1: Tropical Rainforests

• Where are tropical rainforests found?

  Found in a broad belt along the equator and through the tropics in:

  -Central and south America

  -Central Africa

  -South east Africa

  -Northern Australia
• Why are tropical rainforests positioned where they are?

  They are positioned where they are because of the global atmospheric circulation.
• What is global atmospheric circulation?

  
  

  Global atmospheric circulation refers to the large-scale movement of air in Earth’s atmosphere, driven by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the Sun
• What is the climate like in tropical rainforests?

  -Temperatures are high and constant throughout the year. This is because the sun is overhead most of the time

  -Rainfall is high because the global atmospheric circulation causes an area of low pressure to form at the equator

  -Rainfall varies throughout the year with a distinct wet season lasting around 6months. This is because of a period of intense rainfall when the equatorial low pressure area is directly overhead
• What is the soil like in a tropical rainforest?

  The soil isn't very fertile as heavy rain washes nutrients away (this is called leaching). There are surface nutrients due to decayed leaf fall, but this layer is very thin as decay is fast in the warm, moist conditions.

  -Many trees and plants have been adapted to have shallow roots to absorb these nutrients
• How have plants adapted to rainforests?

  -Most plants and animals are found in the canopy where there is lots of light

  -Many leaves have a 'drip tip' allowing heavy rain to run off the leaf without damaging the leaf

  - Trees are fast growing to out-compete other trees to reach sunlight

  -Epiphytes live on the branches high in the canopy to seek sunlight- the obtain nutrients from water and air not soil

  -trees have a wide base to support the tree since the roots aren't deep in the ground

  -shallow roots (buttress roots) since all the nutrients are found on the surface of the forest floor
• What kind of animals are found in tropical rainforests?

  -tropical rainforests support the largest member of species of any biome

  -Over 50% of all plants an animals species on earth live on 7% of the land surface

  -Birds live on the canopy feeding on nectar from flowers

  -Mammals like monkeys and sloths are well adapted to living in trees

  -Animals like deers and rodents live on the forest floor
• Which country had the highest percentage of forest loss in 2000-2012?

  Malaysia

  lost 14.4% of its forest
• Where is Malaysia?

  Malaysia is a country in south-east Asia and is mad up Peninsular and East Malaysia.

  67% of Malaysia's land is covered by rainforest
• What are the causes of deforestation in Malaysia?

  Logging, road building, mineral extraction, energy development, commercial farming, sustenance farming, population pressure
• How is logging a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -Malaysia became the world's largest exporter of tropical wood in the 1980s

  -Clear felling, where all trees are chopped down in an area was common. This lead to the total destruction of forest habitats
• How is road building a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -Roads are constructed to provide access to mining areas, new settlements and energy projects

  -Logging requires road construction to bring in machinery and take away the timber
• How is energy development a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -In 2011 after 5 decades of delays the controversial Bakun Dam in Sarawak started to generate electricity

  -The Bakun Dam is Asia's highest dam outside China and it supplies energy for industrialised Peninsular Malaysia
• How is mineral extraction a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -Mining is common in Peninsular Malaysia. Rainforest has been cleard for mining and road construction

  -Drilling for oil and gas has recently started in Borneo
• How is population pressure a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -In the past, poor urban people were encouraged by the government to move into the countryside from the rapidly growing cities

  -Between 1956 and 1980s about 15,000hectares of rainforest was felled for the settlers. Many then set up plantations
• How is commercial farming a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  Malaysia is the largest exporter of palm oil in the world. During 1970s, large areas of land were converted to palm oil plantations. Plantation owners receive 10yr tax incentives which encourage more deforestation for more plantations
• How is subsistence farming a cause of deforestation in Malaysia?

  -Tribal people living in the rainforest practice subsistence farming. Traditionally, local communities would hunt and gather food from the forest and grow some food crops in cleared pockets of forest

  -One method of clearing land is 'slash and burn'. This involves the use of fire to clear the land, but the fires can grow out of control destroying large areas of forest