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Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Case Study

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Researchers keep tabs on deforestation in the Amazon by satellite imagery, but to know the reality of what's causing it, you have to be on the ground. Watch this video of researchers Robert Walker's and Eugenio Arima's recent Amazon adventure.

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Oxygen Cycle Explained - Oxygen Facts for Kids | Educational Videos by Mocomi

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What Is Deforestation For Kids: Information And Facts

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What is deforestation? Information & facts about deforestation for kids. Why are areas of rainforest being lost each year & what is being done to stop it?

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Mongabay Kids - the nature and conservation corner for kids

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Interesting Fact:
More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

Rainforests are very dense, warm and wet forests.

Why is it called a Rainforest?

The reason it is called a "rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year. Rainforests have an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches (254 centimeters) and often much more.

Why are Rainforests important to us?

They are very important as the plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen

Interesting Fact:

Rainforests cover only 6 %of the Earth's surface but yet they contain MORE THAN 1/2 of the world's plant and animal species!

How many different types of Rainforests are there?

There are two types of Rainforest:

1. Temperate Rainforests

2. Tropical Rainforests

Find out more (Click on the link "Types of Rainforest" on the left of the page)

Interesting Fact:

Rainforests are found on every continent across the Earth, except Antarctica.

Where in the world are Rainforests found?

Tropical rainforests are found close to the equator where temperatures and rainfall are very high all year round. The major areas of tropical rainforests are in South East Asia, West Africa and South and Central America. The best known rain forests are found in tropical regions between the Tropics of cancer and Capricorn.

Temperate rainforests are found along coasts in the temperate zone.
The largest temperate rainforests are found on North America's Pacific Coast and stretch from Northern California up into Canada. Temperate rainforests have one long wet winter/spring season, and a dry foggy summer.

What lives in a Rainforest?

As many as 30 million species of plants and animals live in tropical rainforests.

Interesting Fact:

A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies.

What are the different layers of a Rainforest Called?

There are four main parts of a Rainforest. They are:

Emergent Layer - very sunny because it is the very top. Only the tallest trees reach this level.
Who lives here? birds, butterflies and small monkeys live with bats, snakes and bugs.

Canopy Layer - much of the rain is stopped by the thick foliage. Most trees in the forest grow to this height. There are plants that grow in the canopy layer. Their roots don't reach the ground. These are called air plants.
Who lives here? birds, monkeys, frogs, and sloths, as well as lizards, snakes and many insects.
See photos

Understory Layer - many vines, dense vegetation, not much light.
Who lives here? birds, butterflies, frogs and snakes
See photos

Forest Floor - dark, damp, full of many dead leaves, twigs and dead plants. The forest floor is dark due to the trees above stopping the sunlight from entering the forest. It is estimated that only 2% of the sunlight actually reaches the floor.
Who lives here? jaguars in South America, gorillas and leopards in Africa and tapirs and tigers and elephants in Asia.
Click here to find out more

Interesting Fact:

The trees of a tropical rainforest are so densely packed that rain falling on the canopy can take as long as 10 minutes to reach the ground.

What do we get from Rainforests?

Many of the things we have in our homes comes from the rainforest.

These include:

medicine

chocolate - Chocolate is made from cocoa. Cocoa pods grow on trees in rainforests.

sugar

spices - includes ginger, allspice, pepper, cinnamon, coconut, vanilla, turmeric and paprika.

rubber

pineapples

bamboo

Interesting Fact:

An area of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed each second.

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Interesting Fact: More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. Rainforests are very dense, warm and wet forests. The reason it is called a "rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year.

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If you have completed your fact sheet, follow this link to play the games

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Searchable site of thousands of quality teaching resources, interactive resources, homework, exam and revision help. Useful for teachers, pupils and parents.

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15 rainforest facts | National Geographic Kids

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Join us here at Nat Geo Kids to discover 15 cool rainforest facts. Learn fascinating facts about the rainforest's trees, plants, people and more...

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features.

Fun Rainforest Facts

Enjoy our range of fun rainforest facts for kids. Find interesting information about tropical and temperate rainforests, the plants and animals that live in them, areas of the Earth where you will find them and much more.

Rainforests are forests that experience a high level of rainfall.

Scientists believe that there may be millions of plant and insect species in rainforests that have yet to be discovered.

Over 25% of natural medicines have been discovered in rainforests.

Rainforests used to cover 14% of the Earth's surface but due to deforestation now only cover around 6%.

A wide variety of animals live in rainforests, including birds, snakes, insects, jaguars, cougars, chameleons, turtles, frogs, and many more.

There are two types of rainforest, temperate and tropical.

Temperate rainforests lie in the temperate zones (between the tropics and the polar circles) of the globe. They are found in a few regions scattered around the world such as western North America, south-eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Tropical rainforests lie in the tropics (around 28 degrees north or south of the equator). They are found in many areas near the equator such as Asia, Africa, Central America and the Pacific Islands.

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. Read more Amazon rainforest facts.

A number of tribes in areas such as central Africa and Brazil still live in rainforests, having no contact with the outside world.

The words 'jungle' and 'rainforest' are sometimes used to mean the same thing but there are some differences, read about them with our fun jungle facts for kids.

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Fun Rainforest Facts for Kids - Interesting Facts about Tropical & Temperate Rainforests

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features. Fun Rainforest Facts Enjoy our range of fun rainforest facts for kids.

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Find more reasons why the rainforest is being destroyed here

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Find more reasons why the rainforest is being destroyed here

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Every year an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey is cut down and destroyed. The plants and animals that used to live in these forests either die or must find a new forest to call their home. Why are rainforests being destroyed?

Humans are the main cause of rainforest destruction. We are cutting down rainforests for many reasons, including:

wood for both timber and making fires;

agriculture for both small and large farms;

land for poor farmers who don't have anywhere else to live;

grazing land for cattle;

pulp for making paper;

road construction; and

extraction of minerals and energy.

Rainforests are also threatened by climate change, which is contributing to droughts in parts of the Amazon and Southeast Asia. Drought causes die-offs of trees and dries out leaf litter, increasing the risk of forest fires, which are often set by land developers, ranchers, plantation owners, speculators, and loggers.

In 2005, 2010, and 2015 the Amazon experienced the worst droughts ever recorded. Rivers dried up, isolating communities, and millions of acres burned. The smoke caused widespread health problems, interfered with transportation, and blocked the formation of rain clouds, while the burning contributed huge amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, worsening the effects of climate change.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has experienced several severe droughts in recent decades. The worst occurred in 1982-1983, 1997-1998, and 2015 when millions of acres of forest burned.

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Review questions

Why are reasons for deforestation?

How does climate change affect rainforests?

Additional resources FAQs

May I use graphics from mongabay.com for my projects? Yes, you may provided that you don't remove the mongabay label from the images. You may use information from the site for class projects and can cite mongabay as the source.

Where can I learn more about rainforests? Check the main rainforest site.

Is this web site credible? Mongabay is the world's most popular source for information on tropical forests. The site is highly acclaimed by a number of the world's leading tropical scientists. See more answers at our frequently asked questions page.

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Every year an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey is cut down and destroyed. The plants and animals that used to live in these forests either die or must find a new forest to call their home. Why are rainforests being destroyed? Humans are the main cause of rainforest destruction.