Big Country Outdoors

Arrows Dozen

Introduction to the Amazon Jungle

In this brief introduction we will discuss the geographical location of tropical rainforests, some of its key structural features, flora and fauna, the effect on climate and human use.

1) Main locations of tropical forests

In very general terms we find tropical rain forests of Ecuador around the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn in the world, in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Basically speaking on the continents of the Americas and are reflected in the following countries: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela. The Amazon region is the biggest area that are more than half of the surface total tropical forest in the world. In the tropical rainforest in Africa is in the following countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Central Republic Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Madagascar, etc, but the African rainforest is found mainly in the Congo Basin. It covers an area of one third of rainforests of the world total. In Asia we have the rainforest in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and parts of India.

2) Tropical Forests

Rainforests are forests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750-2000 mm. The monsoon trough, alternatively known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays an important role in the creation of the Earth's tropical forests rain. About 40 to 75% of all species habitats in the world are indigenous to the rainforests. For example, 90% of insect species on Earth are there. It is estimated that many millions species of plants, insects and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical forests have been called the "jewels of the Earth", and the world "mayor" pharmacy, as more than a quarter of natural medicines discovered there. The forests are also responsible for 28% of oxygen to turn the world over, to Often misunderstood as oxygen production, processing through the photosynthesis of carbon dioxide and store it as carbon through biosequestration. The understory of a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. This makes it possible to walk through the woods. If the foliage is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense tangle of vines, shrubs and small trees called a jungle. There are several main types of forest tropical, but perhaps the two most important are the tropical rain forests temperate rainforesttand. In this article we will discuss only the rain forest.

3) Structure of the jungle

A tropical rainforest is usually divided into four main layers, each with different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular area: the emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor layers.

Emergent layer

Pinch layer contains a small number of very large trees called emerging, which grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45-55 m, but occasionally some species develops at 70-80 m in height. They must be able to withstand the high temperatures and strong winds in some areas. Eagles, bats and certain monkeys inhabit butterflies this layer.

Canopy layer

The top layer contains most of the largest trees, typically 30-45 m in height. The densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops. The pavilion by some estimates, is home to 50 percent of all plant species, suggesting that perhaps half of all life on Earth can be found there. The epiphytes attached to the trunks and branches, and obtain water and minerals from rain and dirt that accumulates on the soles of support. The fauna is similar to that found in the emergent layer, but different. A quarter of all insect species are believed to exist in the forest canopy.

Scientists have long suspected the richness of the cup as a habitat, but only recently have developed practical methods of exploration. Already in 1917, naturalist William Beebe declared that "another continent of life remains to be discovered, not Earth, but one to two hundred meters above it, stretching thousands of square kilometers. "genuine exploration of this habitat only began in the 1980s, when scientists developed methods to reach the canopy, such as firing ropes into the trees using crossbows. Exploration of the canopy is still in its infancy, but other methods include the use of balloons and blimps float above the highest branches and construction of cranes and walkways planted on the forest floor. The science of accessing the canopy of tropical forests using aircraft, aerial platforms, or similar, is called dendronautics.

Understory layer

The understory layer lies between the cover and the forest floor. The understory (or understory) is home a number of birds, monkeys, snakes, lizards and predators such as jaguars, boa constrictors, and leopards. The leaves are much larger at this level. life of insects is also abundant. Many plants that grow to the canopy level are present in the understory. Only about 5 percent of the sunlight shining in the jungle reaches the understory. This layer can also be called a shrub layer, although the shrub layer may also be considered a separate layer.

Forest floor

This is an area little studied a lot – perhaps less attractive than the other layers for some. The forest floor, the bottom layer again, only receives 2 percent of the sunlight. Only plants adapted to low light can grow in this region. Away from riverbanks, swamps and clearings where it is covered in thick vegetation, forest floor is relatively free of vegetation due to the penetration of sunlight low. It also contains decaying plant and animal matter rapidly disappearing due to hot and humid conditions decline accelerated promotion. Many forms of fungi grow here which help decay animal and vegetable waste.

As an example of the incredible diversity of fungi that have a recent update of Bolivia. In a 2007 issue of a researcher found more than 276 different mushrooms in the forest: "There Ganoderma lucidum, reishi mushroom drugs or lingQi, 3 or 4 species of oyster mushrooms, growing in the palm tropical hardwood, more than 20 collections of conks, decaying wood brown rot fungi that decompose slowly tropical hardwood trees, a variety of mushroom Marasmius, a genre not so much in the north, two species of Boletus, only two mushrooms which seem to be Amanita, Cortinarius several, six collections of Cordyceps, a group of fungi that kill insects, 3 Auricularia (Ear of tree) species, three species of Cotylidia, cartiliginous tropical fungus, more than a dozen species of Lepiota, Oudmansellias 3, 5 or 6 Agaricus, one with amazing blue gills, two species of fungi cultivated by termites or ants, one of which produces large, edible fruit, a Volvariella in a fig tree, a large amount of Xylaria fungi in the family, some with white heads tufted, other other species branched as barbed wire, other long, thin and strong, short and cork, two adorable little red cup fungi of the genus Cokeina, about a dozen relatives who are members of North American genera, two coral fungi very different, at least one species of mushroom that shows the bioluminescence, and probably 40 or 50 species of fungi that were new to me. Physical signs remain in Bolivia in the national reference herbarium. "

4) Flora and fauna

. More than half the world's species of plants and animals are in the jungle. Tropical forests support a wide range of wildlife including mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates. Mammals may include primates, cats and other families. Reptiles include snakes, turtles, chameleons and other families while birds are the families as Vanga and Cuculidae. Dozens of families of invertebrates found in the jungles tropical. Fungi are also very common in the forest areas as they can feed on the decaying remains of plant and animal life – see the previous statement on Bolivia. These species are rapidly disappearing due to deforestation, habitat loss, biochemical and released into the atmosphere. Take some geographic specific examples of animal communities. In the Amazon, for example, we find: Spider Monkey, Golden Lion Tamarins, sloths, giant otters river, toucans, macaws, Rosa River dolphins, electric eels, piranhas, Black Caiman, Anaconda, Jaguar, and poison arrow frogs to name only some of the most famous.

In the Congo we find chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, okapi, forest elephants, Bonobo, Bongo, Warthogs etc. Perhaps the most famous inhabitants of the tropical forest in Asia are the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), gibbon (Hylobates muelleri), and the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis). In Borneo there is also the banteng (Bos javanicus), a species of wild ox, the Sumatran rhino grave danger species (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which is shorter than the continent's elephants, Sambar deer (unicolor elaphus) the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus). Two examples or case studies geography:

Biodiversity study of event – The Amazon

Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently species richer than the rain forests of Africa and Asia. As the largest area of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazon rainforest have unparalleled biodiversity. One in ten known species in the world live in the Amazon Jungle. This constitutes the largest collection of plants and animals that live in world. The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and animals. According to one estimate to date, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. A five of all birds in the world live in the jungles of the Amazon.

Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone. Diversity plant species is the highest on earth with some experts estimate that one square kilometer may contain over 75,000 types of trees and 150,000 species of plants higher. One square kilometer of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90 790 tons of living plants. The average plant biomass is estimated at356 ± 47 tonnes ha-1. [Up date, an estimated 438 000 plant species of economic and social interest have been recorded in the region with many more to be discovered or cataloged. The green area leaf of plants and trees in the forest varies by 25% as a result of seasonal changes. The leaves expand during the dry season when sunlight is maximum, then submit to the abscission of the rainy season and clouds. These changes provide a balance of carbon between photosynthesis and respiration.

Biodiversity Case Study Two - Borneo

Borneo's forests are a rich biodiversity. According to WWF, the island is estimated that least 222 species of mammals (44 endemic), 420 resident birds (37 endemic), 100 amphibians, 394 fish (19 endemic), and 15,000 plants (6,000 endemic) - Over 400 of which have been discovered in the polls since 1994. In fact the new species have been discovered here yet: Discovery of new species of birds in Borneo in 2009 while walking along a 250 meters high covered-bridge set-up for tourists, Richard Webster found a bird feeding on berries did not recognize mistletoe. Took pictures of the person and then share them with Dr. David Edwards, an ornithologist at the University of Leeds who has been studying birds in the area during three years. After consulting with several museums, they realized that nobody had ever recorded a bird. "This discovery demonstrates once again how little is known about the diversity of life on our planet, "said Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Director Species Programme of IUCN, said." 2010 is the Year Biodiversity International. It is an opportunity to increase our understanding of the nature and function, explaining its importance to the general public, and especially take action to reduce existing threats to allow thousands of more discoveries like this in the future. "The discovery has been published in the latest issue (January 2010) of the Journal of the Oriental Bird Club, BirdingASIA. The species, known as the 'Flowerpecker of glasses, has not yet received a scientific name.

5) Effect of tropical forests in global climate

A natural forest emits and absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide. Globally, long-term flows are roughly in balance, so that an undisturbed forest would have a small net impact on atmospheric levels carbon dioxide although it may have other climatic effects (in cloud formation, for example, by recycling water vapor). N the forest today may be considered undisturbed. the human-induced deforestation plays a significant role in causing rainforests to release carbon dioxide as Will natural processes such as drought that result in tree death. Some climate models run with interactive vegetation predict a large loss of Amazonian forest around 2050 due to drought, which leads to the disappearance of forests and the subsequent comments of releasing more carbon dioxide. It is necessary to increase efforts to preserve large tracts of tropical forests to fight it everywhere. Please see the article by Dr. Simon Harding "A Short History of weather Earth. "

6) Human uses

Tropical rainforests provide timber as well as products of animal origin such as meat and hides. Rainforests also have value as a tourist destination and for services provided to ecosystems. Many foods originally came from forests tropical, and is still grown mainly on plantations in regions that were once pristine forests. drugs also derived from plants are commonly used for fever, fungal infections, burns, gastrointestinal problems, pain, respiratory problems, and treatment of wounds. In fact, human uses forest products are as diverse and numerous that should form the basis of another article.

Dr. Simon Harding

www.coberongreen.com

www.chronosconsulting.com

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