22. The temperature
during the day is
around 30ºC - 35ºC. At
night it drops to
between 20ºC - 25ºC.
There is a little
difference between the
warmest and the
coolest months.
Average temperature
28. The rainforest soil
Shallow and acidic
Iron oxides stain the top
layers red
Infertile
One of the poorest in
the world
Rainfall washes away
nutrients
Plant and animal remains
provide nutrients to
vegetation
29. Rainforests are home for up to
½ (50%) or
¾ (75%)
of all known species of plants?
32. Rainforests are very old,
some almost 100 million
years old. About 10,000
years ago the ice caps at
the poles spread out in an
Ice Age, but the ice didn't
reach the Equator so
tropical rainforests
survived and their plant
and animal species
continued to evolve
when other places on
earth had to start growing
plants all over again.
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomerainfor3.htm
33. How many of the world’s animal
species are found in rainforests?
34. Almost half of the world’s animal species
are found in rainforests. 30 million species
of plants and animals live there
http://www.ladatco.com/rf-qf.htm#Some Quick
Facts
40. The emergent layer…
Tallest trees
Up to 60 metres
Trunks measure up to
5 metres
Supported by buttress
roots
Broad leaves with thick
waxy layers to hold
water
Eagles, monkeys,
butterflies, insect-
eating bats and snakes
42. The canopy layer
Beneath the emergents
Up to 45 metres
Smooth, oval leaves that come
to a point (shed rain quickly).
They have reflective propertly
Filters out 80% of light
Stops rain
Monkeys, sloths, bats,
treefrogs, ants, beetles,
parrots, hummingbirds and
snakes
Thick, woody vines (lianas)
Epiphytes grow on the trees:
orchids, ferns, mosses, lichens
and others.
44. The understorey layer
Gets limited sunlight
Trees: Solar-collecting dark
green leaves: dwarf palms,
acanthus, prayer plant, etc.
Plants rely on insects for
pollination
plants have had to adapt to
poor soil with few nutrients:
anthurium, caladium,
colocasia, philodendron and
garden callas
Many animals live here: snakes,
frogs, parakeets, leopards,
jaguars and the largest
concentration of insects.
46. The forest floor
Almost no plants grow of 0%
light and 100% humidity
Mosses, herbs and fungi grow
here.
covered with a litter of
rapidly decomposing
vegetation and organisms that
break down into usable
nutrients
Large mammals, such as tapirs,
forage for roots and tubers.
Insects: termites, cockroaches,
beetles, centipedes, millipedes,
scorpions and earthworms,
along with the fungi, use the
organic litter as a source of
food.
52. · A single pond in Brazil can contain One tree in Peru had forty-three
more kinds of fish than are found in all different species of ants, which is the
of Europe's rivers. estimated to be equal to the number
of ant species in the British Isles.
30% of all bird species and 90% of all
invertebrates are found in the tropical
forest.
57. Nearly half of the
world's species of
plants, animals and
microoganisms will
be destroyed or
severely threatened
over the next
quarter century due
to Rainforest
deforestation.
58. Cattle grazing
Amazon rainforest covers 1,2 billion acres - 200,000 of them
are burned every day at a rate of al least one per second.
59. GLOBAL WARMING
In 2005, the Amazon forest suffered its worst drought in
over 100 years raising serious environmental issues.
60. Let’s stop
the
destruction
of the
rainforests!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KSMFIGQ2nI&feature
=related
61. Visit my Pinterest
to take a look at the
Amazon forest
The Amazon Rainforest – Silvia Rettaroli
