1. FOREST BIOMES

2. Tropical Rainforests Why is it tropical?
The rain forest contains more species of plants (and therefore animals) than any other biome
There are so many plants in the rain forest that it accounts for 40% of the oxygen produced in the entire world
It’s between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn – next to equator
50% of the world’s species are in tropical rainforset

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

4. RAINFOREST LAYERS

5. Many ANIMALS! Very DENSE!
EMERGENT LAYER:
TALLEST trees (200 Feet!)
Much SUNLIGHT! Animals such as Bats, eagles, and monkeys live here
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

6. The Canopy Canopy is the primary layer of the rainforest
It absorbs up to 95% of all the sunlight
The canopy is split in to an upper and lower portion
The lower portion receives less light
Most animals of the rainforest live in the canopy because that is where most of the flowers and fruits are located

7. Understory
The understory is the portion of the rainforest that gets the least amount of sunlight
Most plants are short and have broad leaves
Why would plants be short and have wide leaves?
Few animals live on the rain forest floor

8. Rain Forest Soil
Think about what you know about the Rain Forest. Is the soil going to be rich with nutrients? Why or why not?
Surprisingly, the soil in the rain forest has very few nutrients
Most of the nutrients in a rain forest are in the plants, not in the soil
This means that when they clear-cut to make farms, they can’t grow anything :(

9. RAINFOREST ANIMALS

10. Animals of the Rain Forest
If you were an animal in the Rain Forest, what sorts of adaptations would you need in order to live?
Think about all of the heat and water
Think about where the food is
Think about how many predators there are
Let’s look at a few species and their adaptations to the rain forest

11. Animals of the Rain Forest
This is a collared anteater
What sorts of adaptations does it have to stay alive in the Tropical Rain Forest

12. Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest
This is a Costa Rican Mantis
Similar to our Praying Mantis
What adaptations does it have to the rain forest?

13. Animals of the Rain Forest
This is a poison dart frog
What adaptations does it have?
Anyone know how they got their name?

14. Tropical Rain Forest Animals
This is a spider monkey
What adaptations does it have to the rain forest?
Prehensile Tail
Opposable thumbs

15. Rain Forest Facts
Rain Forests used to cover 20% of the Earth’s Surface, now it is only 6%
Every minute of every day, 100 acres of Rain Forest are destroyed
In a day we’ve cleared all of Philadelphia

16. Satellite Images

17. Threats to the Rain Forest
Deforestation – Cutting down trees in a forest to clear the land
Does anyone know why they are cutting down the Rain Forest?
They want the land for logging, agriculture and palm oil.
The countries that have rain forests are usually developing and poor
They’ll do anything for money, even destroy their homes

18. Environmental Effects
What happens when we cut down lots of trees?
Mass clearing of land has greater global effects than most would think
Floods
Less Oxygen
More CO2, which increases global warming
Fewer Animal and Plant Species
Fewer Medicines

19. SPEAK OUT!!!
WHAT MIGHT YOU SAY IN A LETTER TO A COMPANY THAT DESTROYS THE RAINFORESTS?
HOW ABOUT A LOCAL POLITICIAN WHO GIVES BREAKS TO THAT COMPANY?
WHAT REASONS WOULD YOU GIVE THEM FOR SAVING THE RAINFORESTS?
For the rest of the period, construct a letter to a company to persuade them to help save rainforests.

20. Types of Forests
We have talked all about tropical rain forests, but there are three other types of forests as well:
Temperate Rain Forests
Temperate (Deciduous) Forests
Taiga – a.k.a. Coniferous Forest

21. Temperate Rain Forest
Just from the name, you know that there is going to be a lot of rain
You also know that the temperatures will be moderate or “Temperate”
Temperate actually means 30°-50° latitude.

22. Temperate Rain Forest

23. Temperate Rain Forest They are a very rare biome – often forgotten
Only the green areas are temperate rain forests.
(some ppl add Japan to this group)
What can you see in common about their location?

24. QUESTION:
The soil of a tropical rainforest is nutrient poor because it gets recycled so quickly
Temperate rainforests do not recycle that quickly – too cool!
Temperate rainforest soil is rich!
Do you think that the temperate rainforest has nutrient-poor soil, like the tropical rainforest?

25. Temperate Rain Forest
The Layers of the temperate rain forest are similar to the tropical rainforest
Canopy: Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock
Understory: Dog woods, vine maples
Floor: Huckleberries, sword ferns, mosses, lichen, etc.
Soil quality
Good soil quality with lots of nutrients
Nutrients are being used by decomposers and plants
Plants grow ON PLANTS! Crazy!

26. Temperate Rainforest Animal Life
Animals live on or near the forest floor
Most food on floor
Trees provide shelter

27. CREATE A VENN DIAGRAM TO HAND IN
On one side is tropical; the other is temperate
Things that should be in your venn:
Climate details (precip, temp, seasons)
Types of organisms (plants and animals)
Layers
Locations
How the biome recovers from disturbances (succession)

28. Temperate AND Tropical Rainforest Tropical Rainforest
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate AND Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
One long, wet winter/spring season with a dry, foggy summer
Both wet and dry times of the year
Two wet seasons, 2 dry seasons
5-16 feet of rain a year
Lots of rain!
6-30 feet of rain a year
Cool temperatures most of the year
Warm temperatures most of the year

29. Located 30°-50° on the western coast
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate AND Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
Located 30°-50° on the western coast
Located in a 3,000 mile wide belt near the equator
Mostly conifer trees, some broadleaf trees
Huge amounts of plants
Mostly broadleaf evergreens like palms, bamboo and tree ferns
Largest biomass of any biome
Huge amounts of animals
Largest biodiversity of any biome

30. Canopies, understories, and forest floors 4 layers of the forest
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate AND Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
3 layers of the forest
Canopies, understories, and forest floors
4 layers of the forest
Emergent layer
Most of the animals live on the forest floor
Most of the animals live in the canopy
Jungle-like appearance with epiphytes, ferns, and mosses
Jungle-like appearance
Jungle-like appearance with palms, tree ferns, and vines

31. Venomous snakes and other creatures
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate AND Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
No venomous snakes
Venomous snakes and other creatures
Large predators are bears and cougars
Has a food chain with predators and consumers
Large predators are jaguars and large snakes
Soil is rich
Soil is poor
Faster recovery from destruction
Vulnerable to destruction
Slower recovery from destruction

32. Temperate Deciduous Forest

33. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Let’s break down the name:
Temperate: means moderate (like temperate rain forest had moderate temps) – and location?
Deciduous: A type of tree
Anyone know what kind?
Trees with broad, flat leaves that fall off when the weather gets cooler
deciduous means, literally, fall off
Forest: we all know is a place with lots of trees

34. Temperate Deciduous Forest

35. Climate Located between 30° and 50° north or south of the equator
This makes for 4 distinct seasons, which can be very hot and very cold
Think about our winters and summers

36. Climate – what do you think?

37. Climate

38. Plants
Temperate Deciduous Forest has the same layers as the Temperate Rain Forest
Canopy: Tallest Trees
Understory: Small Trees and Shrubs
Forest Floor: Ferns, Mosses, Herbs
Can have more plants on the forest floor because more light gets through than in a tropical rain forest

39. Plants
All the water helps to decompose dead organic matter and get the nutrients in to the soil
Deciduous plants shed their leaves in the fall
Save energy when there isn’t as much sunlight
Leaves and seeds grow back in the Spring when there is more water and sunlight
“April Showers bring May Flowers”
Good example of this is flowers that have “bulbs”

40. Animals
Animals in the temperate deciduous forest can eat almost anything
Bears eat berries, nuts, fish and other animals: They are omnivores
They have adapted to the seasons as well
Bears and other mammals and insects hibernate in the winter
Birds migrate south to warmer climates until the Spring

41. Taiga – northern coniferous forest that stretches across the Northern Hemisphere below the Artic Circle – why not Southern Hemisphere.

42. Taiga

43. Climate Which month(s) have an average temp above 10°C?
June, July, Aug, Sept
Which month(s) have a temp below freezing?
Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, March
Which month(s) have the most rain?
June, July Aug; between 8-9cm

44. Climate
Winters are long (6-10 months) and very cold (often below freezing)
In the summer there is almost 24 hrs of sunlight, but almost complete darkness in the winter
Greater precipitation in the summer

45. Plants Trees are mostly conifers
Conifers have seeds develop in cones
Their leaves are like needles
Think of pine trees as a prime example
Needles keep water in, which is important in the dry environment
Needles (and shape of tree) also keep snow and ice off of the trees so they don’t break

46. Plants
The soil is poor because the cold temperatures keep decomposers from working efficiently
Plants can’t grow much in the winter because of such little sunlight

47. Animals Many birds migrate south for the winter to avoid the low temps
Under ground animals burrow in to the earth to stay warm
Other animals completely change their colors to blend in with the season

48. Snowshoe Hare - adaptations
Look at the fur – brown in the summer; white in the winter
Look at hind legs

49. How do wolves change rivers? (and what biome is Yellowstone park?)

50. Trophic Cascade
An alteration in an ecosystem caused when a top predator limits the number or alters the behavior of the organisms lower than that predator in the food chain.
Example: wolves of Yellowstone
Opposite: biomagnification

51. Time For a Video!!

52. Which is which? 1 2 4 3

53. Forest Activity
Fill in the paper from your notes!