RAINFORESTS Essay -- Essays Papers

RAINFORESTS What are the Rain forests? A rain forest can be merely defined as a evergreen forest inhabiting a tropical region, filled with a wide variety of plants and animals, with an annual rainfall of at least 2.5 meters. Simply speaking, they are the richest, oldest, most productive ecosystems on earth. An ecosystem is a living community together with its environment, together both functioning as a unit. Biologist, Norman Myers, states "rainforests are the finest celebration of nature ever known to the planet" (1). There are three main types of rainforests; temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical. Most of the rain forests still left in the world today are tropical. Tropical rain forests cover less then 6% of the earth, yet they contain half of the world’s species. As a matter of fact, rain forests support 90,000 of the 250,000 identifies plant species. A tropical rain forest has three layers: the canopy (treetops), the understory (young trees, ferns, shrubs), and the forest floor. Rain forests have been known as the "womb of life" (1) because they are home to so many species. Temperate (much younger, and more full of nutrients, located along Canada and the United States, among others) and sub-tropical rain forests also contain many ranges of animals (monkeys, birds, snakes, jaguars), however they are not as different. Regardless, the rain forests possess an array of foliage and fauna. Tropical rain forests lie near the equator, which means the temperature is extremely hot, above eighty degrees year round, and the climate is extremely wet. Rainforests cover about two percent of the earth’s surface, or six percent of it’s land mass, and yet they are the primary shelter for over half of the plant and animal species on earth.... ... happening outside our hometown. Remember that this is the future for our generation. We CAN stop the destruction, however that is only is we try to make a difference and spread the word among others. Get involved. People of the Tropical Rain forest. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Hosansky, David. "Saving the Rain forests." The CQ Researcher (1999): pgs. 497-99. Tropical Rain Forests. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1988. The Primary Source: Tropical Forests and Our Future. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1984. Rochman, Hazel. "Tropical Rain Forests/ Wetlands." Booklist (1999): pg. 440. Tangley, David. "Rain Forests for Profit." U.S. News and World Report (1998): pgs. 40-44. Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. Wright, Evelyn. "Giving the Rain Forests a Break." Business Week (1999): pg. 51.