Ecoaventuras

THE DISSAPEARING RAINFOREST.

ContentsWhere are Rainforests found?What is the Rainforest like? * Climate * Animals * Plants * Products of the RainforestLiving in the Rainforest * The Penan Indians * The Indians of the AmazonWhy are the Rainforests being destroyed? * Are loggers the real problem? * Why is deforestation still happening?What do people thinkabout the destruction? * A Logger's opinion * A Penan Headman's opinions * The Indonesian Government's opinions * An Environmentalist's opinions * My opinionHow will it affect the environment? * Global Warming * Climate Change * Erosion * Dersertification * Flooding * Drought * Tribes and Indigenous People * How does Global Warmingaffect the Rainforest?What can be done? * What can we do? * Will it really help?Glossary |
Where are Rainforests found?Rainforest once grew in 14 percent of the earth's land area, but now, due to deforestation, it grows in 6 to 7 percent. Although it is really only a very small area in comparison to the rest of the world, it is home to more than half the world's animal and plantspecies.There are rainforests found in 85 different countries, but a third of them are found in Brazil alone. 57 percent of the rainforest is found in Latin America, 25 percent is found in South-east Asia and 18 percent is found in West Africa.Rainforests are found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. They are always found around the equator, the main reason for this is because theygrow in very high temperatures with little change.For printable map Click here.Back to the top What is the Rainforest like?The Rainforest is the oldest living ecosystem on Earth. Although the percentage of the Earth's land surface it grows in is so small, over half the world's plants and animals are found in it.ClimateThe most distinctive feature of the rainforest is its climate, is very hot, wetand humid. The temperature is the same, on average, throughout the year. Because the rainforests grow on the equator, the sun is always shining directly down, this means that the temperature doesn't change because the sun is casting even rays on heat and sunlight at all times during the day. As the rainforest is on the equator, the temperature is high, because the sun rays are concentrated on asmall area, meaning there is more heat, but because theunderstory is in the shade of the Canopy the temperature is slightly cooler. On average, the temperature for the rainforest is approximately 25°C.The rainforest is a very hot but humid place. The average humility found in the rainforest is between 77 percent to 88 percent, however it has been known to go up as high as 100 percent. Because theair is so humid, very little water vapour escapes from the rainforest. Unlike most parts of the world where rain is brought by winds from other areas, 50 percent of the rainfall in the rainforest is water that has evaporated from the rainforest then cooled and condensed back into rain. Daily RainfallThe sun rises every morning at 6 a.m. and begins to warm the ground. By midday, the sun is highestand hottest and water evaporates from the ground and the plants and trees. The warm air rises and as the water vapour gets higher it begins to cool and condense into droplets in the atmosphere, forming clouds called cumulus clouds. The clouds block the sun and the temperature decreases. The sudden change in temperature causes the cumulonimbus storm clouds to occurs. The atmosphere can no longercontain the masses of moisture and it falls as heavy rain. This type of rainfall is called convectional rainfall. |
The rainforest, besides being very hot, is also very wet. It gets its name from the 'rain' that falls without fail every afternoon. The amount of rainfall the rainforest gets per year greatly varies, there can be as much as 9 meters of rain or as little as 1.8 meters of rain per...