Sebastian Rivera Mrs. Kretzer

APES – Period 4

Map Location(Dark Green Areas)

Climate DiagramThe following chart/diagram is an example of

Tropical Rainforest: Amazon's in Brazil.

Major Physical Characteristics Soil Tend to be very poor quality due to high rainfall. Nutrients are quickly washed out of the topsoil unless they are incorporated in the forest

plants. Minerals are found in the forest plants not in the soil and they are removed the soil quickly

lose fertility.

Temperature It has about the same temperature year round. Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. Rain Forests are so hot because they are found close the equator. The tropical rain forest is classified as Af. The A is given to tropical climates that are moist

for all months, which have average temperatures. The f stands for sufficient precipitation for all months.

Precipitation• The annual precipitation of a rain forest is greater than 150 cm. • In only a month the rain forest receives 4 inches of rain.

• 50 % of the precipitation comes from its own evaporation.

Major Plant LifeMore than two thirds of the world’s plant species

are found in the tropical rainforests.The plants provide shelter and food for the animals

as well as taking part in the gas exchanges which provides much of the world’s oxygen supply.

These plants live in a warm humid environment that allows an enormous variation.

Competition for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants or even strangle large trees fighting for survival.

Example of AnimalsAfrican Forest Elephant Chimpanzee

Toco Toucan

Other Interesting InformationAn area of a rainforest (size of a football field) is being

destroyed each second.Giant bamboo plants can grow up to 9 inches a day.The trees of a tropical rainforest are so densely

packed that rain falling on the canopy can take as long as 10 minutes to reach the ground.

Some rainforest monkeys are omnivores, eating both animals and plants.

1 out of 4 ingredients in our medicine is from rainforest plants.

The four layers of the Rainforest are the forest floor, the understory, the canopy and the emergent layer.