WHAT ARE RAINFORESTS?

By: Miss. Rodriguez

Today You will Learn

What is a rainforest?

Where are Tropical Rainforest located?

What makes a Rainforest? What is Biodiversity and Symbiotic relationships between species mean?

What are the different Layers of the Rainforest?

You will also learn how to build your own 3-d Triarama of the rainforest.

Standards

SC.4.L.17.4 Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.

Art-VA.4.F.1.1 Combine art media with innovative ideas and techniques to create two- and/or three-dimensional works of art.

VA.4.F.3.3 Work purposefully to complete personal works of art in a timely manner, demonstrating development of 21st-century skills.

VA.4.S.2.1 Organize the structural elements of art to achieve an artistic objective.

So what are Rainforest?

Tropical rainforests are forests with tall trees, warm climate, and lots of rain. In some rainforests it rains more than one inch every day!

Rainforests are found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest.

WHERE ARE RAINFORESTS LOCATED?

Rainforests are found in the tropics, by the Equator the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. In this region the sun is very strong and shines about the same amount of time every day all year long making the climate warm and stable.

Brazil

Indonesia

Colombia

Papua New Guinea

Venezuela

Bolivia

Mexico

Suriname

WHAT MAKES A RAINFOREST?

Each rainforest is unique but there are certain features common to all tropical rainforests. Location: rainforests lie in the “tropics”

Rainfall: rainforests receive at least 80 inches of rain per year

Canopy: rainforests have a canopy which is the layer of branches and leaves formed by closely spaced rainforest trees. Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the canopy. The canopy may be 100 feet above the ground.

….What makes a rainforest continued…

Biodiversity: rainforests have a high level of biological diversity or biodiversity. Biodiversity is the name for all living things—like plants, animals, and fungi— found in an ecosystem. Scientists believe that about HALF of the plants and animals found on earth’s land surface live in rainforests!

Symbiotic relationships between species: species in the rainforest often work together. A symbiotic relationship is a relationship where two different species benefit by helping each other. For example, some plants produce small housing structures and sugar for ants. In return the ants protect the plants from other insects that may want to feed on the plant’s leaves.

Virtual Fieldtrip to the Rainforest!

The Emergent Layer and the Canopy

The Emergent Layer- Only a few very tall trees break through the canopy into the emergent layer. These trees can be as tall as skyscrapers. The tops of the trees are shaped like umbrellas and they grow on long, thin trunks. These trees get the most sunlight but also have to put up with the hot sun and strong winds. Because these trees are out in the open, they often have thick, waxy leaves that protect them from the sun and the wind.

The Canopy- The trees in this layer may be as high as 100 feet. They form a green roof over the forest below. This roof is like an umbrella or canopy. The canopy is the busiest part of the rainforest. The leaves, flowers and fruit that grow there provide food for monkeys, birds, insects and other animals.

The canopy protects the ground from the sun and light rain. Very heavy rains will get to the ground. Some animals up there never go to the forest floor. Many butterflies, live in the canopy.

…The Understory

The Understory- The understory is hot, damp, and the air is still. This part of the rainforest is under the leaves but above the ground. The understory is a tangle of shrubs, young trees, palms and woody plants that can grown in the shade of the taller trees.

The small amount of light in the understory encourages the plants to think of smart ways to survive. The leaves of many of the plants are very large, so that they can absorb or soak in as much sunlight as possible. The plants in this layer of the forest hardly ever grow higher than twelve feet.

Finally the Forest Floor!

The floor of the rain forest is not crowded. Very little sun reaches the forest floor. It is very warm and humid in this layer. Plants that don't need a lot of sun grow here. Fallen leaves, dead plants and animals will decay (rot) very quickly.

One of the largest and oldest trees in the rainforest is the Kapok tree. It can grow over 200 feet tall.

The Kapok tree has special roots called buttress roots. These roots can grow up to 15 feet tall!

Kapok trees depend on buttress roots. These special roots help the tree get more nutrients or food from the soil. They also keep the tree from tipping over in strong winds.

The rainforest soil gets its nutrients from decaying (rotting) plants and animals. Termites, giant earthworms, millipedes, and beetles eat rotting plants and animals. They are called decomposers.

The decomposers recycle the forest waste to provide nutrients for plants to use. The decomposers are important to the rainforest.

Question Time!

1. Very little sun reaches this part of the forest. It is very warm and humid in this layer. Fallen leaves, dead plants and animals will decay very fast… What layer of the rainforest is this?

A. The Emergent Layer

B. The Forest Floor

C. The Canopy

D. The Understory

Question Time!

2. Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the ….

A. Forest Floor

B. Canopy

C. The Understory

D. The Emergent layer

Question Time!

3. The trees that get the most sunlight but also have to put up with the hot sun and strong winds are located in the _____________.

A. The Emergent Layer

B. The Canopy

C. The Understory

D. The Forest Floor

Question Time!

4. The _________________ is the busiest part of the rainforest. The leaves, flowers and fruit that grow there provide food for monkeys, birds, insects and other animals.

A. The Emergent Layer

B. The Forest Floor

C. The Canopy

D. The Understory

Question Time!

5. This part of the rainforest is under the leaves but above the ground. The leaves of many of the plants are very large, so that they can absorb or soak in as much sunlight as possible. What is this layer called?

A. The Emergent Layer

B. The Canopy

C. The Understory

D. The Forest Floor

That’s right~!

Oops~!

Summary

Rainforests are subtropical forests, located by the Equator.

Common to all Rainforests, is there location, by the equator

They receive 80 inches of rain per year,

They all have a Canopy Layer, where most plant and animals live in.

There is a high amount of biodiversity and Symbiotic relationships between animals of different species.

There are different layers to the Rainforest which include, The Emergents layer, The Canopy, The Understory, and the Forest floor.