Tropical Rainforest by Nevin Allen

Characteristics

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 02:49:30 UTC

- Thick and luxuriant evergreen forests found in areas with high rainfall and temperatures

- Most areas of the rainforest has broad leaved evergreen trees.

- Found in hot and wet environments, which makes it a rich biodiversity forest.

Adaptive Features of Plants

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 03:25:36 UTC

Trees have tall, straight trunks with branches spread out to obtain maximum amount of sunlight. The smooth bark allows rainwater to flow easily from the crown to the roots of the trees.

Leaves are broad in order to capture light for Photosynthesis. They have waxy, leathery, hairy surfaces. This minimises the loss of moisture through transpiration due to high temperatures. They have narrow, drip tips to allow after to run off. This prevents fungi and bacteria from growing on the leaves.

Fruits and flowers are colourful and strong smelling to attract insects and other animals for dispersal and pollination.

Buttress Roots are large roots which grow from 1 to 5 metres. It supports the heavy weight of the trees in the emergent layer. It does not need to develop deep roots to search for underground water.

Uses of Tropical Rainforests

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 03:56:03 UTC

- Water Catchment

Refers to an area drained by river and smaller rivers that flow into it. Rainwater which seeps into the ground and stored as groundwater is called Water Catchment. (E.g. Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Singapore)

-Green Lungs of the Earth

Tropical Rainforests act as the earth's natural air purifier. They absorb about 2.4 billion tonnes carbon dioxide in one year. This is due to the process of absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen through Photosynthesis.

-Habitat to flora and fauna

Tropical Rainforests are home to more than 2 million species, which represents over half of the world's species of plants, animals, insects and fungi. This is made possible due to the food chains and food webs, where the plants absorb energy from the sun and gets eaten by animals.

-Source of timber

Tropical Rainforests provide wood for fuel in countries where people depend on fire to cook. It supplies one-fifth of the world's industrial timber. Examples are teak, ebony, mahogany and meranti which are valued for their strength, durability, texture and beauty.

-Medical Application

Tropical Rainforests are known as 'the world's largest pharmacy' as they have been a huge source of medicine. Foods such as Brazil nuts, have cancer-fighting properties. Nearly 3,000 plant species in the Amazon Rainforest have been identified to have such properties.

Deforestation

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 05:02:20 UTC

Deforestation is the cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area. It may lead to the permanent destruction and eventual disappearance of a once renewable resource: trees.

Global Distribution of Tropical Rainforests

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 05:06:26 UTC

Tropical Rainforests are found on less than 5 per cent of the earth's land surface. The global climatic conditions leads to the growth and distribution of Tropical Rainforests around the world. Thus, they are found in areas which experience the equatorial climate. The main areas of tropical rainforests are the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.

Distribution of Tropical Rainforests in Singapore

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 05:27:52 UTC

Many parts of Singapore were originally covered with rainforests before it was colonised in 1819. Today, the remaining tropical rainforests occupy an area of about 20 square kilometres. This is about 3 per cent of Singapore's land area. The two largest areas of tropical rainforest in Singapore are the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. There are also four reservoirs in Singapore. They include Upper Seletar Reservoir, Upper Pierce Reservoir, Lower Pierce Reservoir, MacRitchie Reservoir.

Social and Economic Impacts of Deforestation

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 05:42:00 UTC

Depletion of Natural Resources Rapid deforestation often destroys the rainforest and its Natural Resources. A Natural Resource is something that attends to the people's needs such as timber, food and water. As a result, many natural resources provided by rainforests are depleted. This affects the earnings of industries that rely on rainforest resources.

Effects on Indigenous people

Indigenous people in the Amazon Rainforest is one of the world's last uncontacted tribes. Due to the rapid deforestation, they face threats of losing their land due to loggers. Examples are people affected by the clearing of the headwaters of the Envira River, in the remotest parts of the Brazilian Amazon.

Eco-Link

nevin_allenmarian — 2015-09-25 05:42:08 UTC

Eco-Link@BKE is Singapore’s latest effort in promoting conservation and the first overhead ecological corridor in the region.

It is projected to improve the ecological connectivity of the two nature reserves – Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR) and Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR), which were once one continuous patch of rainforest before the BKE was constructed.

To prevent genetic isolation of fragmented flora and fauna populations, the bridge would encourage the interaction of wildlife by facilitating movement between the once separated forests and effectively expand habitat, mating and foraging ranges of flora and fauna.