tropical rainforest
What Country Can We Find It?
Subtopic Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean islands
Video about topicla rainforest.
Where Can we find it?
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator (in the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn)
Climate Characteristics
Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year
Average annual rainfall is no less than 168 cm
can exceed 1,000 cm (390 in) although it typically lies between 175 cm (69 in) and 200 cm
This high level of precipitation often results in poor soils due to leaching of soluble nutrients.
Forest structure
Forest floor
the bottom-most layer, receives only 2% of the sunligh
only plants adapted to low light can grow in this region
Understory layer
The understory layer lies between the canopy and the forest floor.
he understory is home to a number of birds, small mammals, insects, reptiles, and predators
Only about 5% of sunlight breaches the canopy to arrive at the understory
Canopy layer
The canopy is the primary layer of the forest forming a roof over the two remaining layers.
It contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 30–45 m in height. Tall, broad-leaved evergreen trees are the dominant plants.
Emergent layer
The emergent layer contains a small number of very large trees, called emergents
which grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45–55 m, although on occasion a few species will grow to 70–80 m tall