Equatorial

Climate
 The Climate in Equatorial Regions
• High annual temperatures 270-280C
• Very low annual temperature range
• Frequent, heavy rainfall – often more than 2000 mm per year
• Rainfall is usually convectional and falls all year, there is no obvious
dry season, each month over 60 mm
• The diurnal temperature range is greater than the annual
temperature range (diurnal temperature range is the difference
between the highest and lowest temperature in a 24-hour period)
• No obvious seasons
• High humidity levels
• Light winds generally
 Causes of the Equatorial Climate
Latitude
Altitude (height above sea level)
The main areas with an equatorial climate are in the lowlands.
The air pressure in lowland areas is higher than in mountain areas. This
denser air in the lowlands can become much warmer.
Atmospheric pressure
There are extensive areas of low pressure along the Equator caused by
intense heating of the surface of the Earth. Low pressure is associated
with convectional rainfall.
Diurnal temperature range
During the day, temperatures rise quickly as a result of intense heating
from the Sun. After dark the heat absorbed during the day is quickly
lost causing temperatures to fall.
The Tropical
Rainforest
 Plant Adaptations in the Rainforest
Bark
In the high humidity of tropical rain forests, most trees have a thin,
smooth bark.

Drip Tip Leaves

The leaves of forest trees have adapted to cope with exceptionally high
rainfall. It is thought that these drip tips enable rain drops to run off
quickly.
Lianas
Lianas are climbing woody vines that festoon rain forest trees. They
have adapted to life in the rain forest by having their roots in the
ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach available
sunlight.

Epiphytes
Epiphytes are plants that live on the surface of other plants, especially
the trunk and branches. They grow on trees to take advantage of the
sunlight in the canopy.
Buttress Roots
These “above-ground” roots help support and anchor the tree, much as
a buttress on a fort would support the walls of the fort. Leaf litter
collects between these buttress roots so the tree has access to more
nutrients when the collected leaves decompose. Buttress roots also
absorb oxygen directly from the air.

Prop and Stilt Roots

Prop and stilt roots help give support and are characteristic of tropical
palms growing in shallow, wet soils.
 Animal Adaptations in the Rainforest
Camouflage
Mimicry (looking like a more dangerous species)
Limited diet (Toucan)
Poison (Poison dart frog)
Nocturnality
 Soils
In a tropical rainforest, the newly added nutrients to the soil are reabsorbed by
plants as fast as they are deposited.
The soil is acidic. When the soil is acidic it is harder for plants to obtain nutrients.
The type of clay particles present in tropical rainforest soil have a poor ability to
trap nutrients and stop them from washing away. Even if humans artificially add
nutrients to the soil, the nutrients mostly wash away and are not absorbed by the
plants.
The high temperature and moisture of tropical rainforests cause dead organic
matter in the soil to decompose more quickly than in other climates, thus releasing
and losing its nutrients rapidly.
The high volume of rain in tropical rainforests washes nutrients out of the soil more
quickly than in other climates.
 Leaching
The removal of nutrients by rainwater from the part of the soil where
plants can access them.
 Humus
Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and
animal matter decays.
Borneo
Borneo is an island divided between three nations.
Brunei
Indonesia
Malaysia