Ecosystems: Rainforests of the World
A presentation by:
Carol Cleveland
NSF NMGK-12 Fellow 2000-2001
2 Kinds of Rain Forests
Tropical Coastal Temperate
What is a Rain Forest?
3 Main Layers of the Forest
(Emergent)
Canopy
Understory
Forest Floor
Over 100 inches of rain in a year(we get about 60 inches)
Where do you find rainforests?
Where do you find rainforests?
Tropical rainforests are mostly around the equator.
50% are in South America.
Tropical Rainforests• Near equator• Warm Temperature
(70-80oF)• Rainy - 2 inches/hour
sometimes• Up to 400 inches rain in a
year• Many species of plants
and animals• In danger from people
Tropical Rainforest Animals
Tropical Rainforest Animals
Tropical Rainforest Plants
Coastal Temperate Rainforests
Scattered around the worldMostly on Pacific West coast of North America
Coastal Temperate Rainforests
• Alaska to Oregon• 35 to 80oF - not
extremes• Rain - 140-167 inches
per year• Trees can grow to 300
feet high and 23 feet in diameter
Coastal Temperate Rainforest Animals
Coastal Temperate Rainforest Plants
Why shouldn’t we cut down rainforests?
• Rainforests - very high diversity of animal and plant life (lots of different kinds)
• Very difficult to replace - not many nutrients in the soil so once the plants are gone it is hard to grow any plants in that area
• Add oxygen to the atmosphere (40%)
but also use much oxygen by decay