Uses of Tropical rainforest

1. What are the uses of tropical rainforests?

2.  1. Water catchment
 2. Green Lungs of the Earth
 3. Habitat to flora (plants) and fauna (animals)
 4. Habitat to indigenous people
 5. Source of timber
 6. Medical application

3.  What is “water catchment”?
 An area drained by a river and the smaller rivers
that flow into it.
 How do rainforests act as water catchment areas?
 The trees stop rainfall from reaching the ground
directly.
 Rainwater slowly drips down the trees and seeps
into the ground.
 The rainwater is finally stored as groundwater.

5.  What does the soil in the rainforest do?
 The soil trap impurities before the water
flows into the reservoir.
 This provides a clean water supply for
everyone.

6.  Where is the water catchment in Singapore?
 It is the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
 It is located in the middle of Singapore.
 Four reservoirs can be found here :
 Upper Seletar
 Upper Peirce
 Lower Peirce
 MacRitchie

8.  Tropical rainforests absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere.
 They release oxygen back through
photosynthesis.
 More than 20% of the Earth’s oxygen is
generated by the Amazon Rainforest alone.

9.  Tropical rainforests act as a natural purifier.
 The trees absorb about 2.4 billion tonnes of
carbon dioxide in a year.
 (comparison - one blue whale weighs 100
tonnes!)
 The dense forests also help to keep the Earth
cool.

11.  What is flora and fauna?
 Flora means plants.
 Fauna means animals.
 More than 2 million species of plants and
animals live in the rainforests.
 There is an abundance (many) and diversity
(different types) of flora and fauna.

12.  Why are there so many species in the
rainforest?
 Reason 1
 Ample (A lot of) sunlight
 More plants grow because of more sunlight.
 Many animals survive because there is a lot of
plants available for food.

13.  Why are there so many species in the
rainforest?
 Reason 2
 The canopy provides a great amount of food
for animals.
 Many plants and fruit trees grow in the
canopy.
 Animals can obtain food easily and quickly.

14.  Turn to your textbook page 82 and complete
the table by categorising the examples given
for flora and fauna. Write in one example of
your own choice.
Fauna Flora
Trilobite beetle Peace lily
Macaque Heliconia
Flying lemur
Your Example Your Example

15.  What is “indigenous”?
 It means “original”, “belonging to a place
before others”
 Who are the indigenous people of the
rainforests?
 People who have been living in the
rainforests.
 There are about 60 million indigenous people
depending on the rainforests.

16.  What are some examples of indigenous
people?
 Embera in the rainforests of Panama.
 Yanomami in the Amazon Rainforest.
 Penan in the rainforests of Sarawak, Malaysia.

17.  Why is the rainforest important to the
indigenous people?
 It provides them with daily necessities such
as food, clothing and medicine.
 It provides them with wood as fuel to cook
their food and heat their homes at night.

18.  Read Page 83 of your textbook. Complete the missing blanks.
Food of the indigenous
people is obtained by...
Hunting and Gathering Agriculture
Or
Subsistence Cultivation
Grow their own plants for
food and medicine
Hunt fish and wild animals
Gather wild fruit and nuts

19.  Read Page 83 of your textbook. Complete the
missing blanks.
 Indigenous people who get their food by
hunting animals and gathering fruit and
nuts are known as hunter-gatherers.
 Indigenous people who farm plants for food
and vegetation as known as shifting
cultivators.

20.  Read Page 83 of your textbook. Complete the
missing blanks.
 What do shifting cultivators do in the forest?
 First, they clear the forest by burning the
vegetation. This burnt vegetation provides
nutrients to fertilise the plants. When the
nutrients are finished, the shifting cultivators
move to a new plot of land.

21.  What is “timber”?
 Timber refers to the wood used to build or
make things.
 What are examples of trees used for timber?
 Tropical hardwoods like teak, ebony,
mahogany and meranti.

24.  Why are these hardwoods popular?
 They are strong, durable with beautiful
texture.
 What is made from these hardwoods?
 Doors, window frames and furniture.

25.  Tropical rainforests contain a huge source of
medicine.
 More than 3000 species of rainforest plants
have cancer-fighting properties.
 Many other plants provide various medical
uses.
 Less than 1% of the rainforest plants have
been tested for their medicinal properties.

26.  Read page 84 of your textbook and complete
the blanks.
Plant Medical Use
Cinchona Tree Treat malaria
Clavillia plant Treat eczema and
itchiness
Madagascar Periwinkle Treat childhood
leukaemia

27.  1. Water catchment
 2. Green Lungs of the Earth
 3. Habitat to flora (plants) and fauna (animals)
 4. Habitat to indigenous people
 5. Source of timber
 6. Medical application