The 'peach palm' of Brazil produces up to peach-like fruits a season. The fruit has twice the food value of banana and more protein and carbohydrate than maize. The forests and soil also lock away carbon, an important function, especially in this age when humans are causing so much carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere through, for example, transport and fossil fuel power stations. During heavy downpours, the mass of vegetation in the rainforest catches and holds much of the rain, then 'disposes' of it through evaporation and transpiration; it acts like a bog umbrella breaking the force of the rain and protecting the ground surface.
Where trees are cut down in large numbers, this natural protection is removed, soil erosion increases and minerals are washed away.
Trees also help to control the amount of water that is held in the soil. In areas around the world where forests have been felled, the rainfall patterns have changed. In some places, the rains have almost stopped falling, and in others, flooding has been caused.
In South East Asia and the Pacific Islands, people have lived in the forests for about 40, years, but the earliest signs of human settlement in African forests are no more than 3, years old. Bengal tigers, mountain gorillas, orangutans, jaguars, and blue poison dart frogs are just a few of the magnificent animals found in rainforests.
Sadly, many of these species are on the brink of extinction, and their continued existence is crucial to maintaining the balance of marvelously efficient—but delicate—rainforest ecosystems. Rainforests add water to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration, by which plants release water from their leaves during photosynthesis.
Deforestation reduces the moisture released into the atmosphere, causing rainfall to decrease. This is why the loss of forests often leads to drought. Forests are also natural water filters, keeping pollution and debris from flowing into water supplies and slowing the movement of rainwater so it flows into underground reserves.
Because rainforests are so rich in biodiversity, they hold enormous potential for future discoveries. Compounds in rainforest plants are already used to treat malaria, heart disease, bronchitis, hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, arthritis, glaucoma, dysentery, and tuberculosis, among other health problems.
And many commercially available anesthetics, enzymes, hormones, laxatives, cough mixtures, antibiotics, and antiseptics are also derived from rainforest plants and herbs. Scientists believe that around half of the plants and animals on the Earth live in rainforests. Many of these species are endangered and can only live in this habitat. Unfortunately, our rainforests are shrinking. Every year, we destroy a section the size of the state of New Jersey. This destruction occurs for many reasons.
People cut down trees for wood and to make room for farms or roads. Many groups fight this destruction because of the important role they play in our world. Their millions of trees take in huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
They make much of the oxygen humans and animals depend on. Without them, there would be less air to breathe! By taking in carbon dioxide , they help to reduce the greenhouse effect. This helps slow worldwide climate change. Finally, rainforests help maintain the water cycle. Water produced there makes its way all over the world.
This leads to droughts in many areas around the world. One thing you can do is reuse and recycle wood and paper. You can also call and write your elected politicians, who have more say in how we treat our rainforests. There are also organizations you can join to help them, including the Save the Rainforests Foundation. Rainforests are an important part of life on our planet. They provide us with many resources, from the oxygen we breathe to homes for many animals. Without them, the Earth could run into major problems.
C, NGSS. D, NGSS. A, NGSS. B, NGSS. C, CCRA. Ready to learn more about rainforests? Find a friend or family member before checking out these activities:. If you run across that website, please send us the link! We did a search and didn't find anything. You're so right. Rainforests also keep the water cycle going and provide homes to a TON of different animals!
You can cite Wonderopolis as the author and used the date you accessed the information. Thanks for checking! We're so glad that we could help you find information for your essay! A Wonder Journey is what you need! What we think is cute might not be what you think is cute. And what a great question for the Wonder Bank! You can also learn more about sloths by checking out Wonder Are Sloths Lazy?
Hi, zam! Good luck with your summary! Great question, Jibni!! We encourage you to take a Wonder Journey and see what you can discover!!
Hi, manny! We appreciate your concern!! Thanks for being such a great Wonder Friend!! There is a new Wonder questions posted every weekday for you to explore. We hope you visit again soon! We agree, Kaylie! There are so many interesting things about rainforests.
We are glad that you stopped by and learned a few of those things with us today. Thanks for joining in! Hi, Wonder Friend!
We hope you learned some cool facts about the rainforests! We encourage you to use the search feature to find lots of Wonders about horses! We're glad you're looking out for trees and the environment! Thanks for joining the discussion, saanvi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this Wonder! Here are some Wonders of the Day about singing! Hello, Wonder Friends in Mrs. Gilpin's FDK Class. We are proud of you for making a correct prediction. That's cool, billy bob joe!
Hi Mason! There actually are tortoises that live in rainforests! Hi Mrs. Rist's 2nd Grade Class! Good morning, Mrs.
Kahler's 2nd grade class! We are thrilled to hear all about your enthusiasm for ending rainforest destruction. Hey there, Raymond! Thanks for sharing your comment-- we LOVE rainforests! They're lots of fun to Wonder about Thanks for stopping by, we hope to see you soon! Thank you for joining our fun!
Thanks for sharing that story with us, Carlos! The rainforest is a magical place and important as a part of our world. It's great that you found the info when you needed it, carissa! We hope 7th grade is going great! Use these resources to teach middle school students about biomes around the world. A biotic factor is a living organism that shapes its environment. In a freshwater ecosystem, examples might include aquatic plants, fish, amphibians, and algae. Biotic and abiotic factors work together to create a unique ecosystem.
Learn more about biotic factors with this curated resource collection. Hunter-gatherer cultures forage or hunt food from their environment. Often nomadic, this was the only way of life for humans until about 12, years ago when archaeologic studies show evidence of the emergence of agriculture. Human lifestyles began to change as groups formed permanent settlements and tended crops. There are still a few hunter-gatherer peoples today. Explore the lifestyle of hunter-gatherers in your classroom with these resources.
Different regions have access to different renewable or nonrenewable natural resources such as freshwater, fossil fuels, fertile soil, or timber based on their geographic location and past geologic processes. For example, the Great Plains region of the United States is known for its abundance of fertile soil. As a result, its main industry is agriculture. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are globally exported from this region and serve as the main economy.
On the other side of the spectrum, the desert southwestern region of the United States depends on the Central Arizona Project canals to transport water from the Colorado River in order to support agriculture and urban areas. Use these materials to explore the interconnected nature of resources and their distribution. A habitat is an environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time to find a mate. The habitat contains all an animal needs to survive such as food and shelter.
A microhabitat is a small area which differs somehow from the surrounding habitat. Its unique conditions may be home to unique species that may not be found in the larger region. Unfortunately, some habitats are threatened by pollution, extreme weather, or deforestation.
This puts many of the species that live there in danger and is causing many populations to decline. Explore different types of habitats and microhabitats with this curated collection of classroom resources. A terrestrial ecosystem is a land-based community of organisms and the interactions of biotic and abiotic components in a given area. Examples of terrestrial ecosystems include the tundra, taigas, temperate deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts.
The type of terrestrial ecosystem found in a particular place is dependent on the temperature range, the average amount of precipitation received, the soil type, and amount of light it receives. Use these resources to spark student curiosity in terrestrial ecosystems and discover how different abiotic and biotic factors determine the plants and animals found in a particular place. Rainforests play an invaluable role in sustaining life, but every year, large portions of them are cut down for logging, mining, and cattle ranches.
Rainforests are home to over half of the world's plant and animal species. Learn about tropical and temperate rainforests, how they contribute to the global ecosystem, and the conservation efforts to protect these biomes.
Students explore biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest using the MapMaker Interactive and other online resources. Then students construct an argument for protecting biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. A rainforest is an area of tall, mostly evergreen trees and a high amount of rainfall.
This makes rainforests astoundingly dense with flora and fauna ; a square-kilometer 4-square-mile patch can contain as many as 1, flowering plants, species of trees, species of birds and species of butterflies. Rainforests thrive on every continent except Antarctica. The tropical islands of Southeast Asia and parts of Australia support dense rainforest habitat s. Rainforests help regulate our climate and provide us with everyday products.
Citizens, government s, intergovernmental organizations, and conservation groups are working together to protect these invaluable but fragile ecosystems.
Most rainforests are structured in four layers: emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor. Each layer has unique characteristics based on differing levels of water, sunlight, and air circulation.
While each layer is distinct , they exist in an interdependent system: processes and species in one layer influence those in another.
The top layer of the rainforest is the emergent layer. Here, trees as tall as 60 meters feet dominate the skyline. Small, waxy leaves help trees in the emergent layer retain water during long drought s or dry season s.
Lightweight seeds are carried away from the parent plant by strong wind s. In the Amazon rainforest, the towering trees of the emergent layer include the Brazil nut tree and the kapok tree.
The Brazil nut tree, a vulnerable species , can live up to 1, years in undisturbed rainforest habitats. Unlike many rainforest species, both the Brazil nut tree and the kapok tree are deciduous —they shed their leaves during the dry season. The animals living in the emergent layer of the Amazon rainforest include birds, bats, gliders, and butterflies. Large raptors, such as white-tailed hawks and harpy eagles, are its top predator s.
In rainforests on the island of New Guinea, pygmy gliders populate the emergent layer. Pygmy gliders are small rodent s that get their name from the way flaps of skin between their legs allow them to glide from branch to branch.
Bats are the most diverse mammal species in most tropical rainforests, and they regularly fly throughout the emergent, canopy, and understory layers. Beneath the emergent layer is the canopy , a deep layer of vegetation roughly 6 meters 20 feet thick.
The canopy blocks winds, rainfall, and sunlight, creating a humid , still, and dark environment below. Trees have adapt ed to this damp environment by producing glossy leaves with pointed tips that repel water.
While trees in the emergent layer rely on wind to scatter their seeds, many canopy plants, lacking wind, encase their seeds in fruit. Sweet fruit entice s animals, which eat the fruit and deposit seeds on the forest floor as droppings.
With so much food available, more animals live in the canopy than any other layer in the rainforest. The dense vegetation dulls sound, so many—but not all—canopy dwellers are notable for their shrill or frequent vocalizing. In the Amazon rainforest, canopy fruit is snatched up in the large beaks of screech ing scarlet macaw s and keel-billed toucan s, and picked by barking spider and howler monkeys. The silent two-toed sloth chews on the leaves, shoots, and fruit in the canopy.
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