Tropical rainforests are located near the equator in areas like Central America, the Amazon, Southern Asia, Africa, and Northern Australia. They have 5 distinct layers - an emergent layer of the tallest trees, a main canopy layer of tall trees, an understory layer of smaller trees between 10-20 meters high, a shrub layer, and a herb layer of ferns over 6 meters tall. The climate is very humid with around 250 cm of rainfall per year and daytime temperatures between 30-35C and nighttime temperatures of 20-25C. The soil is latosol which is red or yellow in color and low in nutrients, causing trees to develop shallow root systems and buttress roots.

1. TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Normally it is
located near the “
equator.
Survival
For example
Central America,
of the
Amazon, Southern
Asia, Africe and
Tallest
Nothern Australia. ”
A : Discontinuous canopy of tree crowns
of the tallest trees - emergents
B : Continuous layer of the main canopy
formed by the crowns of the many tall
trees
C : Discontinuous under-conopy of trees
between 10 m and 20 m high
D : Layer of shrubs and young trees
E : Herb layer with ferns 6m or more
high
Adaptation of tropical rainforest
Climate
✓ The drip tips help the leaves to shed water
during the heavy rains. In an average year in a tropical rainforest the climate is very
humid because of the rainfall. The amounts of rainfall is about
✓ Ferns are adapted to life on the forest floor by
250 cm per year. The temperature during the day is about
having leaves that intercept a high proportion of 30-35C and at night about 20-25C. This climate is known as the
the light that reaches them. equatorial climate.
✓ The shrub layer is sparse because of lack of
light, although shrubs quickly take advantage of
any gap in the forest canopy.
Soil
✓ Their shallow roots which mainly extend
latosol (soils that are formed in tropical rainforest) which are red or
sideways below the ground surface extend above yellowish-red in colour throughout. The red and yellow colours below it
the ground as buttress roots. come from the oxides of iron and aluminium which remain in the soil
after other minerals have been washed out by leaching. Leaching washes
✓ Epiphytes are parasitic plants growing on organic material and silica downwards and then out of the soil. The only
trees and tree branches increase the abundance of fertile part of a latosol is the narrow organic layer which is why the trees
have shallow roots.
vegetation.