Welcome back to the Beyond blog. In today’s entry, we’re going to give you plenty of information about rainforests. We’ll discuss what a rainforest is, how they are structured, the animals and plants that live there, and so much more. By the end of this blog, you’ll know a lot more information about rainforests. So let’s get started!
What is a Rainforest?
A rainforest is a large area that is covered with tall trees and gets a lot of annual rainfall. It is a forest located close to the equator with a warm and humid climate.
Rainforests can be found all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica! They are the world’s oldest living ecosystems; some rainforests are 70 million years old.
They are home to a diverse range of animals and plants. In fact, more than half of the world’s plant and animal species live in rainforests.
The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest. It is 6.7 million km2 (2.7 million square miles) To help you understand how big the Amazon rainforest is, here are a few handy comparisons:
- It is twice the size of India.
- It is over 20 times bigger than the UK.
- It would cover half of the US.
Rainforests used to cover 14% of land on Earth, but due to deforestation this is no longer the case. They now only cover 6% of land on Earth, but they play a huge role in keeping the planet healthy. They produce about 20% of the world’s oxygen and they store a huge amount of carbon dioxide, which massively reduces the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
Take a look at this KS3 Rainforests Glossary to learn more about rainforests.
The Structure of a Rainforest
Rainforests usually have four layers: emergent, canopy, understory, and the forest floor.
The Emergent Layer
This is the top layer of the rainforest. The tallest trees of the rainforest are found here, and they grow as tall as 60 metres.
Unsurprisingly, this is the layer that receives the most sunlight. The trees in this layer have adapted to the hot sunlight that they are exposed to. Their leaves have a waxy coating that protects them against the hot rays of sunlight.
The trees here are also exposed to strong wind, which helps to shake the seeds and pollen loose and spread them across the rainforest for more trees to grow.
The most common plants in this layer are:
- kapok trees;
- Brazil nut trees;
- orchids;
- vines.
The emergent layer is also home to many animals, including:
- pygmy gliders;
- bats;
- macaws;
- harpy eagles;
- Capuchin monkeys.
Most of the animals that live in this layer travel through the trees by flying or gliding. Those that can’t fly or glide are quite small and lightweight, as the top of the trees don’t provide much support.
The Canopy Layer
This is the second layer of the rainforest, just below the emergent layer. This is a deep layer of plants that is around six metres thick. It is made up of overlapping leaves and branches that create a roof over the other two layers.
Because the canopy is so thick, it blocks out a lot of wind, rainfall and sunlight, therefore creating a dark, humid environment. Most of the rainfall is captured by the canopy layer, meaning that the lower levels get very little rainwater. The trees in this layer have adapted to this environment by having glossy leaves that repel water, as well as pointed tips to help the water run off.
This layer of the rainforest is very cramped, so the trees have also adapted to have tall, skinny trunks with big leafy branches at the top. This makes them look like giant umbrellas.
With little wind in this area to scatter seeds around, a lot of plants encase their seeds in fruit. A lot of the animals in this layer are tempted by the sweet fruits, so the seeds get spread around through animal droppings. The most common fruit found in this layer are figs from the fig trees.
The most common plants in the canopy layer are:
- rubber trees;
- banana trees;
- some species of orchids;
- king ferns;
- Spanish moss.
Most of the animals that live in the rainforest can be found in this layer because of the high level of food available here. This layer of the rainforest is a very noisy area due to the shrill vocals of the animals that live here, including:
- scarlet macaws;
- keel-billed toucans;
- spider monkeys;
- howler monkeys;
- two-toed sloths.
You can also expect to find thousands of insects in this layer, as well as many reptiles that eat these insects. You can find bees, beetles, butterflies and more, as well as lizards, snakes and iguanas.
The Understory Layer
This is the next layer of the rainforest, lying several metres below the canopy. The understory layer is even darker and more humid than the canopy layer. The plants here only get a tiny bit of sunlight, as the understory layer only receives 5-10% of sunlight.
The plants in this layer are typically much shorter than those in the canopy, and they also have larger leaves than them, too. Some of the plants in this layer are:
- philodendron;
- zebra plants;
- ferns;
- heliconia;
- prayer plants.
These plants originate in the rainforest, but some of them are often kept as houseplants as well.
The strong smells and the size of these plants attracts pollinators even in this dark area of the rainforest.
Many animals call this layer of the rainforest their home, as it comes with many advantages. It’s dimly lit so it’s great for camouflage, it has more open airspace for birds and bats and many reptiles thrive in the humidity. You can find these insects and animals in the understory layer:
- stick insects;
- bullet ants;
- jaguars;
- monkeys;
- geckos;
- frogs.
The tropical rainforests in Central Africa are home to some of the most endangered species including forest elephants, antelopes, pythons and gorillas.
The Forest Floor Layer
This is the final layer of the rainforest and it lies at the bottom of the rainforest (as the name suggests). With less than 2% of sunlight reaching this layer of the rainforest, it is the darkest layer. This makes it very difficult for plants to grow.
The leaves that fall to the floor often decay very quickly. This is great news for termites, slugs, worms and spiders. They break down the decaying leaves and plants on the forest floor and turn them into nutrients. The tree roots on the forest floor then absorb these nutrients, helping them to grow. However, these creatures are not without predators. Wild pigs, armadillos and anteaters like to snack on these insects. You might also find these animals lurking on the forest floor:
- leopards;
- rats;
- lowland pacas;
- frogs;
- salamanders.
The smaller animals, such as rats, typically hide from predators in the shallow roots of trees.
Some tropical rainforests, like the Amazon rainforest, have rivers running through the forest floor layer. You can find some fascinating creatures living in these rivers, such as pink river dolphins and black caimans that are large reptiles related to alligators.
Types of Rainforests
There are two types of rainforests: tropical and temperate.
Tropical Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are typically located in the tropics. They can be found in Central and South America, Western and Central Africa, Western India, Australia, New Guinea and Southeast Asia.
The temperature in tropical rainforests ranges between 21° and 30°C. They are also incredibly humid, with an average humidity of 85%. These rainforests get between 200cm and 1000cm of rainfall per year because of the high humidity. In fact, some tropical rainforests create their own rainfall through evaporation and transpiration.
Tropical rainforests are home to a huge variety of animals and plants. The Amazon rainforest alone contains 40,000 plant species, 3,000 freshwater fish species, over 400 species of mammals, more than 300 species of reptiles, more than 400 species of amphibians and over 2 million species of insects. There are more and more species being discovered every day, with over 400 species being discovered between 2010 and 2013.
Temperate Rainforests
Temperate rainforests are typically located in places where the temperatures are much milder compared to tropical rainforests. They are usually found in coastal, mountainous areas. These areas also have a high amount of rainfall.
Temperate rainforests can be found in North America, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and even the UK.
These rainforests are a lot cooler than tropical rainforests, with the temperature lying between 10° and 21°C. They also don’t receive as much sunlight as tropical rainforests and they receive between 150cm and 500cm of rainfall per year.
Not as many animals and plants live in temperate rainforests, however they store a lot of leaves, wood and other organic matter. It takes plants longer to decompose because of the cooler temperatures, which helps plant species to grow for very long periods of time.
Although there aren’t as many animals in temperate rainforests compared to tropical rainforests, these animals still call them home:
- bobcats;
- mountain lions;
- wallabies;
- magellanic woodpeckers;
- back bears.
Why Should We Protect the Rainforest?
Unfortunately, the world’s rainforests are under threat because of humans. More than half of the world’s rainforests have been lost already due to the demand of wood and arable land.
We hope that after reading all this information about rainforests, you understand how amazing our rainforests are, but if you don’t here are some of the top reasons why we should protect them:
- Rainforests are often described as the central nervous system of our planet. This is because they help to control the climate of the planet and they produce a significant amount of the world’s oxygen. Without rainforests, climate change could be much worse.
- They help maintain the world’s water cycle. Over half of the precipitation that falls on the rainforests is returned to the atmosphere, which helps to maintain regular, healthy rainfall across the globe.
- A lot of solar radiation is absorbed by our rainforests, which helps to regulate Earth’s temperature.
- A lot of the products we use every day come from rainforests. A lot of the wood used for flooring, doors and furniture comes from tropical rainforests.
- Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger can all be found in rainforests. You can also find plenty of fruit in rainforests including grapefruit, bananas and pineapples.
- Many ingredients for medicinal products can only be found in rainforests.
These are just a few reasons as to why we need to protect our rainforests. For a fun revision task, check out this Competition in the Rainforest resource. For more rainforest resources, look here.
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