Tropical Rainforest

The next ecosystem we will cover is the Tropical Rain Forest. The Tropical Rain Forest is a region of year-round warmth, receiving 50 to 260 inches of precipitation per year. Average humidity is between 77 and 88% and has an average of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Indigenous vegetation includes the life-saving plant, periwinkle, an anesthetic, curare, and quinine. Over 2,500 species of vines grow in Tropical Rain Forests. Tropical Rain Forests cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface, and they produce 40% of Earth's oxygen. One famous Tropical Rain Forest is the Amazon Rain Forest. Tropical Rain Forests have four distinct layers in them : the emergent, the upper canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. Emergent trees are widely placed, and are 100 to 240 feet tall with small leaves, straight trunks, and few branches. These trees support the upper canopy. The upper canopy allows light to shine on top of it, but greatly reduces the lighting below it, in the understory. Many animals live on the upper canopy and never come down because of the abundant supply of food and water. The understory, or lower canopy, is made up of small trees, shrubs, and plants. Humidity is high here and is in constant shade. Few shrubs and plants grow in the forest floor because of the little light on the forest floor. The top soil is thin and poor quality. A toucan would eat a vine, a tiger could eat the toucan, and the tiger would be slowly decomposed by worms and undergrowth bacteria. Other animals are plentiful in rain forests, such as insects like butterflies, mosquitoes, stick insects, and huge colonies of ants. These insects can be eaten by a variety of animals, and them by more. The cycle is seemingly endless.