tropical Rainforest is made up of tall trees in a region of year around warmth Average rain fall is 50 to 260 inches yearly Rainforests cover less than 6% of Earth’s land surfaces and produce 40% of Earth’s oxygen About ¼ of all medicines come from rainforest plants. A person with Lymphocytic Leukemia has a 99% chance of remission because of the rosy periwinkle. More than 1,400 varieties of tropical plants are thought to be potential cures for cancer

Let’s go to the Amazon What do you pack

The Canopy Tall trees growing close together so that their tops are close, forming a fairly continuous cover The top layer called the emergent layer is the huge trees rising high above the rest of the forest, they receive most of the sunshine The third layer is the under storey this is small trees and bushes, plants and ferns The fourth layer is the forest floor, few plants grow on the forest floor because there is almost no sunshine and this also provides food and shelter for animals that inhabit the forest floor.

Soil Type Amazon rainforest can be considered “wet-deserts” in that they grow on red and yellow clay like laterite soils which are acidic and low in nutrients. Most are very old and impoverished especially in the Amazon. The soils are so weathered they are largely devoid of minerals but rich with aluminum and iron oxide which gives tropical soils their distinctive reddish and yellowish coloration and are toxic in high amounts.

Ocelot – Leopardus Pardalis The most common rainforest cat but rarely being seen Smaller than a jaguar Feeds on Small Mammals mostly rodents He is hunted for his skin

Kinkajou – Potos Flavus or Honey Bear Related to the Olingo, Rintail, Cacomistle, Raccoon and Coati may be mistaken for a ferret or monkey but not related to them Native to Central America and South America Is hunted for illegal pet trade for their fur Average Weight 2 -3 kg (4 – 7 lb) body length 40 – 60 cm and tail length 40-55 cm Kinkajou woolly fur consists of an outer coat of gold or brownish gray overlapping a gray undercoat with short legs and sharp claws He eats mainly fruit, figs with leaves and flowers making up only 10% of their diet sometime they will eat ants or bird eggs

Epiphytes Orchid – Flowing plants are different shapes and sizes, they attract birds and insects. They are very colorful and smell wonderful. Liana – Vines that live over the rainforest, they link trees to each other Passion flower – Colorful plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Animals, birds and people eat the fruit Strangled Fig Tree – This tree uses another tree to climb up to the sunlight.

Destructive Industry Logging for Tropical Hardwoods – this is the driving force of destruction of the rainforests the tropical hardwoods like teak, mahogany, rosewood and other timers are used for furniture, building materials, charcoal and other wood products in big business and big profits. Several species of hardwoods are imported to build coffins. Japan is the largest importer of tropical woods. Fuel Wood and Paper Industry is an additional issue, one single steel plant in Brazil making Japanese cars needs millions of tons of wood each year to produce charcoal used in manufacturing. Paper Industry consists of Japanese power plants and pulp mill. One single plant you need 5,600 square feet of rainforest burned to replant in pulpwood trees. Once the rainforest is destroyed it is rare that it will regrow.

Predators of the Amazon Black Caiman – Largest Predator in Amazon river, has no other enemies grows to 20 ft long and reach up to 3,000 lb. Jaguar – One of the most dangerous animals is an excellent hunter and swimmer Piranha – Most feared creature has a powerful jaw and razor like triangular teeth that can shred flesh bone in matter of seconds. Poison Arrow Frog – Very small in size but poisonous enough to kill up to 100 people, has the most powerful poison know to man, Indian hunters use the poison on the tip of their arrows.

Habitat Tropical Rainforests are unable to support human populations. Food resources within the forest are extremely dispersed due to the high biological diversity and what food does exist is largely restricted to the canopy.

Food Source Coffee, chocolate, banana, mango, papaya, macadamia, avocado and sugarcane come from the tropical rainforests. Coffee exports are worth $3 billion in 1970.In the mid 90’s 40 million bananas were consumed and 13 million tons of mangos. Tropical forests supply 250 cultivated kids of fruit compared to only 20 for temperate forests.

Fact Sheet We are loosing the greatest biological treasure once 14% of the earth now 6% 1 ½ acres are lost every second to developing & industrial countries ½ of the world’s species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century because of the destruction in the rainforests We loose 137 plan, animal & insect species every day There was 10 million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest 5 centries ago, now only 200,000 Most medicine men are in their 70’s and when he dies it is as if a library has been burnt, the art dies with him At least 80% of the developed world’s diet originated in the rainforest. Included is fruits, spices, vegetables, coffee and nuts. 121 Prescription drugs currently sold worldwide come from plant derived sources

Amazon

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Amazon

Recently uploaded

Amazon

Editor's Notes