The Amazon Rainforest is located on the northern half of the South American continent (kids.mongabay.com).
(pic2)
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches).Mean monthly temperatures exceed 50 f to 70 f during all months of the year (1). The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests. A total of 40 to 75% of all species on the world's habitats are indigenous to the rainforests (2). It has been estimated that many millions of species of plants, insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth", and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there (3). Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world's oxygen turn over, often misunderstood as oxygen production (4).
The undergrowth in a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. This makes it possible to walk through the forest. 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. There are two types of rainforest, tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest. Many of the world's rainforests are associated with the location of the monsoon trough, also known as the intertropical convergence zone (5).
The Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia, is one of the world's greatest natural resources. Because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, it has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet". About 20% of earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.The Amazon rainforest gets its name from the Amazon River, the life force of the rainforest. The Amazon River begins in the Peruvian Andes, and winds its way east over the northern half of South America. It meets the Atlantic Ocean at Belem, Brazil. The main river is about 4,080 miles long. Its drainage basin covers 2,722,000 million square miles, and lies in the countries of Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the three Guyanas. Sixteen percent of all the world's river water flows through the Amazon delta. Twenty eight billion gallons of water flow into the Atlantic every minute, diluting the salinity of the ocean for more than 100 miles offshore. The Amazon rainforest watershed is home to the world's highest level of biodiversity.Amazonia receives about 9 feet of rain every year. Fifty percent of this returns to the atmosphere through the foliage of trees. Most of the Amazon River's water comes from the annual snowmelt high in the Peruvian Andes. Between June and October, the water level rises by 30 to 45 feet. Tens of millions of acres of rainforest are covered by water as the flood advances, reaching as far inland from the main channel as 12 miles (7). (pic1)(pic3)(pic4)
List of animal species found in the Amazon Rainforest:
1) Orchids (primary producers) (8)
2) Moss (8)
3) Water Lily (8)
4) Rafflesia (8)
5) Bromeliads (8)
6) Grasshopper (1st Order Consumers) (7)
7) Tiger Longwing Butterfly (7)
8) Blue and Gold Macaw (2nd Order Consumers) (7)
9) Squirrel Monkey (7)
10) Harpy Eagle (3rd Order Consumer) (7)
Harpy Eagle (pic 5) Squirrel Monkey (pic 6) Orchids (pic 7) Water Lily (pic 8)
Layers of a Rainforest (pic9)
food web (10):
Man (3rd Order consumer)
^^^^^
Caiman (2nd Order Consumer)
^^^^^
Spider Monkey (1st Order Consumer)
^^^^^
Orchids (Producer)
Tropical and temperate rainforests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance throughout the 20th century and the area covered by rainforests around the world is shrinking (6).
Bibliography: Text
1) Susan Woodward. Tropical broadleaf Evergreen forest:the rainforest
2) rainforest.net- Variables and Math
3) rainforests at animal center
4) Killer inhabitants of the rainforest
5) Hobgood (2008). Global Pattern of Surface Pressure and Wind. Ohio State University.
6) Entire rainforests set to disappear in next decade, The Independent.
7) Blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm
8) library.thinkquest.org/5128/aplants_am_page.html
9) ventureafrice.wikispaces.com/PM-Team4
The Amazon Rainforest is located on the northern half of the South American continent (kids.mongabay.com).
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches).Mean monthly temperatures exceed 50 f to 70 f during all months of the year (1). The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests. A total of 40 to 75% of all species on the world's habitats are indigenous to the rainforests (2). It has been estimated that many millions of species of plants, insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth", and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there (3). Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world's oxygen turn over, often misunderstood as oxygen production (4).
The undergrowth in a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. This makes it possible to walk through the forest. 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. There are two types of rainforest, tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest. Many of the world's rainforests are associated with the location of the monsoon trough, also known as the intertropical convergence zone (5).
The Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia, is one of the world's greatest natural resources. Because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, it has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet". About 20% of earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.The Amazon rainforest gets its name from the Amazon River, the life force of the rainforest. The Amazon River begins in the Peruvian Andes, and winds its way east over the northern half of South America. It meets the Atlantic Ocean at Belem, Brazil. The main river is about 4,080 miles long. Its drainage basin covers 2,722,000 million square miles, and lies in the countries of Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the three Guyanas. Sixteen percent of all the world's river water flows through the Amazon delta. Twenty eight billion gallons of water flow into the Atlantic every minute, diluting the salinity of the ocean for more than 100 miles offshore. The Amazon rainforest watershed is home to the world's highest level of biodiversity.Amazonia receives about 9 feet of rain every year. Fifty percent of this returns to the atmosphere through the foliage of trees. Most of the Amazon River's water comes from the annual snowmelt high in the Peruvian Andes. Between June and October, the water level rises by 30 to 45 feet. Tens of millions of acres of rainforest are covered by water as the flood advances, reaching as far inland from the main channel as 12 miles (7).
List of animal species found in the Amazon Rainforest:
1) Orchids (primary producers) (8)
2) Moss (8)
3) Water Lily (8)
4) Rafflesia (8)
5) Bromeliads (8)
6) Grasshopper (1st Order Consumers) (7)
7) Tiger Longwing Butterfly (7)
8) Blue and Gold Macaw (2nd Order Consumers) (7)
9) Squirrel Monkey (7)
10) Harpy Eagle (3rd Order Consumer) (7)
Harpy Eagle (pic 5) Squirrel Monkey (pic 6) Orchids (pic 7) Water Lily (pic 8)
food web (10):
Man (3rd Order consumer)
^^^^^
Caiman (2nd Order Consumer)
^^^^^
Spider Monkey (1st Order Consumer)
^^^^^
Orchids (Producer)
Tropical and temperate rainforests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance throughout the 20th century and the area covered by rainforests around the world is shrinking (6).
Bibliography: Text
1) Susan Woodward. Tropical broadleaf Evergreen forest:the rainforest
2) rainforest.net- Variables and Math
3) rainforests at animal center
4) Killer inhabitants of the rainforest
5) Hobgood (2008). Global Pattern of Surface Pressure and Wind. Ohio State University.
6) Entire rainforests set to disappear in next decade, The Independent.
7) Blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm
8) library.thinkquest.org/5128/aplants_am_page.html
9) ventureafrice.wikispaces.com/PM-Team4
Pictures
1) geographyjfes/com
2) blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm
3) mongabay.com
4) geographyjfes.com
5) travel.mongabay.com
6) verriku.tartu.ee
7) deb.jessey.net
8) mikesjournal.com
9) solcomhouse.com