Helping the Rainforests

There are many things that can be done to help protect what is left of the rainforests. Through sustainable development, the people of the rainforests can live and work while protecting their environment. In oreder for sustainable development to work, the local people and their government must work together. One of the best ways to protect the rainforest is to create protected areas. However, if the local people do not work with the government to protect the area, then it will be difficult to keep some of the practices such as slash and burn from happening.

When an area is protected, many jobs are created for the local people. Parks rangers are needed to manage the park and guides are needed to guide tourists. The indigenous people of the rainforests have so much knowledge about the rainforests that they make perfect workers for these jobs. Local people can also sell many of their crafts at markets to the tourists that come to visit. Through proper management, tourism can be used without endangering rainforests and can help to provide rainforest protection.


Also, there are now eco-friendly companies. The timber in the rainforest was being clear cut, while that does still happen, in protected areas selective cutting has been used to allow for an eco-friendly way to keep the timber being a sustainable resource.

Below is a list from the Mongabay website of things that we all can do to help protect the rainforests:

Don't buy products made from wildlife skins

Don't buy exotic pets that have been collected from the wild. You can ask pet stores whether animals are "wild-caught" or "captive bred." "Captive bred" animals are more friendly for the environment

Buy recycled paper.

Don't buy wood products from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, or Africa unless you know they come from eco-friendly suppliers. A good way to know if wood is rainforest-safe is if it has a "certification label." An example of a certification label is "FSC-certified" which means the wood comes from sustainably managed forests.

Learn more about rainforests and the plants and animals that live in them. Tell your friends and family why rainforests are important.

Rainforests Destruction

The rainforests once covered about 14% of the Earth's surface but now covers only about 6%. If the rainforests are shrinking, does that have an affect on climate change? We all know that trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air. The big problem is the destruction of the rainforests. "The destruction of the world’s rain forests plays a role in the problem of global warming. When trees are burned or cut and left to decay, carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the second largest contributor to the greenhouse effect, the warming of the Earth’s lower atmosphere" (National Geographic). One third to one fifth of carbon dioxide pollution is from the destruction of the rainforests.

The rainforests are being cleared because of the monetary value of the timber and in order to farm the land. the process used to clear the land for farmong is called slash and burn. Up to one to one and a half acres are destroy every second (Rainforest Facts).

Unfortunately, farming the rainforest is very difficult because the soil is nutrient poor. The top soil is only two inches deep and is only good for about two years. The othe problem is that once the trees have been cut down, the rainfall washes most of the top soil away. The lush plants of the rainforests are only able to survive because they store nutrients within themselves rather than getting the nutrients from the soil. The plants gather and store nutrients from decaying plants (Biomes).

"Experts agree that by leaving the rainforests intact and harvesting it's many nuts, fruits, oil-producing plants, and medicinal plants, the rainforest has more economic value than if they were cut down to make grazing land for cattle or for timber" (Rainforest Facts)

Biomes -
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/biomes.rainforest.soil.html

National Geographic - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/rainforest/gallery2.html#

Rainforest Facts - http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

Rainforest Medicine

Plants found in the tropical rainforest have medicinal value. The medicine quinine is from the bark of the cinchona tree and treats the symptoms of malaria. It was discovered in the 17th century in the South American Andes. The leaves of the rosy periwinkle is used in medicines that treat cancer. The rosy periwinkle is only found in tropical rainforest of Madagascar. A muscle relaxer, Curare, was discovered in the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon Indians use the poisonous plants when hunting to kill animals. We use the drug derived from the plants during surgical operations to relax the muscles.

Shaman are medicine men from the tropical rainforests. Shaman have knowledge of the medicinal values that are found within the rainforests. However, the Shaman have been decreasing in number and most are seventy years old and older. As the Shaman die off, so does their knowledge. It is believed that when one Shaman dies it is as if an entire library has been destroyed. Today, many pharmaceutical companies are working with Shaman to preserve rainforests and to learn from the Shaman their wealth of knowledge about the plants of the rainforests (Rainforest Facts).

"To date many of the prescription drugs used in the western world have been derived from plants and 70% of the plants identified as having anti-cancer characteristics by the US National Cancer Institute are found only in the tropical rainforest" (Mongabay).

Rainforst Facts - http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

Mongabay - http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/303.html

Animals of the Rainforests

* "The United States has 81 species of frogs, while Madagascar which is smaller than Texas, may have 300 species"(mongabay).

* "Europe has 321 butterfly species, while a park in the rainforest of Peru (Manu National Park) has 1300 species" (mongabay).


About 50% of the animals and insects of the world make their home in the rainforests. The tropical rainforests have many more species of animals and insects than the temperate rainforest because climate of the tropical rainforests is ideal for sustaining life. The year round average temperature of 80 degrees and the abundance of water provides the animals and insects with generous amounts of food.


Most animals and insects of the tropical rainforest are found in the canopy layer. Even though the canopy is high above the forest floor, frogs, monkeys, sloths, snakes and many other animals find foof, shelter and hiding in the canopy.

One of the most unusual animals is found in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Opaki is a relative of the giraffe, but looks like it would be related to a zebra. The Opaki was not discovered until 1901. It has a blue tongue that is one foot long and stripes on its legs and rump!

According to Rainforest Biomes, a website created by educators, insects make up the largest animal group in the tropical rainforests. Ants and other insects live on the forest floor and buttterflies, bees and mosquitoes are found through out the rainfroest.

One ant species, the Cephalotes atratus, can glide back to its tree if it falls off. Click on the link below to watch a clip of this gliding ant and how this adaptation allows the ant to return to its nest.

National Science Foundation - http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/media/images/ant_f.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_videos.jsp%3Forg%3DBIO%26cntn_id%3D102807%26media_id%3D54244&h=220&w=350&sz=43&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=3fwkdVgUZKrGNM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drainforest%2Bants%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den

Mongabay - http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/201.html





Rainforest Biomes - http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm

Tropical Rainforests

Tropical rainforests are found around the world along the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Tropical rainforests receive at least 80 inches of rain per year and some have seen as much as 400 inches in a year. The temperature remains between 70 and 90 degrees F year round.

About 50% of animals and plants come from the tropical rainforests and according to ETE, a NASA directed Classroom of the Future, the rainforests provides "a constant supply of water and wide variety of foods for the animals." It is believed that many animals and plants are yet to be discovered and much of the rainforests have not been explored.

The warm, humid climate of the rainforest allows for the rapid growth and decomposition of plants. The tropical rainforest is broken into four layers, each having diversity within themselves. The four layers of the rainforests are the forest floor, understory layer, canopy layer, and the emergent layer.

The forest floor is dark and almost no plants grow in this area. Decomposition happens quickly because of the lack of sunlight. What would take a year to decompose in a regular climate only takes about six weeks to decompose in a tropical rainforest (Layers of the Rainforest).

The understory layer received little sunshine and the plants in this layer grow only to about twelve feet and the leaves grow very large in order to reach the sunshine. Many animals and insects live in this layer (Layers of the Rainforest).

The canopy layer is home to many animals, including frogs, toucans, and snakes. Food is abundant in this layer and it is considered the primary level of the rainforest (Layers of the Rainforest).

The emergent layer is home to the tallest trees that reach 200 feet. Bats, birds, butterflies and monkey live in this layer of the rainforest (Layers of the Rainforest).

ETE - http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rforestA.html

Layers of the Rainforest - http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/whlayers.html

Temperate Rainforests

Temperate Rainforests are found along the western coastal areas of North and South America where cool, moist air allows the trees to grow over 300 feet high. Temperate rainforests can also be found in Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Southern Australia and England. The temperate rainforest sees between 60 and 200 of inches a year, about 12 inches from the fog alone, and the temperature can range from zero degrees in the winter to about 80 degrees in the summer. According to Rainforest Biome, an informational website run by the National Center for Ecology, there are about 10-20 species of trees, mostly coniferous, that live in the temperate rainforests. These trees can live between 500-1000 years and grow to be 100-300 feet high with diameters eight feet across in width, some tress even larger.

The largest trees are the Giant Sequoia and the Coastal Redwoods. I grew up among the Coastal Redwoods and remember thinking that the tree tops reached heaven. I often went exploring and felt like I was in an ancient, enchanted forest as the fog would creep in and old trees lay decomposing as ferns, fungi, moss and large mushrooms grew upon them. I also remember pulling over on Highway 20 and as I looked out over the mountain side I was shocked to see an area that was barren, clear cut of the giant redwood trees. At the time clear cutting had become a big issue. Environmentalists were working to stop the practice and yet my neighbors and friend's families relied on the logging industry for their livelihood. Soon, the Spotted Owl became the great hope for the environmentalists. The Spotted Owl was on the endangered species list and was found to be living in the rainforests of the Northwest.

Of course, the Spotted Owl is not the only animal living in the temperate rainforests. Bears, wolves, cougars, bobcats, elk, deer and many other small animals call the temperate rainforest there home. While not as many species of animals live in the temperate rainforest as the tropical rainforests, the animals of the temperate rainforest live on the ground level.

Along with the Spotted Owl, the other animals needed protection from clear cutting. Today, clear cutting has been replaced with selective harvesting and legislation has tightened regulations within the logging industry. However, clear cutting does still happen.



Rainforest Biomes - http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/rainforest.htm#

Kristen and The Rainforests

Hi, I'm Kristen! I am an Elementary Education and Writing Arts student at Rowan University. I am taking a Writing, Research and Technology class this summer and that is why I have started this blog. I am learning about Blogs and am required to blog on a topic in which I am interested.

I first became interested in rainforests whenI was a child. I was actually only interested in the animals. It wasn't until last semester, as I was working on a thematic unit on rainforests, that I again became interested in the rainforests and learned how the rainforests are an important part of our ecosystem, even if they are located far from us.

When I was a child, I thought the rainforest was in a certain place and that there was only one. Of course, the Amazon Rainforest! That was the rainforest. It wasn't until I moved to the North Coast of California in sixth grade that I learned about rainforests. My teacher was explaining that we lived in a rainforest. I thought she was crazy. The North Coast of California is a rather cold, damp, foggy area where the Redwood Forest thrives, not a hot, humid rainforest. I learned that there were rainforests around the world and that there were two significant types of rainforests and other sub categories of rainforests. I was excited to be living in a rainforest and loved exploring my rainforest, The Redwood Forest.

I also learned that rainforests once covered 14% of the Earths surface. Today however, they cover only 6% and are continuing to be destroyed for their timber. Along with the trees, animals and plants are disappearing and the population of the indigenous peoples is shrinking. However, with education the rainforests can be saved. The world's rainforests affects all of us and there is so much still to be learned from the hidden treasures waiting to be discovered within the rainforests.