Tropical Rainforest Biome
The tropical rainforest is truly the world's most complex and diverse biome in both structure and species diversity. It is the richest source of life on earth. There are large amounts of precipitation, which is a major factor in plant growth. The vast diversity of plants and animals affect every part of the rainforest in several ways. The organisms in this biome rely on each other for survival. Even though the rainforest benefits man and the earth, it is being destroyed by ruthless and reckless people.A tropical rainforest can be defined as woodland characterized by lush vegetation and high temperature and rainfall through out the year. It is the world's most biologically diverse ecosystem. Rainforests form only near the equator between the latitudes of 10°N and 10°S and at elevations below 3,000 ft. A rainforest must have an average annual rainfall that exceeds 80-90 inches. Even though they only cover 7% of the earth's surface, they support over half of the earth's animal and plant species. Two and a half acres of land may contain over 600 different kinds of trees. In comparison, the United Stated and Canada put together only contain 700 tree species. Another impressive study showed that there
The bromeliad is a tropical plant that has leaves like a pineapple. There is a large hole in the center of the plant which collects water for insects, frogs, lizards, and salamanders to live in. The animals of the tropical rainforest create a very complicated food web. All the organisms depend on each other for survival. This is one of the rainforest's biggest weaknesses. It is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Key "links" in the food chain are being taken away. These breaks in the food chain are causing the extinction of many species. An example of a food chain in the rainforest is: nectar-fly-frog-snake. Almost 90% of the rainforests animal species are insects. Ants, termites, beetles, and butterflies are common. In 6 square miles of rainforest, approximately 100 different species of mammals can be found. They live from burrows in the forest floor to the branches of emergent trees. Most of the rainforest mammals are nocturnal. In fact, around 50% of the mammals in the rainforest are bats. Other mammals seen in the rainforest include gorillas, elephants, tapirs, and wild pigs. Various reptiles and amphibians have made the rainforest their home too. They include various frogs, lizards, salamanders, snakes, and turtles. I would not like to live in the rainforest because of the great humidity precipitation, low human population, and the lack of light. Man also needs to realize that he cannot continue to devastate the rainforest. He needs to plan for the regrowth of the rainforest in order to maintain an ecological balance. Despite lushness and diversity of the rainforest, the soil is quite infertile and deeply weathered. It is leached by rapid bacterial decay which prevents humus from forming on the ground layer of the forest. The soil is poor in nutrients because it is washed away by heavy rainfall and high temperatures. The plants of the ra
Some common words found in the essay are:
British Isles, Biome Report, Greenhouse Effect, Stated Canada, tropical rainforest, food chain, air plants, frogs lizards salamanders, trees light, frogs lizards, lizards salamanders, affect rainforest, level humidity, earth destroyed, animal species,
Approximate Word count = 1259
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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