Be able to describe the characteristics of your chosen biome.

  Include
facts about the food chain, biotic and abiotic factors, producers,
consumers and decomposers that exist in your chosen biome.  Discuss
also its importance and the benefits we get from it as well as the
threats to your chosen biome and how to end them. 

TROPICAL RAINFOREST

Characteristics

The tropical rainforest biome has four main characteristics: very high annual
rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity
(species richness).

Rainfall:  The word “rainforest” implies that these are the some of the world’s wettest
ecosystems. Rainforests generally receive very high rainfall each year, although the
exact amount varies among different years and different rainforests.  For example,
South America’s tropical rainforests receive between 200 and 300 centimeters (80 and
120 inches, or 6.5 to 10 feet!) of rain in a typical year. Despite relatively consistent rain
in these ecosystems, there are distinct dry seasons in some rainforests. Wet and dry
seasons of tropical rainforests vary in their timing, duration and severity around the
globe. Tropical rainforests also have high humidity; about 88% during the wet season
and approximately 77% in the dry season.

Temperature: Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, between the Tropic of
Cancer (23°27’N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27’S).  The equator receives direct
sunlight. This steady flow of radiation produces consistently high temperatures
throughout the year. A typical daytime temperature any time of year in tropical
rainforests is 29°C (85°F), although temperatures can be much higher. In the majority of
tropical rainforests, there is only a 5°C (9°F) difference in temperature between the
seasons.

Soil Composition: Since there is a tremendous amount and diversity of foliage in

tropical rainforests, you might assume that rainforest soils are rich in nutrients. In fact,
rainforest soils are nutrient-poor because nutrients are not stored in them for very long.
The heavy rains that occur in rainforests wash organic material from the soil. Although
decomposition occurs rapidly in the hot, moist conditions, many of the dead, fallen
leaves and other organic detritus are swept away before releasing all of their nutrients.
In addition, rainwater seeps into the ground and leaches away nutrients. Nevertheless,
the high diversity of decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi accelerates the
decomposition process enough that the nutrients released by decomposition are taken
up quickly by the plants, instead of being stored in the soil.

Biodiversity: Tropical rainforests are areas of extremely high biodiversity compared to

other ecosystems. In the topical rainforests of Borneo, scientists have documented
more than 15,000 plant species, including 2,500 species of orchids! Biologists estimate
that tropical rainforests contain about 50% of the world’s terrestrial plant and animal
species, yet they encompass only about 6% of the world’s land area. 1

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

 Biotic Factors

The term “biotic” refers to any living think within an ecosystem. Within the rainforest,
which covers about two percent of the Earth's surface but houses 50 percent of the
Earth's plants and animals, this include animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms.
Since the rainforest is the most biologically diverse ecosystem, there are thousands of
biotic factors that fall into one of those major categories.

Biotic Animals in the Rainforest

The Nature Conservancy states that a four-square-mile patch of a rainforest contains

400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies. Some rainforest species of
animals have not yet been identified and named. Rainforests likely carry many species
of animals because they are some of the oldest ecosystems on the planet. Rainforests
also have temperatures around 75 to 80 degrees year-round, so animals do not have
to worry about surviving cold temperatures or finding adequate food supplies. Of the
many species of animals in rainforests, it is estimated that over 50 million are
invertebrates. Some animals of the rainforest species include poison dart frogs,
parrots, toucans, beetles, butterflies, praying mantis, leafcutter ants, howler monkeys,
anteaters, jaguars and coral snakes.

Biotic Plants in the Rainforest

The variety and role of plants within the rainforest help give this ecosystem its
character. A rainforest is almost entirely self-watering; plants release water through
transpiration, and this water becomes low-hanging clouds that produce rain or at least
keep the rainforest humid. Over 2,000 plants of the rainforest contain anti-cancer
properties, yet fewer than one percent of plant species have been analyzed for their
medicinal value. Rainforest plants contribute important products like timber, cocoa,
coffee and beautiful flower blooms, such as those from orchids.

Biotic Fungi and Microorganisms in the Rainforest

Fungi and microorganisms perform similar functions in the rainforest ecosystem,

including decomposing dead things and providing food sources. Without
microorganisms or fungi, dead organic matter on the forest floor would not decompose
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biomes
at a reasonable rate, and plants would not have the nutrients they need to survive.
Microorganisms also aid digestion in animals of the rainforest, and fungi are food
sources for invertebrates such as ants and beetles.

How Biotic Factors Work Together in the Rainforest

Species within the rainforest ecosystem depend on each other for survival. Azteca
ants, for example, live on Swollen Thorn Acacia Trees. The trees provide the ants with
food and a place to live, and the ants protect the tree from predators by fighting
intruders and preventing other plants from growing around the tree. Rainforest animals
also tend to have adaptations that allow them to eat foods from plants that other
animals cannot eat. For example, toucans have large, strong beaks that let them eat
nuts that other birds with smaller beaks cannot eat. Fruit trees rely on animals to eat
their fruits and disperse their seeds through their droppings. 2

 Abiotic Factors

Climate, soil type, precipitation, temperature and sunlight are all abiotic factors that
determine the composition of a rainforest, including the major differences between
rainforests in tropical and temperate regions of the globe.

Every Day is a Rainy Day

Precipitation in a rainforest environment is substantial, ranging from 50 to 300 inches

of rainfall per year. This incredible amount of moisture leads to many unique
adaptations in plant species, since capturing nutrients before they get washed away
by heavy rainfall is essential to survival. Many regions have a "wet season," in which
monsoons or heavier rainfall become more common. In temperate rainforests, some
precipitation falls as snow at higher elevations. Humidity in rainforests varies, on
average, from 77 to 88 percent, allowing the growth of epiphytes or "air plants," which
grow on surfaces like tree branches, without soil.

Poor Foundations

Because nutrient uptake from soil is rapid, the soil in mature rainforests is often loose,
sandy and devoid of nutrients. Trees use above-ground root systems to capture
nutrients that filter downward in the form of decomposing organic matter before heavy
rainfall can wash them away. This creates an incredibly nutrient-rich topsoil. Because
the deeper soil in the rainforest is so heavily leached, large trees receive little
nutritional support. This leads to adaptations like buttress roots, which extend up to 15
feet above the forest floor to provide support to large trees.

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Hot and Cold

Temperatures in rainforests vary by region. On average, temperatures rarely get

higher than 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), or lower than 20 degrees
Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). Temperate rainforests, however, can exist at
substantially colder temperatures. Like their tropical cousins, these rainforests have
heavy rainfall and similar soil profiles. Their biology, however, is completely unique,
consisting of a mix of deciduous trees and evergreens accustomed to cooler
temperatures. These temperate environments occur in the American Northwest and
regions like New Zealand and Chile.

Made in the Shade

The layers of vegetation in a rainforest can filter out all but 6 percent of the light from
the sun before it reaches the forest floor, limiting the growth of any vegetation
underneath the canopy. Some younger trees may languish in the shade for decades
until a hole is created in the canopy by a fallen tree. When this occurs, growth is
immediate and the canopy is restored in just a few years. Vines and lianas, or woody
vines, often compete with trees for sunlight by climbing to the canopy along their
trunks, occasionally strangling their hosts in the process by denying them the precious
sunlight they need to photosynthesize. 3

Food Chain of Animals in the Rain Forest

••
The rainforest is one of the best places on the planet to see the food chain in action.
The jungle is home to gorgeous scenery and incredible biodiversity, but it’s also a
cutthroat fighting pit where millions of animals must compete for a limited amount of
resources. Each species plays a critical role in the complex ecosystem, but an animal
must be strong, healthy and fierce to make it to the top of the tropical rainforest food
chain.

Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

The jungle food chain is broken into a handful of groups that describe a species’ role in
the overall rainforest ecosystem. Down at the ground level are the producers, such as
the trees, shrubs and plants on which many rainforest animals depend on for food and
shelter. Also down there are the decomposers, like mushrooms, termites and worms.
They help break down waste materials into energy that other animals can use. Finally,
the rainforest food web includes consumers, broken into the primary, secondary and
tertiary categories. The primary consumers in the rainforest are often herbivores, such
as monkeys, snakes and capybaras. Next are the secondary consumers, a group that
often includes carnivores like ocelots, tapirs and birds of prey.

Apex Predators

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At the top of the rainforest food chain are the tertiary consumers, also known as the
apex predators. They are the fiercest competitors in the rainforest and face far fewer
threats than the more vulnerable primary and secondary consumers. But the top of the
food chain isn’t a peaceful place to be. Apex predators must stay vigilant, strong and
healthy if they want to keep their top spot. In the Amazon rainforest food chain, these
top spots are held by the big cats, crocodiles and the green anaconda.

Top of the Jungle Food Chain

Big cats like leopards and jaguars rely on their speed, agility and size to prey on smaller
animals such as armadillos, birds, turtles and small monkeys. They hunt mostly at night
and keep to themselves when they are not stalking and hunting their next meal.
Like any rainforest creature, the big cats face threats from humans. But they also must
protect themselves from the green anaconda. One of the largest snakes in the world,
the anaconda is known for its ability to stalk prey both underwater and on land. Unlike
some snakes, green anacondas don’t use venom to kill their victims. Instead, they
snatch them with a giant bite. Then, they wrap their long anaconda body around the
prey, crushing its bones and constricting its breath until it suffocates. The anaconda
then swallows their victim whole. Often, that victim is an animal such as a capybara,
wild pig or caiman, but anacondas have also been known to kill jaguars. A kill of that
size keeps an anaconda fed for weeks.

Another apex predator is the rainforest crocodile. Thanks to a set of eyes, ears and
nostrils on the top of its head, a crocodile is a formidable foe that can remain in shallow
water for long periods of time completely undetected. Then, when the right moment
comes, its victim barely has time to react before the powerful jaw of the crocodile snaps
shut around them.

Primary and secondary consumers often don't stand a chance against the apex
predators of the rainforest food chain. But big cats, green anacondas and crocodiles
must all fight each other to stay atop the food chain, and have all fallen victim to each
other at some point in the vicious world of the rainforest food web. 4

Importance of the tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforests all over the world have immense importance as they provide a life support
system for the planet as well as goods and services to the people who live in the rainforests.

Life support systems

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 Tropical rainforests act as life support systems for the planet as they:

 Regulate the composition of the atmosphere - all tropical rainforests, such as

the Amazon, regulate the composition of the atmosphere and help to offset the effect
of climate change by taking in carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and releasing
oxygen.
 Maintain soil health - in areas such as the Amazon, tropical rainforests have
produced rich fertile top soils due to the rapid leaf fall and decomposition which
rapidly recycles nutrients. These soils can be used to grow cassava and maize which
is the staple diet of the local people.
 Influence the hydrological cycle - rainforests help to provide water for people.
Trees act as a water store by intercepting rainfall. They release water into the
atmosphere by evapotranspiration (evaporation and transpiration). This then falls
again as precipitation and so gives the people living in areas such as the Amazon a
constant supply of water. Tree roots also increase infiltration, allowing increased
amounts of water to percolate to groundwater stores and develop aquifers.
Goods and services

Tropical rainforests provide many goods and services such as:

 Food - rainforests can produce food such as nuts, which forms part of the diet of
local people in the Amazon.
 Cash crops - rainforests also produce cash crops, such as the development of
wild coffee that resists disease and has a higher yield than the Arabica beans
traditionally used by growers in the rest of Brazil.
 Medicines - rainforests have also been used to search for medicines. For
example, the rosy periwinkle from the rainforests of Madagascar (which can be
poisonous) can help treat childhood leukaemia.
 Raw materials - rainforests can be logged to produce timber such as hardwoods
for garden furniture exports. In Indonesia, oil palm plantations cover 7.8 million
hectares and employ over 2 million people, making up 7% of Indonesia's exports,
valued at $12 billion. Palm oil is used in cosmetics, confectionary, detergents and
many other products.5

Threats

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 Logging interests cut down rain forest trees for timber used in flooring, furniture, and
other items.
 Power plants and other industries cut and burn trees to generate electricity.
 The paper industry turns huge tracts of rain forest trees into pulp.
 The cattle industry uses slash-and-burn techniques to clear ranch land.
 Agricultural interests, particularly the soy industry, clear forests for cropland.
 Subsistence farmers slash-and-burn rain forest for firewood and to make room for
crops and grazing lands.
 Mining operations clear forest to build roads and dig mines.
 Governments and industry clear-cut forests to make way for service and transit roads.
 Hydroelectric projects flood acres of rain forest.

Solutions
Campaigns that educate people about the destruction caused by rain forest timber and
encourage purchasing of sustainable rain forest products could drive demand down
enough to slow deforestation, and these practices in particular could save millions of
acres of rain forest every year. 

 Sustainable-logging regimes that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut

them
 Encouraging people who live near rain forests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits,
medicines) rather than clear-cutting it for farmland
 Government moratoriums on road building and large infrastructure projects in
the rain forest6

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/rainforest-threats/