tropical rainforests

• climate- same all year round, high rainfall, hot
• temperature between 20 and 28 degrees
• plants- most trees are evergreen, lots of epiphytes
• epiphytes- plants that grow of other living plants
• rain forests have very high biodiversity and cointain around 50 percent of the worlds species
• rain forests are interdependent, if one thing changes, everything is effected
• agouti can crack the brazil nut. they sometimes bury the nut leading it to sprout into a new tree. if they become extinct, tree numbers would decline effecting other species
• trees intercept water without it the rain would wash all the nutrience out the soil
• trees stabilise the soil with their roots
• commercial logging- forest is cleared to make space for large scale farming and ranching
• cattle ranching is the main cause of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
• subsistence farming- forest is cleared by small scale farmers who need land to grow food for themselves and their families
• commercial logging- the amazon is full of hardwood trees such as mahogany that can be sold
• mineral extraction- gold, iron ore and copper ore are extracted from the ground and can be exported to boost development
• energy- dams can flood large areas of forest
• population growth- land cleared for housing
• road building