Tropical Rainforest Biome
For this paper, I decided to study a tropical climate, Af, which is associated with the Tropical Rain Forest climate and biome. This climate and its associated biome is mostly located near the equator and between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Some specific places this biome and climate exist is in Central America, South America, Africa and the Indonesian archipelago. The two largest rain forests are The Amazon in South America and in central Africa centered on the drainage basin of the Congo River. Although, surprisingly the Tropical Rain Forest climate is limited in its extent on land and cover many parts of the ocean, some parts of it are closer to the coast, but most of this climate covers large parts of the Pacific Ocean and Indian
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These forests are also known for their great biodiversity and high density of trees. The trees in the rainforest are so tall and dense that the forest is described as being composed of five different vertical layers. The uppermost layer is the emergent layer and consists of a few trees that can reach up to seventy meters off the forest floor. This layer has access to sunlight which is beneficial for the trees, but the trees must also be adapted to withstand intense heat from the sun and high temperatures. The next layer is the canopy, which is also known as the rainforest roof, and forms an “umbrella” over the forest floor and many vines and plants wind their way through the thick trees and grow on the surface of the tree. The understory and shrub layers are heavily shaded, making them very humid and have little wind. Plants have had to adapt to grow broader leaves and vines climb up trees to get sunlight in these dark layers. The forest floor is the final, and lowest, layer where organic debris decomposes rapidly due to the high humidity (Reynolds, Rohli, Johnson, Waylen, & Francek, 2015). This organic matter is in high demand for the vegetation in the rain forest, so the nutrients from the matter does not remain in the soil very long (BBC News Network, 2014). In the rain forest, the soil is known as oxisols, soil that is leached of …show more content…
Insects contribute the most to the rainforests diverse species, but there are estimates of anywhere from two million to eighty million species of insects living in the tropical rainforests, so there are still many more species to discover and document. Many insects, and animals, have adapted to their environment due to the high chance of getting eaten by a predator. They use camouflage as a form of defense, and sometimes offense, such as in the case of leaf bugs and stick bugs. Just as the name states, leaf and stick bugs have the appearance of a leaf or stick due to their body shape and coloration and this keeps them hidden from predators. (Adams, et al.,
These forests are also known for their great biodiversity and high density of trees. The trees in the rainforest are so tall and dense that the forest is described as being composed of five different vertical layers. The uppermost layer is the emergent layer and consists of a few trees that can reach up to seventy meters off the forest floor. This layer has access to sunlight which is beneficial for the trees, but the trees must also be adapted to withstand intense heat from the sun and high temperatures. The next layer is the canopy, which is also known as the rainforest roof, and forms an “umbrella” over the forest floor and many vines and plants wind their way through the thick trees and grow on the surface of the tree. The understory and shrub layers are heavily shaded, making them very humid and have little wind. Plants have had to adapt to grow broader leaves and vines climb up trees to get sunlight in these dark layers. The forest floor is the final, and lowest, layer where organic debris decomposes rapidly due to the high humidity (Reynolds, Rohli, Johnson, Waylen, & Francek, 2015). This organic matter is in high demand for the vegetation in the rain forest, so the nutrients from the matter does not remain in the soil very long (BBC News Network, 2014). In the rain forest, the soil is known as oxisols, soil that is leached of …show more content…
Insects contribute the most to the rainforests diverse species, but there are estimates of anywhere from two million to eighty million species of insects living in the tropical rainforests, so there are still many more species to discover and document. Many insects, and animals, have adapted to their environment due to the high chance of getting eaten by a predator. They use camouflage as a form of defense, and sometimes offense, such as in the case of leaf bugs and stick bugs. Just as the name states, leaf and stick bugs have the appearance of a leaf or stick due to their body shape and coloration and this keeps them hidden from predators. (Adams, et al.,