RAINFOREST

• • Very wet with over 2,000 mm of rainfall per year.
  • Very warm with an average daily temperature of 28°C. The temperature never drops below 20°C and rarely exceeds 35°C.
  • The atmosphere is hot and humid.
  • The climate is consistent all year round. There are no seasons
• • Most of the soil is not very fertile.
  • A thin layer of fertile soil is found at the surface where the dead leaves decompose.
  • It is red in colour because it is rich in iron.
  • Due to heavy rainfall the nutrients are quickly washed out of the soil.
• • The warm and very wet climate provides perfect conditions for plant growth.
  • The wide range of plant species supports many different animals, birds and insects.
  • Species have adapted to the conditions of the rainforest, eg trees and plants have shallow-reaching roots to absorb nutrients from the fertile top layer of soil
• • Ground level - contains less vegetation due to the dark, damp conditions, a thick layer of decomposing leaves and buttress roots of trees.
  • Shrub layer - dense and dark with small plants.
  • Under canopy - contains younger trees and saplings competing for light in dark conditions.
  • (Main) canopy - the 'roof' of the forest. Contains tall trees, climbing plants like vines and lianas. 50% of rainforest life is found here.
  • Emergent - contains the tallest trees emerging out of canopy
• • Lianas - these are woody vines that have roots in the ground but climb up the trees to reach the sunlight. Their leaves and flowers grow in the canopy.
  • Tree trunks - these are tall and thin to allow trees to reach the sunlight. The bark on these trees is smooth to allow water to flow down to the roots easily
• Drip tips - plants have leaves with pointy tips. This allows water to run off the leaves quickly without damaging or breaking the leaves.
• Buttress roots - large roots have ridges which create a large surface area that help to support large trees.
• Epiphytes - these are plants which live on the branches of trees high up in the canopy. They get their nutrients from the air and water, not from the soil.
• Plant roots take up water from the ground. Rain is intercepted as it falls due to the rainforest canopy. As the rainforest heats up, the water evaporates and transfers back into the atmosphere. Clouds form to make the next day's rain. This is convectional rainfall.
• In Indonesia, oil palm plantations cover 7.8 million hectares and employ over 2 million people, making up seven per cent of Indonesia's exports, valued at $12 billion.

  Palm oil is used in cosmetics, confectionary, detergents and many other products.
•  Deforestation is happening for the following reasons.

  • Pastoral farming - as the global demand for meat has increased, many cattle farms have opened in the Amazon Basin for beef farming. This type of farming is mono cultural because it uses one source of animal (livestock).
  • Arable farming - is also responsible for the loss of tropical rainforests as many farmers are clearing land to grow cash crops, such as soya beans. This type of farming in intensive which means that high yields of crops are produced with the support from a range of fertilisers and pesticides.
• Deforestation is happening for the following reasons

  • Logging - tropical rainforests are cut down so that valuable trees like mahogany can be accessed and sold for timber to make furniture. Other trees are cut down for making paper products.
  • Mining - the Amazon Basin is rich in natural resources such as iron ore, copper, tin, aluminium, manganese and gold. This has led to the development of mines which results in the clearance of tropical rainforest. The Carajas mine in Brazil is the world's largest iron ore mine.
• DEFORESTATION BECAUSE

  • Roads - the construction of access roads for farmers, loggers and miners results in large parts of the tropical rainforest being destroyed, and opens up previously unused rainforest to development.
  • Hydroelectric power (HEP) - the creation of HEP stations in the Amazon Basin has resulted in large areas of forest being flooded to create reservoirs and dams. The flooding of the Balbina dam in Brazil resulted in the loss of 920 square miles of tropical rainforest.
• population growth has resulted in the loss of tropical rainforest as land is cleared to build houses and infrastructure.
• Impacts of tropical rainforest loss

  • Once the land is cleared of rainforest vegetation the soil is left bare.not fertile. The roots of plants and trees no longer hold the soil together so it is easily eroded
  • When it rains, the nutrients in the soil are washed away.
  • The nutrient cycle stops because there are no plants or trees shedding leaves to replace the nutrients in the soil.
  • The soil is no longer able to support plant life because it is not fertile. The roots of plants and trees no longer hold the soil together so it is easily eroded
• impact of rainforest loss

  Loss of biodiversity

  Many different species of plants and animals die because of deforestation. As plants and animals are closely connected through the food web, this reduces the biodiversity, or variety of species, found in the tropical rainforest.
• impact of rainforest loss

  Climate change

  The trees and plants of the Amazon Basin absorb carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. If there are fewer trees and plants due to deforestation, then less carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. In this way deforestation contributes to global warming and therefore climate change.
• Tropical rainforests can be managed in the following ways to reduce deforestation.

  • Logging and replanting - selective logging of mature trees ensures that the rainforest canopy is preserved. This method allows the forest to recover, because the younger trees gain more space and sunlight to grow. Planned and controlled logging ensures that for every tree logged another is planted.
  • Education - promoting the value and benefits of biodiversity associated with tropical rainforests
• • Ecotourism - this encourages sustainable tourism that creates jobs for local people whilst ensuring that the money generated is used to protect and conserve the tropical rainforest for future generations to enjoy.
  • International agreements - agreements to protect tropical rainforests have been made between different countries through debt-for-nature swaps. This is when a country, which is owed money by another country, cancels part of the debt if an agreement is made by the debtor country to ensure the conservation of its tropical rainforests.
• Creatingnational parks - one of the most effective ways to protect a natural area of land is to create a national park. National parks are intended to preserve an area’s natural beauty and wildlife. Strict laws are set up to prevent people altering national parks and any damage done has to be corrected or large fines can be implemented. Within these, wildlife corridors can be set up to further protect the area and encourage wildlife to flourish between different areas of a rainforest
• The Costa Rican government has implemented the following policies to ensure that the tropical rainforest can be conserved and enjoyed by future generations.

  • Increasing public awareness of the value of tropical rainforests through education.
  • Local communities included and involved in forest conservation projects.
  • Encouraging use of alternative timber sources such as rubber trees.
• • Selective logging of mature and commercially viable trees over a 40-year cycle to ensure that trees have time to re-establish themselves. This is known as a selective management system.
  • Ecotourism promoted and developed in tropical rainforest areas.
  • Permanent forest estates have been created by the government where no change of land use is allowed.
  • Creation of national parks to protect biodiversity.
• loses nutrients due to leaching washed away
• litter falls from biomass
• biomass absorb nutrients from soil
• litter decomposes and releases nutrients for the soil
• the election of bolsano in brazil led to a 34% increase in deforestation in 2020
• in brazil 2020 they cut down treees for timber then set the land on fire
• bolsanoro put a agricultural minded man in charge of funai project so he has little care for the indigenous
• 1gt of co2 emissons from deforestation in 2019
• brazil needs to clear land for cattle, it produced 10,000,000 tonnes in 2019
• lack of police in brazil to enforce the forest laws
• there are less environmental fines since bolsanaro is elected
• rangers are fired to not enforce laws
• 1/5 of european beef comes from brazil
• a boycott of beef wouldnt work because 80% is being used in brazil
• brazil has over 400 protected indigenous lands
• FUNAI

  work with protecting indigenous lands and monitouring lands
• brazil economy isfastly growing due to agriculture
• FUNAI had a funding cut making them less powerful, illegal logging and fires are taking place