Biomes, ecosystems and habitats

1. A large geographic region made up of a

particular set of plants and animal

types is a …

BIOME

2. the average weather in a region over a

period of time is its …

CLIMATE

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Expe

riments/Biome/graphs.php

3. Living and non-living things that function together

Lake

Ecosystem

4. It is made up of all the biotic

(living) and abiotic (non-living) things

in an area

Ecosystem

5. It has unique plants and animals that have adapted to their environment

Biome

6. The climate, geography and soil type impact the type of flora and fauna in

a ...

Biome

7. ORGANISED GROUPS

(OF LIVING AND NON-

LIVING THINGS) OF

RELATED PARTS THAT

FUNCTION TOGETHER

Ecosystem

Tropical rainforests

Why are they called TROPICAL rainforests?

They are located within the

Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic

of Capricorn

Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn

Equator

How many seasons are there?

WET & DRY SEASONS

Some regions have only one: the WET

season

Some regions have two: the WET and

the DRY season

What is the average temperature?

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

What is the average rainfall?

The total rainfall for

the year is between

1500 and 2500 mm.

What is the total earth land surface which rainforests cover?

Rain forests cover less than 6% of

the earth's total land surface

What is the soil like?

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

Rainforests are home for up to

½ (50%) or

¾ (75%)

of all known species of plants?

¾ (75%)

Why are there so many species?

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

How many of the world’s animal species are found in rainforests?

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

HOW MANY BIRDS?

1/3 OF ALL THE BIRDS IN THE WORLD LIVE IN RAINFORESTS

How many levels do rain forests have?

Three to four different levels:

THE EMERGENT LAYER

Describe

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

THE CANOPY LAYER

Describe

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.

THE UNDERSTOREY LAYER

Describe

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.

THE FOREST FLOOR

Describe

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.

Why are rainforests important

to us?

IMPORTANT TO PLANTS, ANIMALS AND MANKIND…

One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.

Important to plants,

animals and

mankind…

Plants contain substances that can be made into MEDICINES

IMPORTANT TO PLANTS, ANIMALS AND MANKIND…

Rainforests store huge quantities of carbon, producing much of the world’s OXYGEN

Rainforests

REGULATE

GLOBAL

WEATHER

Maintain regular rainfall

Prevent FLOODS, DROUGHTS, EROSION

30% of all bird species and 90% of all

invertebrates are found in the tropical

forest.

· A single pond in Brazil can contain

more kinds of fish than are found in all

of Europe's rivers.

One tree in Peru had forty-three

different species of ants, which is the

estimated to be equal to the number

of ant species in the British Isles.

Human Impact…

WHAT IS DESTROYING THE RAINFOREST?

DEFORESTATION

In the Amazon rainforest In the South east Asia rainforest

Deforestation in the world

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.

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.

GLOBAL WARMING

In 2005, the Amazon forest suffered its worst drought in over 100 years raising serious environmental issues.

Let’s stop the destruction of the rainforests!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KSMFIGQ2nI&feature=related

Visit my Pinterest

to take a look at the

Amazon forest

The Amazon Rainforest – Silvia Rettaroli