- Fact 2 - They are very dense,
relatively warm, wet forests
- Fact 3 - A rainforest is dominated
by trees creating a canopy of variable height
- Fact 4 - Tropical
rainforests are found around the equator of the
World in South America,
Central America, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia
- Fact 5 - Temperate
rainforests are less abundant than the tropical variety and are
found along the Pacific coast of the USA and Canada, New
Zealand, Tasmania, Chile, Ireland, Scotland and Norway
- Fact 6 - Temperatures: Temperate
rarely freeze or get over 80° F (27° C). Tropical
temperature is usually between 75° F and 80° F (24-27° C).
- Fact 7 - Tropical rain forests
cover about 7% of the Earth's surface
- Fact 8 - Between 40% - 75% of all
species on the world's habitats are indigenous to the
rainforests.
- Fact 9 - It has been estimated that
many millions of species of plants, insects, and microorganisms
are still undiscovered
- Fact 10 - Tropical
Rainforests are very important to the Earth's ecosystem
recycling and cleaning water. Tropical trees and plants also
remove carbon dioxide, CO2, from the atmosphere and store it in
their roots, stems, leaves, and branches.
- Fact 11 - The Greenhouse Effect is
caused by a growing amount of CO2 and water vapor. An increase
in the temperature of a planet (Global
Warming) as heat energy from sunlight is trapped by the
gaseous atmosphere.
- Fact 12 - A tropical rainforest is
divided into 4 main layers: the emergent, canopy, understory,
and forest floor layers.
- Fact 13 - Each layer of a tropical
rainforest has different plants, insects and animals adapted for
life in that particular area
- Fact 14 - The emergent layer of the
rainforest consists of the tops of the tallest trees, which are
much higher than the average canopy height (ranging up to 270
feet or 81 m) and houses numerous birds and insects
- Fact 15 - The canopy layer of a
rainforest consists of the upper parts of the trees (about 65 to
130 feet or 20 to 40 m tall) and is the home to many species of
birds, insects, arachnids, mammals such as the howler monkey and
the orang-utan, reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Plants in
the canopy include thick vines, mosses, lichens and orchids
- Fact 16 - The understory layer of a
rainforest is a dark, cool environment that is under the leaves
but over the ground and contains shrubs, small trees, ferns,
palms and vines. The understory layer is home to insects,
arachnids, snakes, lizards, small mammals, ant birds, leopards
and jaguars
- Fact 17 - The forest floor layer of
a rainforest receives only 2% of sunlight and a limited range of
plants. The forest floor is therefore relatively clear of
vegetation. It also contains decaying plant and animal matter
- Fact 18 - As people are made aware
of the problem initiatives such as
Recycling increase in
popularity
- Facts about the Rainforest
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