An Interactive Powerpoint by:

Rainforests have evolved over millions of years! Tropical rainforests are the Earth's oldest living ECOSYSTEMS! They are described as TALL, DENSE JUNGLES! The climate of a rain forest is VERY HOT and HUMID! There are high amounts of RAINFAILL every year!

Rainforests only COVER 6% of the Earth’s SURFACE The AMAZON jungle is the world’s largest tropical rainforest

EMERGENT LAYER: TALLEST trees (200 Feet!) Much SUNLIGHT! CANOPY LAYER: PRIMARY Layer! Many ANIMALS! Very DENSE! UNDERSTORY LAYER: LITTLE Sunlight! Animals devise UNIQUE ways to SURVIVE Many ANIMALS and INSECTS! FOREST FLOOR: Very DARK! NO PLANTS! DECOMPOSING material

Layers of the Rainforest: Forest Floor Understory Canopy Emergents Rainforest Facts: Animals/Plants People Importance Destruction Saving Quit

The Forest Floor  The forest floor is a very warm and humid place to live. Hardly any sunlight reaches this area so many plants that only need a small amount of light grow here such as ferns and mosses.  Some of the animals that live here include; tapirs, jaguars, tarantulas, ants, elephants scorpions, warthogs, and anacondas. Quit

The Understory  The understory is a very damp and hot place to live. It is located in the lower branches and tree trunks of trees in the rainforest. Birds and monkeys travel through this area when looking for food. Small plants and flowers grow here also.  The animals that live here include; bees, snakes, frogs, and leopards. Quit

The Canopy  The canopy is the upper parts of all the trees in the rainforest % of animals live in the canopy! The canopy protects the lower parts of the forest by providing shade and protection from the heavy rains. The leaves in the canopy provide the source of power for the forest by converting sunlight to energy through protosynthesis. The animals that live in the canopy include; macaws, orangutans, howler monkeys, lizards, and cuckoos. Quit

The Emergent  The Emergent is the tip-tops of all of the trees in the rainforest. The trees in the emergent tower over everything, averaging around 270 feet in the air! These trees are covered in direct sunlight.  The animals found in the emergent include many types of birds such as the harpy eagle, macaws, and parrots. Quit

 In one single tree in the Amazon rainforest you can find over 200 different types of insects.  The howler monkey that lives in the rainforest is the second loudest animal in the world.  The capybara is the largest rodent in the world and it lives near rivers and streams on the rainforest floor. Quit

Rainforests are HOME to more than ½ the world’s plants and animal species! (Including INSECTS!) That means as many as 30 MILLION species LIVE here!

Many INDIGENOUS people live in the rainforest! They use the forest for their EVERYDAY lives! Yanomamo, Pygmies, and Huli Wigmen are examples of TRIBES that have lived in the rainforests for THOUSANDS of years!

Plants in the forests turn Carbon Dioxide into CLEAN AIR, which helps us fight POLLUTION! We get many MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, and FOOD from the Rainforests! Many VALUABLE MEDICINES are found in the rainforests!

 1.5 acres of rainforest are lost every second. If this continues the rainforest will be depleted in merely 40 years.  The rainforests used to cover 15% of the Earth’s surface, now after human intervention they only cover 7%.  It is estimated that we lose over 100 species of animals a day due to rainforest destruction.  Watch a video on the destruction of rainforests and its impact on the world. Quit

The world’s rainforests are being DESTROYED at a rate of 6000 acres every HOUR! (That is about 4000 FOOTBALL FIELDS an hour!) Rainforest made up 14% of the earth’s surface, but make up only 6% TODAY! Most rainforest are destroyed for the LUMBER and the rich farming LAND!

USE LESS PAPER! USE LESS GAS, PLASTIC, and OIL! WRITE LETTERS! RECYCLE/RE-USE! EDUCATE YOURSELF and OTHERS!

WHAT MIGHT YOU SAY IN A LETTER TO A COMPANY THAT DESTROYS THE RAINFORESTS? WHAT REASONS WOULD YOU GIVE THEM FOR SAVING THE RAINFORESTS?