Rainforest Characteristics & Interdependence Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is the climate of a tropical rainforest like?

Hot and wet all year – around 27°C every month and over 2000 mm of rain a year, with no real seasons.

Name the four layers of a tropical rainforest, from top to bottom.

Emergents, canopy, understorey, forest floor.

Outline one reason why nutrient cycling is very rapid in a tropical rainforest.

The hot, damp conditions allow rapid decomposition of dead plant material by the many decomposers on the forest floor.

True or false? Tropical rainforest soils are deep and fertile because so much vegetation grows there.

False. The soil is thin and nutrient-poor – heavy rain leaches nutrients away and most nutrients are stored in the living vegetation.

How do rainforest trees help to produce the region's own rainfall?

They draw water up from the soil and give it off through their leaves (transpiration). This moist air rises, cools and falls as rain, so large-scale clearance can make the local climate drier.

Why are most tropical rainforest trees evergreen?

There is no cold or dry season, so they can keep growing all year. They lose old leaves a few at a time throughout the year rather than all at once.