Rainforests
Rainforests get their name because of the large amount of rain they receive.
Rainforests are forests that receive between 98 and 177 inches of rain each year. There
are many different types of rainforests including tropical rainforests and temperate
rainforests. Most rainforests are located near the equator and in some parts of North
America and Australia. Rainforests have 4 layers: the emergent layer, or top later,
the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor.
Table of Contents:
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Climate
Plants
Animals
Importance
Interesting Facts
Climate
Rainforests are located near the equator, and in some areas of North America and
Australia, and receive large amounts of rain each year. Rainforest climates are warm and
wet year round.
Plants
More than half of the world’s plants and animals can be
found in the rainforest. The warm, wet climate helps many
plants and flowers live in the rainfirest. Plants grown on all
levels of the rainforest, though the forest floor does not
have many plants because it does not receive a lot of
sunlight. One type of plant that lives in the rainforest is
epip hytes, also known as air plants, which live in the
canopies of the rainforest. Epiphytes include ferns, mosses,
and orchids. Another type of plants found in the rainforest is
a liana, a vine that climbs up trees. Rainforests are covered
with trees and thick areas of plants or jungles. Because the
forest floor receives only a little sunlight, very few plants
can be found here, however, fungi grows on the forest floor to
help dying plants and animals.
Orchids
Refflesia Flower
Animals
Many animals and insects live in the rainforest, from
reptiles, spiders, and amphibians, to birds and mammals.
Animals make their homes in every layer of the
rainforest. Some animals live up in the trees, such as
many types of birds, sloths and monkeys. Other
animals live on the dark forest floor, such as jaguars,
capybaras, and tapirs.
Animals have found many different ways to adapt to
living in the rainforest. Many animals use colors to
protect themselves from predators, while others use
their tails to help them live up in the trees.
Okapi
Three-Toed Sloth
Some animals can only be found in the rainforest,
including the okapi, which looks like a mix of a zebra
and an antelope, the Amazon River dolphin, which can
be found in the Amazon River in South America, and
the glass frog, a see-through amphibian which can be
found in the rainforests in Central and South America.
Glass Frog
Importance
Rainforests provides many important resources that help us survive. More than 25 percent
of the world’s medicine and about 30 percent of the world’s oxygen comes from the rain
forest.
Rainforests also provide homes to the many animals that live there. Many of our foods and
drinks come from the rainforest, including fruits like bananas and coconuts, spices such as
cinnamon and vanilla, and cola for soft drinks.
Rainforests are also used for many everyday resources. People cut down trees from the rain
forest to make furniture and houses. They use tree fibers to make cloth and rain forest
trees and plants are used to make household products such as candles, sunscreen and soap.
The rainforest also affects our temperature. As rainforests are being destroyed the Earth’s
temperature becomes hotter.
Interesting Facts
*Rainforests cover 6 percent of the Earth’s surface
*Rainforests can be found on every continent on Earth except Antarctica
*The largest rain forest in the Amazon Rain Forest in South America
*More than 30 million types of insects live in the rain forest
*Every second a piece of rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed