A rainforest is typically made up of four key layers. Forest degradation and deforestation in tropical countries is a major environmental, social and economic problem, and will continue to be so unless action is taken. Covering about 695,000 square miles, this swampstruck tropical. See if you can identify all the parts of the food web that make this a functioning, healthy ecosystem. Tropical rain forests are located in a band around the equator, mostly in the area between 23. The most famous rainforest river is the amazon, which is also the largest river in the world by water discharge with 7,381,000 cubic feet of discharge per second. Tropical rainforest animals include the okapi, tapir, rhinoceros, gorilla, jaguar, poison dart frog, boa constrictor, toucan, spider monkey, and sloth. Asynchronous carbon sink saturation in african and. Tropical rainforest, also spelled tropical rain forest, luxuriant forest found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the equator. In some rainforests it rains more than one inch every day.
In the top emergent layer, trees as tall as 200 feet 60 meters grow far apart and tall. Pdf african tropical rainforest net carbon dioxide. The rainforests are the great green heart of africa, and present a unique combination of ecological, climatic and human interactions. This process, known as deforestation, involves the cutting down, burning, and damaging of forests. The congo basin rainforest in central africa is the second largest rainforest in the world and most of the 90 million people living in the region depend upon it for their livelihood. Has a very wet and warm climate, the temperature averages any where from 20 to 34 celsius. Tropical rainforests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems in the world. The tropical rainforest is a thermometer of the state of the planet. Tropical rainforest biome animal facts and information.
Guide on tiwai island pointing at buttressed root of a huge rain forest tree. One industry that could be impacted heavily is the pharmaceuticals industry. Among the rainforest countries in africa, madagascar clearly stands out as having. Tropical forestry action plan which supports conservation of ecosystems. Uganda, kenya and tanzania will finally become available. Increasing carbon storage in intact african tropical forests. November 1998 he clearing of tropical forests across the earth has been occuring on a large scale basis for many centuries.
This study reports data from a network of longterm monitoring plots across african tropical forests, which finds that aboveground carbon storage in live trees increased by 0. Over land, the line is distorted because of the interaction between the tropical rain belt and. Phenological records 19481957 showed that annual rainfall was significantly lower between 1951 and 1954, with a severe. The tropical environment is rich in terms of biodiversity. Rainforests are thought to be the oldest ecosystem on earth some as old as 100 million years, accounting for the greatest diversity of plants and animals. In most instances developed nations are located in temperate domains and developing nations in tropical domains. Tropical rainforests are forests with tall trees, warm climate, and lots of rain. Djibouti and mauritania are the only two tropical countries of continental africa not included in this group, which excludes the mediterranean countries of north africa morocco, algeria, tunisia, libya, egypt and the temperate countries of southern africa republic of south africa, lesotho and swaziland. Within this tropical zone, tropical rainforests are located in three main regions. The tree is harvested for latex, a milky fluid found in vessels in the trees bark.
Republic of congo are within active or allo cated logging concessions. Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest. Forest resources of africa food and agriculture organization of. For example, the drought in the sahelian belt south of the saharah desert, has been attributed to deforestation in west africa. The importance of rainforests the rainforest information. Deforestation, road construction and slashandburn farming have already wiped out roughly 90 percent. These vessels are opened and the latex which runs out. Many other international initiatives have focused attention on the forests of. Dawn over tropical african rainforest with mist clearing, ghana, west africa. One of the factors presently limiting the utilization of tropical areas suited for crop production is inadequate knowledge of how to manage the highly weathered soils presently under rainforest or savanna vegetation. Although large areas of rainforest remain in central africa and south america, they, too, are disappearing at an alarming rate. There are some 200,000 250,000 native rainforest inhabitants spread across cameroon, gabon, equatorial guinea, central african republic, republic of the congo, rwanda, burundi, uganda and. This paper is a product of the african tropical rainforest observatory network afritron, curated at. Situated in the heart of the african tropics, the drc is home to the greatest expanse of rainforest in all of africa.
Home to half of the continents animal species, africa s vast rainforests are falling silent. The amazon rainforest is the worlds largest tropical rainforest. The amazon river is 1 to 6 miles wide during the rainforest s dry season, but can be as wide as 30 miles across in the wet season. They are aptly referred to as rainforests, averaging between 125 to 660 cm of rainfall. Africa is home to around 18% of the worlds tropical forests. Deforestation is no longer significant in the developed temperate countries now and in fact many temperate countries now are recording increases in forest area anon.
An analysis of access to central africas rainforests world. Most of africa s remaining rainforests are found in the congo river basin on the atlantic ocean side of the continent. What types of bodies of water are found in a tropical. The rubber tree, which was first found in the amazon rainforest, is now also grown in tropical areas in asia and africa. Future climate is expected to be globally warmer and drier in tropical africa bonan 2008, koenig 2008. Estimates suggest that tropical deforestation currently contributes at least 19% of greenhouse gas emissions. Annual migration of tropical rain belt noaa climate. The largest rainforest in the world is the amazon rainforest. Rainforests in africa rainforest information for kids. Design for tropical climates principles and applications for eastern africa sustainable building design for tropical climates principles and applications for eastern africa united nations human settlements programme unhabitat p. Tropical forests have been described as the lungs of the earth. They grow in areas of high rainfall in west, central and east africa. The tropical rainforest is really close to the equator.
Pdf this chapter sets out to give a historical overview of the african rain forest from its origins, towards the end of the cretaceous period. The three largest rainforest areas are found in central africa, south east asia, and central and south america. This report describes the forest resources of all african countries. The proper management of soils in the tropics congo basin is considered one of the critical. Rainforests are found in africa, asia, australia, and central and south america. Djibouti and mauritania are the only two tropical countries of continental africa not included in this group, which excludes the mediterranean countries of north africa morocco, algeria, tunisia, libya, egypt and the temperate countries of southern africa. Afritron has been supported by numerous people and grants since its inception. True rainforests are typically found between 10 degrees north and south of the equator. It is home to around 40,000 plant species, nearly 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 427 species of mammals, and 2. Instead, this is what you can expect day after day. The producers the trees, shrubs and plants the primary consumers the okapi, mouse deer, monkeys, chimps, and apes the secondary consumers the genet tree cat and eagle the scavengers the mouse deer and monkeys. By june, those places are dry, and northern hemisphere tropical locations, including india, southeast asia, and africa south of the sahara are receiving rain.
In african savannas, paleoecological evidence from the last glacial period, as well as observations of the last 50100 years, suggests that. Deforestation in the congo basin has historically been relatively low, compared to other major rainforest regions, partly because decades of conflict have kept the forests off limits for major industrial exploitation. Africa rainforest bats and tropical birds live high in the canopy while slendersnouted crocodiles, nile monitor lizards and lungfish inhabit slowmoving waters below. The congo basin is africa s largest contiguous forest and the secondlargest tropical rainforest in the world. Pdf occupying less than 7 % of earths land surface, tropical rain.
Pdf the african rain forest main characteristics of changes in. They are genetically far more diverse with 50 to 200 or more tree species per hectare. Covering about 695,000 square miles, this swampstruck tropical forest covers portions of cameroon, central african republic, democratic republic of congo, republic of the congo, equatorial guinea and gabon. Tropical rainforest biomes are found in the lower latitudes. The tropical rainforest rainforest in its natural state or dynamic equilibrium comprise a mosaic of aging trees, clearing caused by storms, landslides, lightning or human activity with regenerating seedlings and area of mature and immature trees. These vessels are opened and the latex which runs out is collected in buckets. Causes, effects and control strategies sumit chakravarty 1, s.
The african humid tropical biome constitutes the second largest rainforest region, significantly impacts global carbon cycling and climate, and has undergone major changes in functioning owing to. The congo rainforest is famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants as well as its native population of forest dwellers known as pygmies. The second largest tropical forest on the planet is located in the congo basin in central africa and extends for around 3 million square kilometres which is larger than the entire land mass of argentina. The country notes contain information about natural vegetation, closed forests. The congo rainforest is famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees.
Tropical rainforest africa by kayla vanhoute on prezi. Tropical african forest is 18 percent of the world total and covers over 3. There isnt a big change in seasons like there are with many other biomes. Tropical rainforests, which worldwide make up one of earths largest biomes major life zones, are dominated by broadleaved trees that form a dense upper canopy layer of foliage and contain a diverse array of vegetation and other life. The tropical rain belt stretches out in a virtually unbroken line across the open ocean. Yes it does,most of africa s remaining rainforests are found. It will rain just about every day due to the high humidity.