TROPICAL

RAINFOREST

• within the latitudes 28 degrees north or

south of the equator (in the equatorial

zone between the Tropic of

Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn).

• An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to

660 cm.) of rain falls yearly.

• Temperature-higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or

drops below 68 °F (20 °C)

• Humidity- between 77 and 88%;

• Covered less than 6% of the Earth’s land

surface

• 50% of animals and plants live

• Produce 40% of Earth’s oxygen

• Two-thirds of all flowering plants can be found in rainforests.

• A single hectare 42,000 different species

of insect, up to 807 trees of 313 species

and 1,500 species of higher plants.

Major rainforest in the world

Types of tropical forest

• Lowland equatorial evergreen rain forests

• Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen

seasonal forests

• Montane rain forests

• Flooded forests

Lowland equatorial evergreen

rain forests

• forests which receive high rainfall (more than 2000 mm, or 80 inches, annually) throughout the year

• Occurs at the belt of the equator

Moist deciduous and semi-

evergreen seasonal forests

• high overall rainfall with a warm summer

• wet season and a cooler winter dry season

• Some trees shed off their leaves on winter season

Montane rain forests

• cloud forests

• Found in cooler-climate mountain areas

• Latitude is between 1500 to 3300 m

Flooded forest

• Permanently waterlogged swamp forest

• Seasonally waterlogged swamp forest

• Lower floodplain forest

• Middle floodplain forest

• Upper floodplain forest

• Old floodplain forest

• Previous floodplain

Layers of Rain Forest

Forest floor

• Forest Floor

– bottom-most layer

– receives only 2% of the sunlight

– Low vegetation-low sunlight penetration

– contains decaying plant, animal matter and fungi

– Several species of reptiles, amphibians and insects

– Also some large mammals

Understory

• Lies between the canopy and the forest floor

• home to a number of birds, small mammals, insects, reptiles, and predators

• about 5% of sunlight breaches the canopy to arrive at the understory causing true understory plants to seldom grow to 3 m (10 feet)

• plants have broad leaves

Canopy

• primary layer of the forest

• contains the majority of the largest trees,

typically 30–45 m in height

• Tall, broad-leaved evergreen trees

• Supports rich flora and diverse fauna

Emergents

• contains a small number of very large

trees, called emergents

• reaching heights of 45–55 m

• few species will grow to 70–80 m tall

• unique faunal species inhabit this

layer(crowned eagle, king colobus, and

large flying fox

Abiotic and

Biotic factors

Abiotic Factors

• Temperature

• Precipitation

• Soil

• Humidity

Biotic Factors

• Plants

• Animals

Plant Adaptations

Animal Adaptation

Human ImpactMining and drillingConversion to agriculture landClimate Change

Human impact• Deforestation

• Urbanization

• Pollution

• Poaching

• Tourism