The Wonderful World of the Rainforest How important is the rainforest to humans?

The Rainforest  By Natasha Cheeks

Overview  What is a rainforest?  The different rainforest and where they are located  The importance of the rainforest  Why do we need to save the rainforest?  Conclusion

What is a rainforest?  A forest with heavy annual rain  Earth’s oldest living ecosystems  Covers only 6% of the Earth’s surface  contains more than ½ of the world’s plant and animal species  Has four layers  Emergent layer  Canopy layer  Understory layer  Forest floor

The Earth’s Rainforest krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/where.html

Central America  Located in the middle of North America and South America at the peninsula  Used to be entirely covered by rainforest  Famous for its large number of tropical birds including parrots  Animals  Poison arrow frogs  Toucans  Hummingbirds  Monarch butterfly  Piranha

The Amazon  Located in South America  The largest rainforest on Earth  Has the 2 nd longest river  1/5 of plants and bird species  1/10 of mammal species  Animals  Jaguar  Tapir  Many types of monkeys

Central Africa  2 nd largest rainforest  Contains areas of  High cloud forest  Mangrove swamps  Flooded forest  Madagascar is to the south east  Animals  African Grey Parrot  Chimpanzee  Gorilla  Scaly-tailed squirrels

Southern Asia  Has many locations  Stretches from India and Burma in the west to Malaysia and the islands of Java and Borneo in the east  Is hot and humid year round  Animals include:  Komodo dragon  Bengal Tiger  King Cobra  Dawn Bat  Jambu Fruit Dove

Australasia Rainforest  Located in Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea  Undergrowth is dense and lush  Lies in the path of wet winds coming in from the Pacific Ocean  Animals include  Brown tree snakes  Carpet python  Komodo dragon  Kakapo

Importance of the Rainforest  Our source of many items that we use in our homes  Eat several foods from the rainforest  Many medicines come from rainforest  Many different beautiful plants and animals  The Earth’s living lung  Breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen

Why Should We Save the Rainforest? The National Wildlife Federation in 1993 listed ten reasons why we should save the rainforests :  People have no right to destroy the rainforests for their own purposes.  Destroying the forests may change the world's weather patterns.  The loss of the forests are causing serious problems such as soil erosion and water pollution.  Wood products in which the rest of the world depends may soon become scarce and more expensive.  Many migrating birds common in North America depend on the rainforest habitats. The loss of the rainforest may affect these species.  Cultures of the forests are losing their native lands. They have a right to live where and how they want.  There are many plants that could help scientists develop new crops, medicines, and other products. We don't want to lose our knowledge of the rainforest plants, animals and other information.  Rainforests are exotic and unique where strange plants and animals live which inspires many people. We can't lose this inspiration.  The forests contain more than 50% of all plant and animals species in the world. Destroying the forests will destroy these species forever.  So little has been researched in the forests that could provide people with many beneficial products, even a possible cure for cancer. We can't destroy what nature has given to us.

Conclusion  The rainforest is the Earth’s largest ecosystem  Has four main location  Is a home to many different plants and animals  Has four layers  Has five different areas on the Earth  Is very important to us as a human being  Why would you save the rainforest?