Rainforests

1
Rainforests

• Presentation created by
• Jessica Ehrlich

2
Overview

• What is a rainforest?
• Plants
• Animals
• Insects
• People
• Location
• Problems facing the rainforest
• Efforts to help the rainforest
• Resources

3
What is a rainforest?

• The world's most biologically diverse ecosystem
• A rainforest accounts for less than 7 percent of
  the land surface on Earth, but contains more over
  50some scientists estimate as high as 90of
  its plant and animal species
• They are typically hot and steamythe average
  annual temperature is 77 F
• Rainforests can average between 6 and 30 feet of
  rainfall a year. What distinguishes a true
  rainforest is the distribution of precipitation
  throughout the yearthere are no dry seasons

4
Plants

• A typical four square mile patch of rainforest
  contains as many as 1500 species of flowering
  plants and 750 species of trees
• Approximately 70 of the plants identified by the
  National Cancer Institute as useful in cancer
  treatment are found only in rainforests

5
A Tree Hierarchy

• Emergent trees are widely spaced, and are
  between 100 to 120 feet tall with umbrella-shaped
  canopies that grow above the forest
• The upper canopy of trees is about 80 feet tall
• In the lower canopy of 60 foot trees there is
  little air movement and less sunlight

6
Gongora Orchids

• Grows on the trunks and branches of forest trees
• This orchid has brightly colored flowers that
  produce a powerful fragrance that is attractive
  to bees
• Does not take root in the soil, but rather grows
  on other plants for support (called an epiphyte)

7
Bromeliads

• Tank bromeliads are epiphytes that attach to
  other forest trees with small roots
• The broad leaf bases are pressed together to form
  a centrally-located water-holding cup or "tank"
• The central tank can hold up to 12 or more
  gallons of water
• Bromeliads are epiphytes from the pineapple
  family

8
Medicinal Sedges

• Native people throughout the Amazon cultivate
  numerous varieties of medicinal sedges to treat
  headaches, fevers, cramps, dysentery and wounds
• Pharmacological research has revealed the
  presence of ergot alkaloids, which are known to
  have various effects on the body, from
  stimulation of the nervous system to the
  constriction of blood vessels

9
Animals

• In an area of 6 square miles, as many as 100
  mammal species can be found
• Most rainforest animals are nocturnal

10
Chimpanzee

• Average about 3 to 5 feet tall and can weigh from
  99 to 176 pounds
• Prefer to eat fruits and young leaves, but will
  eat insects (ex. ants and termites)
• Stay in communities that are made up of 15 to 100
  members
• Are listed as an endangered species

11
African Elephant

• Lives in the tropical rainforest and savannah
• Eats leaves, plant shoots, grass, fruit, and
  flowers
• Weigh between 175 and 225 pounds at birth
• Are on the endangered species list

12
Insects

• About 90 the rainforest animal species are
  insects
• The most common insect is the beetle (there are
  about 150 species)
• It is possible that there are as many as 30
  million insect species in the rainforest

13
People

• Most of the world's tropical rainforests are
  inhabited
• Anthropologists believe that there are 1,000
  different cultures of indigenous people that may
  be living in rainforests
• Many of these cultures collect fruit, nuts,
  firewood, construction materials, and meat from
  the rainforest
• Most also depend upon small-scale farming for
  food and medicinal plants

14
The Pygmies

• The African pygmies are the largest existing
  group of hunter-gatherers in the world
• Are relatively short in height and are only about
  59 in. (4ft. 11in.) tall

15
The Huli

• live in the central mountains of Papua New Guinea
• There are about 65,000 Huli people
• The Wigmen are among the most famous symbols of
  the native Huli culture

16
Location of Rainforests

• Most rainforests are located near or on the
  equator
• The Amazon is the world's largest tropical
  rainforest, and spans more than half of Brazil

17
Problems Facing the Rainforest

• Logging companies are cutting down some of the
  most endangered forests on the planet to make
  wood and paper products such as office paper,
  phone books, toilet paper, window trim, lawn
  furniture, and 2 x 4's
• 2.4 acres (1 hectare) per second are destroyed
  equivalent to two football fields
• 137 species of life forms are driven into
  extinction everyday as a result of destruction of
  the rainforest
• All the primary rainforests in India, Bangladesh,
  Sri Lanka and Haiti have already been destroyed.
  The Ivory Coast rainforests have been almost
  completely logged. Meanwhile, the Philippines
  lost 55 of its rainforests and Thailand lost 45
  of its rainforests between 1960 and 1985

18
Efforts to Save the Rainforest

• Recycling!!
• Sustainable rain- forest logging
• Development of non-timber forest products which
  can be harvested without damaging the surrounding
  ecosystem

19
Information on the WEB. . .

• http//www.ran.org/
•  
• http//www.rainforest-alliance.org/index.html
• http//passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest/main.htm
  l
•  
• http//www.rainbird.com/DisplayList.asp?Record090
  002DF-461C-44BD-971F-6B3C1E97BD46
•  
• http//www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainfo
  rest/serve_home.html
• http//kids.osd.wednet.edu/Marshall/rainforest_hom
  e_page.html
• http//www.pbs.org/journeytoamazonia/
•  
• http//www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainfore
  st/
• http//www.junglephotos.com/
• http//www.rainforestweb.org/

20
About the Presenter. . . Jessica Ehrlich

• Currently attending Georgia Southern University
• Plans to become a Special Education Teacher after
  graduation
• Originally from Columbus, GA

21
Sources

• http//animfactory.com/af_insects_butterfly_page_a
  a.html
• http//www.google.com/imghp?hlen
• Microsoft clipart
• http//www.ran.org/
• http//www.rainforest-alliance.org/index.html
• http//passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest/main.htm
  l
• http//www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainfo
  rest/serve_home.html
• http//kids.osd.wednet.edu/Marshall/rainforest_hom
  e_page.html
• http//www.pbs.org/journeytoamazonia/
• http//www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainfore
  st/
• http//www.junglephotos.com/
• http//www.rainforestweb.org/
• http//www.accsoft.com.au/drgcjlom/huli1.htm