tropical rainforests

what is the average rainfall every year

2000mm

average temperature

27 degrees

what does leaching mean

when heavy rainfall quickly dissolves and carries away nutrients from the soil

how are plants adapted to living in the rainforest

-drip tip leaves to allow heavy rainfall to drip off -flexible bases so they can turn to face the sun -colourful flowers to attract insects for pollination -large surface area leaves to collect the most amount of sunlight

list 2 examples of plants which have adapted to living in the rainforest

-epiphytes live on other trees to reach the sunlight -lianas use trees as support to climb to the light

how are trees adapted to living in the rainforest

-butress roots to access nutrients -thin smooth bark to let water run down bark -fast growing to reach the light quickly e.g kapok trees

how is the sloth adapted to living in the rainforest

moves slowly and uses camouflage to make it difficult for predators to spot

how is the spider monkey adapted to living in the rainforest

it has long strong limbs to help it climb through the rainforest trees

how is the toucan adapted to living in the rainforest

it has a long large bill to allow it to reach food from branches too weak to hoild its weight

how is the flying frog adapted to living in the rainforest

fully webbed hands and feet to allow it to glide quickly from plant to plant.

what does GCSE stand for

-General trends -Calculations -Specific information -Exceptions

how large in the rainforest

over 5.5 million kilometres

how many tribes live in the rainforest

around 400-500 tribes

how many trees are in the rainforest

390 billion

why are rainforests important

-biodiversity (half of all animal and plant species)

-reduces climate change

-important sources of clean water

-prevent climate from being too hot and dry-produces 20 percent of world oxygen

reasons for deforestation

-globalisation -palm oil -low cost petrol

what is sustainable management

the meeting of needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

what is debt reduction

other organisations write off a debt or through donations or economic arrangements by other countries that help pay off the debt

what are the causes of deforestation

-mineral extraction -commercial farming -subsistence farming -settlement and population growth

how can rainforests be managed sustainably

-selective logging and replanting

-conservation and education (encourages preservation

-ecotourism(introduces people to natural world and provides long term income

-international agreements (eg reducing debt for halt in deforestation

how have animals adapted to living in the rainforest

-camouflage

-mimicry(grasshoppers looking and behaving like stinging wasps)

-limiting diets(eg toucans only eating fruits that other animals cant access)

-habitat adaptation(sloths with long arms)

what are the threats to biodiversity

-deforestation

-water pollution

-climate change

why are rainforests so important

-indigenous people live there

-resources(eg hardwoods or minerals eg gold aand gas)

-medicines (quinine to teat malaria) -25 percent of all drugs are from rainforest animals and plants

impacts of desforestation on malaysia

-tn 2019 tropics lost nearly 12 million hectares of tree cover and one of highest rates of deforestation

-reduces biodiversity

-exposes ground to soil arosion

-contributes to climate change

economic gains of deforestation

-job creation

-minerals

-tax revenue used to supply public services

economic losses of deforestation

-water pollution in a dry climate may limit supplies

-rising temp could devastate farming

-rainforest tourism could decrease