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Tropical Rainforests
Ecology
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What is a rainforest?
• In ecological terms- “ multi-storied closed, broad-leafed vegetation with a continuous tree canopy of variable height and with characteristic diversity of species and life forms”.
• Home to over 50% of all species on Earth
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Location
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Forest Climate• Global heat and water pumps• Rainforests are dark, - they absorb
heat. • Above a rainforest the air is cooler so
it is more likely to rain. • Inside rainforest, below canopy,
humidity stays high. • The forests stay wet and evaporate
vast quantities of water through their foliage and into the air above, forming clouds.
• Some falls again as rain in the tropics but often clouds are carried great distances to fall as rain in the mid latitudes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/south_america/
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Climate ComparedManaos(Brazil) London (England)
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The Forest Structure
• Notes:
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Adaptations
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Fertile & Fragile
• Soil in r/forests very thin - trees have shallow roots
• Depends on rapid recycling of nutrients
• Removal of trees devastates this nutrient cycle
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Rainforest Nutrient Cycle
Abundant trees
Numerous fallen leaves
Rapid decay to form humus
Nutrients added to soil
Rich soil
Rich tree growth
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Rainforest Nutrient Cycle
Trees removed
No leaves falling
No decaying leaves to form
humus
Remaining Nutrients
leached from soil
Soil deteriorates
V.difficult for new trees to
recover
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Deforestation - the destruction of rainforests
Forest Fires and Deforestation in Mato Grosso, Brazil
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The Amazon River Basin
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• Clear-cutting– Starting point for other activities - logging, mining,
agriculture, roads, settlements
– mongobay
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Causes of Deforestation
• Agriculture• Clearing forest for
cattle ranching, plantations (palm oil) or crops - eg. soybeans
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Causes of Deforestation
• Logging• Removal of trees for
valuable hardwoods • (e.g. mahogany, teak)• Often illegal or
uncontrolled
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Causes of Deforestation
• Mineral Extraction(Mining)
• Mining trucks, equipment, open pits and roads at the Rio Huaypetue gold mine in southeastern Peru Location: Southeastern Peru; from Cuzco to Boca Manu
• mongobay
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Rates of Deforestation in South America
% loss per year
http://www.mongabay.com/deforestation_rate_tables.htm
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Rates of Deforestation Worldwide
Hectares per year
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1115-forests.html
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What else is causing loss of rainforest?
• Look up the following websites and see what you can find.
• http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/causes.htm
• http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ • http://www.sfu.ca/~ftcheng/educ260/
resources.html• http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/
321feature4.shtml