(ECO) Biomes Chart: Rainforest Lesson

Biomes Chart: Rainforest Lesson

Before you begin this lesson - please download the BIOMES CHART HANDOUT. Links to an external site.

You will complete the chart for each Biome in this module.  

These notes are useful for studying and can be a valuable resource for upcoming Biome assignments.

 

A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate (both temperature and rainfall) and geography of a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region.

We will learn about the major characteristics and inhabitants of each biome and be able to locate these fascinating realms of life on a world map and explain how the ecosystem adapts to each biome.     The major land (terrestrial) biomes of the world that we will study are: rainforest, desert, deciduous forest, grasslands, and tundra and taiga.   There are also several types of aquatic ecosystems we will discuss.

 

Take a look at where the terrestrial biomes exist on Earth:

 

Link to map Links to an external site.

 

 

Watch the following video to learn more about Biomes and how they relate to ecosystems:

 

 

Rainforest Biome

The rainforest biome can be found in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Regions in those continents that are found close to the equator and experience a humid and wet climate are classified as a tropical rainforest. The Congo River Basin, Amazon River Basin, and Madagascar are example of a tropical rainforest biome. The Amazon jungle is the world's largest tropical rainforest. It is located in South America. The 2.1 billion acres of tropical rainforest extends from Brazil to Peru, Columbia, and various other countries in central South America. The majority of the Amazon jungle is in Brazil.

The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world. Scientists have counted about 100 to 300 species in one 2 1/2-acre (1-hectare) area in South America. Seventy percent of the plants in the rainforest are trees.

An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly. Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F. The average humidity is between 77 and 88% and the rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal areas, there is a real dry season. Almost all rain forests lie near the equator. Rainforests cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. Scientists estimate that more than half of the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests. In this biome, there are many exotic plants and animals. Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen.

More than 25% of the medicines that we use have originated from plants in the rainforest. A shrubby tropical vine from South America is used to make the drug curare, a general anesthesia used to relax muscles during surgery. Quinine, from the cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria. Rosy periwinkle is another type of tropical shrub plant.  It is used to treat lymphocytic leukemia. A person has a 99% chance that the disease will go into remission because of the rosy periwinkle. Over a thousand varieties of tropical plants are thought to be potential cures for cancer.

All tropical rain forests resemble one another in some ways. Many of the trees have straight trunks that don't branch out for 100 feet or more. There is no sense in growing branches below the canopy where there is little light. The majority of the trees have smooth, thin bark because there is no need to protect them from water loss and freezing temperatures. It also makes it difficult for epiphytes and plant parasites to get a hold on the trunks. The bark of different species is so similar that it is difficult to identify a tree by its bark. Many trees can only be identified by their flowers.

The following video program explores the different layers of the forests, from the dark, humid floor to the canopy, which contains the most complex communities of life on Earth. This resource shows the many useful products we get from rainforests, including foods and medicines. The program shows, too, how the forests are rapidly disappearing as people cut them down for timber and to clear the land for farming and ranching. Finally, the program examines how some countries are trying to find ways to use the resources of the forests without destroying them and how students themselves can help save these treasures of biodiversity. The video is approximately 27 minutes long. Pause the video when necessary to make notes.

 

 

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