tropical rainforests

The forest floor is the lowest level of the rainforest. This level doesn't support much plant life because it lacks sunlight; sunlight is blocked by the thick trees above. The understory layer follows and doesn't differ very much, it also doesn't get very much sunlight. The plants adapt to this by growing its leaves bigger to catch as much sunlight as possible. The majority of life lives at this level. The most classical layer is the canopy layer which is the layer that provides a roof over the bottom two levels. Food here is abundant therefore supports a lot of animals as well. The top daddy layer is the emergent layer which is home to the tallest trees in the rainforests. The trees that reach this level are typically 16ft thick and 200 ft tall!!!!

picture:http://www.hcplibrary.org/childrens/Programs/Rain%20Forest/rainforest%20layers.jpg

Animals live in all the layers of the rain forest. All of them have adapted to what layer best suits there species. The chimpanzee is probely the most famous rainforest animal, it lives in the emergent layer along with EAGLES, bats and butterflies. The animals that live in the canopy layer are the animals that live on branches and are able to make and live in nests, these animals consist of the famous toucan also tree frogs and all kinds of snakes. The low branchs dip into the understory layer, these low branches make home for the animals that can jump up to them for protection while sleeping like the jaguar, leopards, redtree frogs and a large consintration of insects. The last home for animals in the rain forest is the forest floor. The animals that call this dark layer home are giant anteaters which live there because of the aboundant amount of ants on the ground.

picture:http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/images/animals/animals.gif

Rain forests benifits the world in many ways. Rainforests provide humans with medicine that we get from the plants. Not only do these forests help human problems but enviermental, the rain forests helps regulate the water and air of the world. Water is very importance, plants need water for nutrition. All life forms need air to surrvive.More than 20% of the oxygen in the world is madein the rainforests. The Amazon is also home to one fifth of the world's fresh water resources. There are about 3,000 types of fruit that grow in the rainforests.

picture:http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5374863/348834-main_Full.jpg

The destruction of the rainforest is very easy to see. The total clearance are fuelwood collection (in drier areas) and agriculture. Logging is a huge cause of the degradation process. In fact most people believe that the single biggest component of tropical deforestation is caused by the commercial logging process. The use of heavy machinery to build roads causes major damage and compacts the soil which decreases the forests chances to regenerate. Shifted cultivatiors are individuals who are forced off their land and move into the rainforest to start a small-scale farming businesss or operation. These landless farmers are being blamed for 60% of the damage. Improper removing of felled trees also is the cause of major damage. Other reasons for the degradation process are as follows; large dams, tourism, mining and industrial development. As you can see alot of different factors play a part in this sad damaging process.