Global Environment Michelle Barker

Rainforests

What? A rainforest can be described as a ‘dense jungle’ and by dense, meaning ‘wet’. There are two different types of Rainforests: Tropical Rainforests and Temperate Rainforests, tropical rainforests being tropical and temperate having temperate weather. Who? Numerous amounts of flora and fauna can be found in a rainforest The Flora and Fauna depend on the layer of the forest ie. Canopy- birds, Understorey-jaguars, forest floor-fungi. Where? temperate rainforests would be in temperate regions ie. North America tropical would be near the equator. Why? Rainforests get a lot of rainfall ( mm) They cover about 6% of the world yet they have more than half the world’s animal and plant species.

Mountains

Who? Many animals live on mountainous plains for example: Lynx, mountain goats, mountain lions, yaks, pumas etc. As well as a number on animals, there are also trees and shrubs that grow on mountains. What? Mountains are higher and steeper than hills. They are elevations of the earth that rise over than 600 metres. Mountainous features include a slope and a summit. Where? Mountains are formed when the earth’s tectonic plates crash into each other, pushing the earth up and forming mountains mountains would be found around plate boundaries. Why? Mountains cannot only be found on earth but actually can be found underneath in the sea. Mountains also take up one fifth of the world’s landscape and 80% of our fresh water originate from mountains.

An animation on how mountains are formed

Deserts

What? A desert is a region of a land that receives very little precipitation. Deserts usually only receive about 250mm a year. Who? there are not very many plants or animals although there are some. A well known plant that can be found in a dry desert is a cactus other plants ie. Prickly pear flower and animals such as lizards and coyotes. Where? Deserts can be formed by a rain shadow. A rain shadow is when a mountain blocks the region of getting rain. Why? Deserts take up 20% of the earth’s surface. There are two types of deserts- hot and cold