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The undergrowth in some areas of a rainforest can be restricted by poor penetration of sunlight to ground level.
If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned, the ground
beneath is soon colonized by a dense, tangled growth of
vines, shrubs and small trees, called a jungle. The term
jungle is also sometimes applied to tropical rainforests
generally.
1 Tropical
Main article: Tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are characterized by a warm and
The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia
LAYERS
Temperate
3
called dendronautics.[13]
3.3
Understory layer
5 Soils
3.4
Forest oor
Despite the growth of vegetation in a tropical rainforest, soil quality is often quite poor. Rapid bacterial decay prevents the accumulation of humus. The concentration of iron and aluminium oxides by the laterization
process gives the oxisols a bright red colour and sometimes produces mineral deposits such as bauxite. Most
trees have roots near the surface, because there are insufcient nutrients below the surface; most of the trees minerals come from the top layer of decomposing leaves and
animals. On younger substrates, especially of volcanic
origin, tropical soils may be quite fertile. If rainforest
Rainforest in the Blue Mountains, Australia
trees are cleared, rain can accumulate on the exposed soil
The forest oor, the bottom-most layer, receives only 2% surfaces, creating run-o and beginning a process of soil
of the sunlight. Only plants adapted to low light can grow erosion. Eventually streams and rivers form and ooding
in this region. Away from riverbanks, swamps and clear- becomes possible.
ings, where dense undergrowth is found, the forest oor
is relatively clear of vegetation because of the low sunlight penetration. It also contains decaying plant and ani- 6 Eect on global climate
mal matter, which disappears quickly, because the warm,
humid conditions promote rapid decay. Many forms of
A natural rainforest emits and absorbs vast quantities of
fungi growing here help decay the animal and plant waste.
carbon dioxide. On a global scale, long-term uxes are
approximately in balance, so that an undisturbed rainforest would have a small net impact on atmospheric carbon
4 Flora and fauna
dioxide levels,[16] though they may have other climatic
eects (on cloud formation, for example, by recycling
More than half of the worlds species of plants and ani- water vapour). No rainforest today can be considered to
mals are found in the rainforest.[14] Rainforests support a be undisturbed.[17] Human-induced deforestation plays a
very broad array of fauna, including mammals, reptiles, signicant role in causing rainforests to release carbon
birds and invertebrates. Mammals may include primates, dioxide,[18] as do other factors, whether human-induced
felids and other families. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, or natural, which result in tree death, such as burning and
chameleons and other families; while birds include such drought.[19] Some climate models operating with interacfamilies as vangidae and Cuculidae. Dozens of fam- tive vegetation predict a large loss of Amazonian rainforilies of invertebrates are found in rainforests. Fungi est around 2050 due to drought, forest dieback and the
are also very common in rainforest areas as they can subsequent release more carbon dioxide.[20] Five million
feed on the decomposing remains of plants and ani- years from now, the Amazon rainforest may long since
mals. Many rainforest species are rapidly disappearing have dried and transformed itself into savannah, killing itdue to deforestation, habitat loss and pollution of the self in the progress (changes such as this may happen even
atmosphere.[15]
if all human deforestation activity ceases overnight).[21]
Main article: Forest oor
DEFORESTATION
Human uses
Native peoples
5
However, a January 30, 2009 New York Times article [11] Bourgeron, Patrick S. (1983). Spatial Aspects of Vegetation Structure. In Frank B. Golley. Tropical Rain Forest
stated, By one estimate, for every acre of rain forest cut
Ecosystems. Structure and Function. Ecosystems of the
down each year, more than 50 acres of new forest are
World (14A ed.). Elsevier Scientic. pp. 2947. ISBN
growing in the tropics... The new forest includes sec0-444-41986-1.
ondary forest on former farmland and so-called degraded
[41]
forest.
[12] Sabah. Eastern Native Tree Society. Retrieved 200711-14.
10
See also
Cloud forest
Ecology
Inland rainforest
Intact forest landscape
Jungle
Rainforest Foundation Fund
Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
Stratication (vegetation)
Tapiche Oharas Reserve
11
References
Rain-
13
EXTERNAL LINKS
Rainforest Portal
[34] Science: Satellite monitors Madagascars shrinking rainforest, 19 May 1990, New Scientist. Newscientist.com.
1990-05-19. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
[35] China is black hole of Asias deforestation, AsiaNews.it,
24 March 2008
sharply
in
2007,
12
Further reading
Butler, R. A. (2005) A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face. Published
online: Rainforests.mongabay.com
Richards, P. W. (1996). The tropical rain forest.
2nd ed. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-52142194-2
Whitmore, T. C. (1998) An introduction to tropical
rain forests. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-19-850147-1
13
External links
Animals in a rainforest
Rainforest Action Network
14
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