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Marius S

Rainforests - 0 views

shared by Marius S on 16 Sep 09 - Cached
Marius S liked it
  • What We Can Do To Save Them Learn and Share Information The first step toward saving the rainforests is to learn about them. Through reading we can explore the wonders of the rainforests without ever visiting them. Once we learn about them we need to share our knowledge with others. Letters to our congressional representatives can influence those in power and encourage discussion on the rainforest. And by talking to friends about the rainforests another person can become active in saving the them. Join Groups We can join a conservation group. The group can tell us what needs to be done to save the rainforests and how we can help. Or we can volunteer with the local zoo, nature center, botanical garden, or museum. We can learn a lot from the professionals that work there. Begin at Home Our own homes provide many chances to help save the rainforests. We can recycle all reusable materials. We can learn to use products made from rainforests in a thoughtful way. And we can protect living things in our own backyard. The plants and animals there also need protection. Ask Questions We can protect illegal trade of animals and plants from the wild by asking questions. We need to ask store owners if the plants and animals they sell were taken from the wild. Unless we ask questions, illegal trade will continue. Illegal trade leads to endangered species and extinction. Think Globally And we can encourage our local or national conservation organizations to help save the rainforests. It is necessary for all of us to be aware of and help with saving the rainforests. Although the rainforests cover on ly a small area of the world, far away from many of our homes, they have an effect on all of us.
    • Kengo M
       
      Can use for central Idea
    • Marius S
       
      Paragraph 3 (Q2) Paragraph 5 (Q1/3)
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    HOW TO SAVE THE RAIN FORESTS
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    HOW TO SAVE THE RAIN FORESTS
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    Great site!
Thomas C

Rainforest Animals - 5 views

  • Scientists believe that there is such a great diversity of animals because rainforests are the oldest ecosystem on earth.
  • Many animals species have developed relationships with each other that benefit both species. Birds and mammal species love to eat the tasty fruits provided by trees. Even fish living in the Amazon River rely on fruits dropped from forest trees. In turn, the fruit trees depend upon these animals to eat their fruit, which helps them to spread their seeds to far-off parts of the forest.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This may help me answer my question on the interdependence of the animals of a rainforest, and it may help you out too, if you are looking at the interdependence of the animals in a rainforest
    • Zina S
       
      Why didthey kill the dodo birds!? It doesnt make any sence!
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • DOZENS OF ANIMAL SPECIES A DAY BECOME EXTINCT IN TROPICAL RAINFORESTS
    • Thomas C
       
      WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • When rainforests are destroyed, animals living outside the tropics suffer as well. Songbirds, hummingbirds, warblers and thousands of other North American birds spend their winters in rainforests, returning to the same location year after year. Less return north each spring, as few make it through the winter because their habitat has been destroyed. The cutting down of trees is not the only reason for species extinction. Thousands of monkeys and other primates are traded illegally on the international market each year, wanted for their fur, as pets, or for scientific research. Parrots and macaws have also become popular pets; buyers will pay up to $10,000 for one bird. Even the king of the jungle, the jaguar, is in danger of becoming extinct. Its fur is highly valued for use on coats and shoes.
    • Woo Hyun C
       
      With out rainforests the bird can't survive either! If we keep destroying rainforests we are harming the animals outside the rainforet
    • Chloe W
       
      Deforestation in rainforests are not lonly effecting animals that live in it, but also ones that live outside.
    • Thomas C
       
      If this carries on there will be no life left on earth!
  • Scientists estimate that there are more than 50 million different species of invertebrates living in rainforests. One scientist found 50 different species of ants on a single tree in Peru! You would probably only need a few hours of poking around in a rainforest to find an insect unknown to science.
  • In some cases both species are so dependent upon each other that if one becomes extinct, the other will as well. This nearly happened with trees that relied on the now-extinct dodo birds. They once roamed Mauritius, a tropical island located in the Indian Ocean. They became extinct during the late 19th century when humans overhunted them. The calvaria tree stopped sprouting seeds soon after. Scientists finally concluded that, for the seeds of the calvaria tree to sprout, they needed to first be digested by the dodo bird. By force-feeding the seeds to a domestic turkey, who digested the seeds the same way as the dodo birds, the trees were saved. Unfortunately humans will not be able to save each species in this same way.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This may help me answer my question on the interdependence of the animals of a rainforest, and it may help you out too, if you are looking at the interdependence of the animals in a rainforest
  • The constant search for food, water, sunlight and space is a 24-hour pushing and shoving match. With this fierce competition, you may be amazed that so many different species of animals can all live together. But this is actually the cause of the huge number of different species.The main secret lies in the ability of many animals to adapt to eating a specific plant or animal, which few other species are able to eat. Have you ever wondered, for instance, why toucans and parrots have such big beaks? These beaks give them a great advantage over other birds with smaller beaks. The fruits and nuts from many trees have evolved with a tough shell to protect them from predators. In turn toucans and parrots developed large strong beaks, which serves as a nutcracker and provides them with many tasty meals.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This peice of information will be useful if you are looking at the adaptations of different animals in the rainforest. This is useful for me.
  • Each species has evolved with its own set of unique adaptations, ways of helping them to survive. Every animal has the ability to protect itself from being someone's next meal. The following are just a few of these unique and often bizarre adaptations. CAMOUFLAGE The coloring of some animals acts as protection from their predators. Insects play some of the best hide-and-go-seek in the forest. The "walking stick" is one such insect; it blends in so well with the palm tree it calls its home that no one would notice it unless it moved. Some butterflies, when they close their wings, look exactly like leaves. Camouflage also works in reverse, helping predators, such as boa constrictors, sneak up on unsuspecting animals and surprise them. SLOW AS A SNAIL The three-toed sloth is born with brown fur, but you would never know this by looking at it. The green algae that makes its home in the sloth's fur helps it to blend in with the tops of the trees, the canopy, where it makes its home. But green algae isn't the only thing living in a sloth's fur; it is literally "bugged" with a variety of insects. 978 beetles were once found living on one sloth! The sloth has other clever adaptations. Famous for its snail-like pace; it is one of the slowest-moving animals on earth. (It can even take up to a month to digest its food!) Although its tasty meat would make a good meal for jaguars and other predators, most do not notice the sloth as it hangs quietly in the trees, high up in the canopy. DEADLY CREATURES Other animals want to announce their presence to the whole forest. Armed with dangerous poisons used in life-threatening situations, their bright colors warn predators to stay away. The coral snake of the Amazon, with its brilliant red, yellow, and black coloring, is recognized as one of the most beautiful snakes in the world, But don't admire its beauty too long; its deadly poison can kill within seconds The poison arrow frog also stands out with its brightly colored skin. Its skin produces some of the strongest natural poison in the world, which Indigenous people often use for hunting purposes. Another animal with no friends is the hoatzin. Often called the stinkbird, it produces a horrible smell to scare
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This is also useful information if you are looking at the adaptations of the animals of a rainforest.
  • An average of 35 species becomes extinct every day in the world's tropical rainforests.
    • Chloe W
       
      Most of these species, we haven't discovered their uses yet. We don't care that we don't even know what they are and never will
  • Rivers have become both overfished and polluted. Gillnets now allow fishermen to kill huge amounts of fish at a time. They often use only the larger and more profitable fish, dumping the dead smaller fish and other animals such as dolphins back into the rivers.
    • Chloe W
       
      This is terrible. We are losing our air supply, and now our water supply is getting polluted. I hope we can stop it.
  • Tropical rainforests are home to many of the strangest-looking and most beautiful, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on earth. You've probably heard of some of them; jaguars, toucans, parrots, gorillas, and tarantulas all make their homes in tropical rainforests. But have you ever heard of the aye-aye? Or the okapi? There are so many fascinating animals in tropical rainforests that millions haven't been named or even identified yet. In fact, about half of all the world's species live in tropical rainforests.
    • Shaian R
       
      How can we save the animals
  • During the Ice Ages, the last of which occurred about 10,000 years ago, the frozen areas of the North and South Poles spread over much of the earth, causing huge numbers of extinctions. But the giant freeze did not reach many tropical rainforests. Therefore, these plants and animals could continue to evolve, developing into the most diverse and complex ecosystems on earth. The nearly perfect conditions for life also help contribute to the great number of species. With temperatures constant at 75 -80 degrees F. the whole year, animals don't have to worry about freezing during cold winters or finding shade in the hot summers. They rarely have to search for water, as rain falls almost every day in tropical rainforests. Some rainforest species have populations that number in the millions. Other species consist of only a few dozen individuals. Living in limited areas, most of these species are endemic, or found nowhere else on earth. The maues marmoset, a species of monkey, wasn't discovered until recently. Its entire tiny population lives within a few square miles in the Amazon rainforest. It is so small, it could sit in a person's hand!
    • Thomas C
       
      A rainforest history lesson.
    • Avinash X
       
      this might help me in my research as i am researching on insects and the interesting ways of decieving their predators
  • Leaf-cutter, or parasol ants, can rightfully be called the world's first farmers. They climb trees up to 100-feet tall and cut out small pieces of leaves. They then carry these fragments, weighing as much as 50 times their body weight, back to their homes. Sometimes they must travel 200 feet, equal to an average human walking about 6 miles with 5,000 lbs. on his/her back! The forest floor is converted to a maze of busy highways full of these moving leaf fragments. These ants don't eat the leaves they have collected, but instead bury them underground. The combination of leaves and substances that the ants produce such as saliva allows a type of fungus to grow. This fungus is the only food that the ants need to eat. Azteca ants live on the swollen thorn acacia tree, which offers the ants everything needed for survival - lodging, water, and food for themselves and their young. In return, the ants protect the trees from predators. Whenever the ants feel something brush against the tree, they rush to fiercely fight the intruder. They also protect it from vines and other competing plants that would otherwise strangle it. As a result, nothing can grow near these trees. They are the only trees with a built-in alarm system!
    • Thomas C
       
      farming ants!
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    how some animals become extinct
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    good for animals survival. Chloe: This website has great information on animals of the rainforest.
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    This talks about animals and the ways they escape from predators.
Ajay V

Rainforest Facts - 2 views

shared by Ajay V on 09 Sep 09 - Cached
  • It is estimated that nearly half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals, and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter-century due to rainforest deforestation.
    • Marius S
       
      Wow!
  • Commercial logging is the single largest cause of rainforest destruction, both directly and indirectly. Other activities destroying the rainforest, including clearing land for grazing animals and subsistence farming. The simple fact is that people are destroying the Amazon rainforest and the rest of the rainforests of the world because "they can't see the forest for the trees."
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful if you are looking at the destruction of rainforests.
  • When a medicine man dies without passing his arts on to the next generation, the tribe and the world loses thousands of years of irreplaceable knowledge about medicinal plants.
    • Marius S
       
      Linked to a paragraph below...
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  • Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface
    • Gurupranav G
       
      gurusQ4. Useful- Destruction of rainforests.
  • Most rainforests are cleared by chainsaws, bulldozers and fires for its timber value and then are followed by farming and ranching operations, even by world giants like Mitsubishi Corporation, Georgia Pacific, Texaco and Unocal.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      gurusQ4. Useful. Destruction of rainforests.
  • There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000.
    • Audrey C
       
      Why though?
  • At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World.
    • Antonio D
       
      We should stop this!
  • The beauty, majesty, and timelessness of a primary rainforest are indescribable. It is impossible to capture on film, to describe in words, or to explain to those who have never had the awe-inspiring experience of standing in the heart of a primary rainforest.
  • Each time a rainforest medicine man dies, it is as if a library has burned down.
    • Chloe W
       
      I can't believe they have that much knowledge!
  • At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.
    • Chloe W
       
      WOW! It may not be the most unique foods and plants, but it is interesting that most of our things come from rainforests!
    • Chloe W
       
      Hopefully, this will come in handy for my central idea.
  • Two drugs obtained from a rainforest plant known as the Madagascar periwinkle, now extinct in the wild due to deforestation of the Madagascar rainforest, have increased the chances of survival for children with leukemia from 20 percent to 80 percent. Think about it: eight out of ten children are now saved, rather than eight of ten children dying from leukemia. How many children have been spared and how many more will continue to be spared because of this single rainforest plant? What if we had failed to discover this one important plant among millions before human activities had led to its extinction? When our remaining rainforests are gone, the rare plants and animals will be lost forever-and so will the possible cures for diseases like cancer they can provide.
    • Marius S
       
      Because of deforestation, all this has happened!
  • Rainforests have evolved over millions of years to turn into the incredibly complex environments they are today. Rainforests represent a store of living and breathing renewable natural resources that for eons, by virtue of their richness in both animal and plant species, have contributed a wealth of resources for the survival and well-being of humankind. These resources have included basic food supplies, clothing, shelter, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials, and medicine for all those who have lived in the majesty of the forest. However, the inner dynamics of a tropical rainforest is an intricate and fragile system. Everything is so interdependent that upsetting one part can lead to unknown damage or even destruction of the whole. Sadly, it has taken only a century of human intervention to destroy what nature designed to last forever. The scale of human pressures on ecosystems everywhere has increased enormously in the last few decades. Since 1980 the global economy has tripled in size and the world population has increased by 30 percent. Consumption of everything on the planet has risen- at a cost to our ecosystems. In 2001, The World Resources Institute estimated that the demand for rice, wheat, and corn is expected to grow by 40% by 2020, increasing irrigation water demands by 50% or more. They further reported that the demand for wood could double by the year 2050; unfortunately, it is still the tropical forests of the world that supply the bulk of the world's demand for wood.
    • Yen Yu C
       
      rainforest could be gone if the wood suplies keeps going up like this!
  • In 1950, about 15 percent of the Earth's land surface was covered by rainforest. Today, more than half has already gone up in smoke. In fewer than fifty years, more than half of the world's tropical rainforests have fallen victim to fire and the chain saw, and the rate of destruction is still accelerating. Unbelievably, more than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. That is more than 150 acres lost every minute of every day, and 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues. It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year. If nothing is done to curb this trend, the entire Amazon could well be gone within fifty years. Massive deforestation brings with it many ugly consequences-air and water pollution, soil erosion, malaria epidemics, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the eviction and decimation of indigenous Indian tribes, and the loss of biodiversity through extinction of plants and animals. Fewer rainforests mean less rain, less oxygen for us to breathe, and an increased threat from global warming.
    • Yen Yu C
       
      that is just scary but it is something we must know inorder for someone to solve the problem someday...i guess
  • But who is really to blame? Consider what we industrialized Americans have done to our own homeland. We converted 90 percent of North America's virgin forests into firewood, shingles, furniture, railroad ties, and paper. Other industrialized countries have done no better. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, and other tropical countries with rainforests are often branded as "environmental villains" of the world, mainly because of their reported levels of destruction of their rainforests. But despite the levels of deforestation, up to 60 percent of their territory is still covered by natural tropical forests. In fact, today, much of the pressures on their remaining rainforests comes from servicing the needs and markets for wood products in industrialized countries that have already depleted their own natural resources. Industrial countries would not be buying rainforest hardwoods and timber had we not cut down our own trees long ago, nor would poachers in the Amazon jungle be slaughtering jaguar, ocelot, caiman, and otter if we did not provide lucrative markets for their skins in Berlin, Paris, and Tokyo.
    • Yen Yu C
       
      why really is to blame??i think it's every human that lives in a house and have wonerful furnitures . I think even me.....us....
    • Yen Yu C
       
      good for some of my questions.....
  • More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful for my Q1, Q3
  • It is estimated that a single hectare (2.47 acres) of Amazon rainforest contains about 900 tons of living plants, including more than 750 types of trees and 1500 other plants.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful if you are loking at the biodiversity of a rainforest.
  • Destruction of our rainforests is not only causing the extinction of plant and animal species, it is also wiping out indigenous peoples who live in the rainforest.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful for my Q4
  • he problem and the solution of the destruction of the rainforest are both economic. Governments need money to service their debts, squatters and settlers need money to feed their families, and companies need to make profits. The simple fact is that the rainforest is being destroyed for the income and profits it yields, however fleeting. Money still makes the world go around . . . even in South America and even in the rainforest. But this also means that if landowners, governments, and those living in the rainforest today were given a viable economic reason not to destroy the rainforest, it could and would be saved. And this viable economic alternative does exist, and it is working today. Many organizations have demonstrated that if the medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, oils, and other resources like rubber, chocolate, and chicle (used to make chewing gums) are harvested sustainably, rainforest land has much more economic value today and more long-term income and profits for the future than if just timber is harvested or burned down for cattle or farming operations. In fact, the latest statistics prove that rainforest land converted to cattle operations yields the landowner $60 per acre; if timber is harvested, the land is worth $400 per acre. However, if medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, rubber, chocolate, and other renewable and sustainable resources are harvested, the land will yield the landowner $2,400 per acre. This value provides an income not only today, but year after year - for generations. These sustainable resources - not the trees - are the true wealth of the rainforest.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful for my Q4. Tells you the basic reason why rainforests are being destroyed.
    • Marius S
       
      That's interesting...
  • More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.
  • And while 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less than 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.
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    Its good
  • ...4 more comments...
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    At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World
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    Its intersting, and I never knew that!
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    Loads of inforamation... really good!
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    a commercial website that has a page of rainforest facts aimed at students doing reports
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    At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World
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    At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World
Lucy C

The Food Chain - 0 views

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    The Food Chain RealAudio Click here to be joined by your audio host! What is the difference between the 'Food Chain' and 'Food Web?' A popular misnomer, the 'food chain' is not actually a linear chain but a complex web. Energy is passed from one organism to another in a complex network like a spider's web. The food chain consists of four main parts: * The Sun, which provides the energy for everything on the planet. * Producers: these include all green plants. These are also known as autotrophs, since they make their own food. Producers are able to harness the energy of the sun to make food. Ultimately, every (aerobic) organism is dependent on plants for oxygen (which is the waste product from photosynthesis) and food (which is produced in the form of glucose through photosynthesis). They make up the bulk of the food chain or web. * Consumers: In short, consumers are every organism that eats something else. They include herbivores (animals that eat plants), carnivores (animals that eat other animals), parasites (animals that live off of other organisms by harming it), and scavengers (animals that eat dead animal carcasses). Primary consumers are the herbivores, and are the second largest biomass in an ecosystem. The animals that eat the herbivores (carnivores) make up the third largest biomass, and are also known as secondary consumers. This continues with tertiary consumers, etc. * Decomposers: These are mainly bacteria and fungi that convert dead matter into gases such as carbon and nitrogen to be released back into the air, soil, or water. Fungi, and other organisms that break down dead organic matter are known as saprophytes. Even though most of us hate those mushrooms or molds, they actually play a very important role. Without decomposers, the earth would be covered in trash. Decomposers are necessary since they recycle the nutrients to be used again by producers. This table shows the relational biomass of each of the major g
Kyra N

The Tropical Rainforest: Why we should care | El Bosque Nuevo - 1 views

  • The rainforest provides habitat for various species of animals. The canopy, trunk, root system, and even the fallen leaves provide a place for these creatures to live and thrive. What happens when rainforests are destroyed? First, all of the trees, underbrush and the animals not able to escape are killed. Many animals that escape migrate to an area already populated. Since the land will only support a limited number of any species, only a few will survive. At the best we will only have lost those individuals without a habitat. It is possibly, however, that the entire population will uses up all available resources and spirals into extinction
    • Hannah J
       
      Wow so interesting
    • Kyra N
       
      Thanks for the website Hannah(Hannah Jones) It really helped me!!!
  • The rainforest provides habitat for various species of animals. The canopy, trunk, root system, and even the fallen leaves provide a place for these creatures to live and thrive. What happens when rainforests are destroyed? First, all of the trees, underbrush and the animals not able to escape are killed. Many animals that escape migrate to an area already populated. Since the land will only support a limited number of any species, only a few will survive. At the best we will only have lost those individuals without a habitat. It is possibly, however, that the entire population will uses up all available resources and spirals into extinction.
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    There are many environmental issues confronting mankind as we proceed through the new millennia, not the least of which is the ever-growing problem of the destruction of our tropical rainforests. Why should we care about the loss of rainforests? You may
Victoria B

Pygmies - Pygmy Kleinood(how can we help them) - 0 views

    • Zoe P
       
      That is a good part about food
  • Infectious diseases unwittingly brought by the Europeans or transferred from the Bantus are taking their toll amongst the pygmies: in a typical community about 20% of the population is ill. They suffer particularly from malaria, eye diseases such as endemic river-blindness, intestinal worm diseases, framboesia, lung- and viral infections and from wounds which easily go septic in this tropical environment. Many children catch measles and suffer from polio and their mortality rate is very high. Adequate health care is expensive and local resources are extremely limited. The unique pygmy people need our support. With the help of the many friends of the pygmies around the globe we provide essential health-care and assistance in education and agriculture - but with more funds we could do so much more. A little money goes a very long way. For example, for only Euro 30, -- you can send a pygmy child to school for a whole year. We can pay the teacher and provide educational materials and medical care for the pupil. We need your support
  • Pygmies - page 2
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    a bit about THe Pymies
Hannah J

"SOS Amazon": every second we lose 1.5 acres of rainforests once covering 14% of earth ... - 0 views

    • Zoe P
       
      This would be great for a paragragh on "what will we lose if we lose the rainforest?"
    • Zoe P
       
      i should say that rainforest gives us products
    • Zoe P
       
      this is an interesting fact for my info.
  • ...9 more annotations...
    • Zoe P
       
      i should make a paragragh on this subject
    • Zoe P
       
      this is good for another subject
  • * Experts estimates that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year. As the rainforest species disappear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. Currently, 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. While 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.
  • * In 1983, there were no U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers involved in research programs to discover new drugs or cures from plants. Today, over 100 pharmaceutical companies and several branches of the US government, including giants like Merck and The National Cancer Institute, are engaged in plant research projects for possible drugs and cures for viruses, infections, cancer, and even AIDS
  • * The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.
  • * At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews. * At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000
  • * Currently, 121 prescription drugs currently sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. And while 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less than 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.
  • There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000
    • Zoe P
       
      this is an interesting fact for my info.
    • Hannah J
       
      fantastic information
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    This is a great website because it covers a lot of info. on importance of the rainforest ~ Zoe
Kavya D

The CAUSES of RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION - 0 views

  • The creation of national parks has undoubtedly helped to protect rainforests. Yet, as national parks are open to the public, tourism is damaging some of these areas. Often, national parks are advertised to tourists before adequate management plans have been developed and implemented. Inadequate funding is allocated for preservation of forests by government departments. Governments see tourism as an easy way to make money, and therefore tourism is encouraged whilst strict management strategies are given far less government support. Ecotourism, or environmentally friendly tourism, should educate the tourists to be environmentally aware. It should also be of low impact to its environment. Unfortunately, many companies and resorts who advertise themselves as eco-tourist establishments are in fact exploiting the environment for profit. In Cape Tribulation, Australia, for example, the rainforest is being threatened by excessive tourism. Clearing for roads and pollution of waterways are two of the major problems in this area. The Wet Tropics Management Authority which oversees the surrounding World Heritage Area is promoting tourism to the area before any management plans have been formulated, before any effective waste management strategy has been devised and before any ecofriendly power alternatives have been fully explored. Solutions: The rights of indigenous forest dwellers and others who depend on intact forests must be upheld. In instances where there are campaigns opposing specific tourist developments, they should be supported. Genuine ecotourism should be preferred to other tourist enterprises.
    • Kavya D
       
      How tourism affects the rainforests.
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    According to Professor Norman Myers, one of the foremost authorities on rates of deforestation in tropical forests, "the annual destruction rate seems set to accelerate yet further, and could well double in another decade" (Myers 1992). As Myers points out, "we still have half of all tropical forests that ever existed". The struggle to save the world's rainforests continues, and there is a growing worldwide concern about the issue. In order to save rainforests, we need to know why they are being destroyed. Nobody knows exactly how much of the world's rainforests have already been destroyed and continue to be razed each year. Data is often imprecise and subject to differing interpretations. However, it is obvious that the area of tropical rainforest is diminishing and the rate of tropical rainforest destruction is escalating worldwide, despite increased environmental activism and awareness. A 1992 study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) placed the global rate of tropical deforestation at 17 million ha. per year. A study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) suggests that the figure could be as high as 20.4 million ha. per year. 1. Immediate Causes The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests. 1.1 Logging Commercial logging companies cut down mature trees that have been selected for their timber. The timber trade defends itself by saying that this method of 'selective' logging ensures that the forest regrows naturally and in time, is once again ready for their 'safe' logging practices (WWF). In most cases, this is untrue due to the nature of rainforests and of logging practices. Large areas of rainforest are destroyed in order to remove only a few logs. The heavy mac
Elizabeth B

Conservation - 0 views

  • Why Do We Need To Conserve?One answer is very simple. We need to conserve to make certain we have resources for ourselves and for people in the future. Conservation will allow future generations to enjoy natural resources such as clean rivers and lakes, wilderness areas, a diverse wildlife population, healthy soil, and clean air. Resources Are Necessary for Life! Many natural resources are necessary for our survival. It may be difficult to imagine that we could ever run out of fresh water, clean air, and good soil for growing food. But in some places this is already happening.
  • Using less paper, reusing paper, and recycling paper saves trees and water. Recycling aluminum cans will save money, resources, and prevent pollution. For example, it takes much less energy to recycle an aluminum soft drink can than it does to make a new one. Making energy uses up resources like oil and coal. So just by recycling the aluminum cans you use, you become an instant conservationist!
  • Using less paper, reusing paper, and recycling paper saves trees and water. Recycling aluminum cans will save money, resources, and prevent pollution. For example, it takes much less energy to recycle an aluminum soft drink can than it does to make a new one. Making energy uses up resources like oil and coal. So just by recycling the aluminum cans you use, you become an instant conservationist!
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    • Elizabeth B
       
      is it that easy? wow I wonder why so many people dont do that .
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    nice job Marius
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    thanks
Elizabeth B

Rainforest Animals - 0 views

  • The rainforests of the world are being destroyed by loggers and development. Many species found in the rainforest are endangered. Once they disappear, they are gone forever!
    • Elizabeth B
       
      Rainforest animals are mostley enangerd but what can we do to save them just from home?
    • Morgan V
       
      and most people believe that if a large animal such as jaguars we will be come extinct too.
    • Woo Hyun C
       
      If the animals are gone we won't be able to survive either. We need to save the homes of the animals
Gurupranav G

Art in ancient Greece - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Useful info on greek art
  • There were several interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece. Due to their technical differences, they underwent somewhat differentiated developments. Not all painting techniques are equally well represented in the archaeological record.
  • The most respected form of art, according to authors like Pliny or Pausanias, were individual, mobile paintings on wooden boards, technically described as panel paintings. The techniques used were encaustic (wax) painting and tempera. Such paintings normally depicted figural scenes, including portraits and still-lifes; we have descriptions of many compositions. They were collected and often displayed in public spaces. Pausanias describes such exhibitions at Athens and Delphi. We know the names of many famous painters, mainly of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, from literature (see expandable list to the right). Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived, nor even any of the copies that doubtlessly existed, and which give us most of our knowledge of Greek sculpture. The most important surviving Greek examples are the fairly low-quality Pitsa panels from circa 530 BC, and a large group of much later Graeco-Roman archaeological survivals from the dry conditions of Egypt, the Fayum mummy portraits, together with the similar Severan Tondo. Byzantine icons are also derived from the encaustic panel painting tradition.
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  • The tradition of wall painting in Greece goes back at least to the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age, with the lavish fresco decoration of sites like Knossos, Tiryns and Mycenae. It is not clear, whether there is any continuity between these antecedents and later Greek wall paintings. Wall paintings are frequently described in Pausanias, and many appear to have been produced in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Due to the lack of architecture surviving intact, not many are preserved. The most notable examples are a monumental Archaic 7th century BC scene of hoplite combat from inside a temple at Kalapodi (near Thebes), and the elaborate frescoes from the 4th century "Grave of Phillipp" and the "Tomb of Persephone" at Vergina in Macedonia[1], sometimes suggested to be closely linked to the high-quality panel paintings mentioned above. Greek wall painting tradition is also reflected in contemporary grave decorations in the Greek colonies in Italy, e.g. the famous Tomb of the Diver at Paestum. Some scholars suggest that the celebrated Roman frescoes at sites like Pompeii are the direct descendants of Greek tradition, and that some of them copy famous panel paintings.
  • There were several interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece. Due to their technical differences, they underwent somewhat differentiated developments. Not all painting techniques are equally well represented in the archaeological record. [edit] Panel painting [show] List of known Ancient Greek painters One of the Pitsa panels, the only surviving panel paintings from Archaic Greece.   Agatharchus Antiphilus Apelles Apollodorus (painter) Aristides of Thebes Cimon of Cleonae Echion (painter) Euphranor Eupompus Melanthius Nicomachus of Thebes Panaenus Parrhasius Pausias Polyeidos (poet) Polygnotus Protogenes Theon of Samos Timarete Timomachus Zeuxis and Parrhasius The most respected form of art, according to authors like Pliny or Pausanias , were individual, mobile paintings on wooden boards, technically described as panel paintings . The techniques used were encaustic (wax) painting and tempera . Such paintings normally depicted figural scenes, including portraits and still-lifes ; we have descriptions of many compositions. They were collected and often displayed in public spaces. Pausanias describes such exhibitions at Athens and Delphi . We know the names of many famous painters, mainly of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, from literature (see expandable list to the right). Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived, nor even any of the copies that doubtlessly existed, and which give us most of our knowledge of Greek sculpture. The most important surviving Greek examples are the fairly low-quality Pitsa panels from circa 530 BC, and a large group of much later Graeco-Roman archaeological survivals from the dry conditions of Egypt, the Fayum mummy portraits , together with the similar Severan Tondo . Byzantine icons are also derived from the encaustic panel painting tradition. [edit] Wall painting Symposium scene in the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum, circa 480 BC. The tradition of wall painting in Greece goes back at least to the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age , with the lavish fresco decoration of sites like Knossos , Tiryns and Mycenae . It is not clear, whether there is any continuity between these antecedents and later Greek wall paintings. Wall paintings are frequently described in Pausanias, and many appear to have been produced in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Due to the lack of architecture surviving intact, not many are preserved. The most notable examples are a monumental Archaic 7th century BC scene of hoplite combat from inside a temple at Kalapodi (near Thebes ), and the elaborate frescoes from the 4th century "Grave of Phillipp" and the "Tomb of Persephone" at Verg in a in Macedonia http://en.wikipedia.org
Yen Yu C

Benefits of Deforestation - 0 views

  • One of the easiest benefits of deforestation to spot are the economic ones. Lumber products are one of the most staple constructive materials in human society. Whether it's raw lumber used for making tables and houses, or paper and other wood by-products, we simply cannot live without the use of lumber. Like steel and stone, wood is one of the most basic natural resources, and unlike steel and stone, it is renewable simply by growing more trees. The only real trick to balancing it's consumption is to grow more trees to replace the ones taken.
    • Yen Yu C
       
      that's why it's soo hard to be balanced. Good for my question Q$
  • his benefit of deforestation not only covers the people who cut down trees and process them, but also extends to the people who "clean up" after them. For every patch of forest cut down, arable land becomes available for farmers, or can be used as an area to place urban living sites like apartments, houses, and buildings. The number of people employed by such a construction project are many and varied. Or, if the city/government mandates replanting trees to replace the lost ones, then jobs are also provided for those people who do the seeding after a patch of forest is stripped.
    • Yen Yu C
       
      Key Words "Clean Up"
  •  
    One of the easiest benefits of deforestation to spot are the economic ones. Lumber products are one of the most staple constructive materials in human society. Whether it's raw lumber used for making tables and houses, or paper and other wood by-products, we simply cannot live without the use of lumber. Like steel and stone, wood is one of the most basic natural resources, and unlike steel and stone, it is renewable simply by growing more trees. The only real trick to balancing it's consumption is to grow more trees to replace the ones taken. On a similarly related note, keep in mind that a lot of jobs revolve around the use of lumber. Wood cutters aside, there are those who work in processing plants to make glue from wood sap, process pulp into paper, and others. This is another benefit of deforestation; it opens more job opportunities for people who would otherwise be unemployed. These job opportunities are more than simply a humanitarian concept; society at large would suffer if all of the people working in the wood industry were to suddenly find themselves jobless. This benefit of deforestation not only covers the people who cut down trees and process them, but also extends to the people who "clean up" after them. For every patch of forest cut down, arable land becomes available for farmers, or can be used as an area to place urban living sites like apartments, houses, and buildings. The number of people employed by such a construction project are many and varied. Or, if the city/government mandates replanting trees to replace the lost ones, then jobs are also provided for those people who do the seeding after a patch of forest is stripped. Thinking about it, the cleared areas are places which provide a lot of potential for growth, and this is yet another benefit of deforestation. As stated above, arable land is valuable, and the act of deforestation to clear a place for farm land provides a much needed additional food source for man. More often than not, the
Victoria B

Kivu/Virunga - Pygmy Kleinood(what are their cultures) - 0 views

  • During the formation of National Parks such as Virunga Park and Kahuzi Biega (where the mountain gorillas live), the Pygmies were removed from their ancestor’s land by force. The protection of gorillas is important and something that has to be done
    • Victoria B
       
      great info must use!
  • Environmental organisations all over the world are starting to carefully take initiatives to integrate the Batwa Pygmies in nature conservation programmes. After all, the Pygmies have a thorough knowledge of their own natural habitat...... Kleinood is now assisting the Gorilla Park management with complementary knowledge of the Pygmy way of live in order to avoid project failures. The Batwa Pygmies are now trying to survive in the savannah areas, without benefice of the forest products: a much marginalized existence. The cruel civil war in Congo has extremely traumatised the Pygmies and a lot of them are displaced and have become refugees. We find seriously ill Pygmies on a daily basis. They cannot afford any medical care. Kleinood takes them to local dispensaries and pays for their treatment. Agriculture Together with Stichting Vluchteling, Kleinood is developing agricultural and urgent food projects to fight starvation. At the same time we are encouraging the Pygmies to create their own food production. The Pygmy refugee camps are situated on porous, infertile lava land areas. To solve this problem we supplied 50 tons (!) of fertile and humus soil to create fields (shambas).
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    Why they are not living in the rainforest
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    Good website
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    need to use this for one of my questions to send to(what are their cultures?)
Ajay V

The Future of the Rainforests - 1 views

  • Since just 1950, the world's population has more than doubled to more than 6 billion people, with the fastest population growth being in the tropics.
    • Jack P
       
      how did this happen?
  • Today, more than 3 billion people live in the tropics alone, more than lived in the entire world in 1950.
  • Annual world consumption of tropical hardwoods is now more than 250 million cubic meters, or over 100 billion board feet, per year.
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  • All of the primary forests in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are gone. Ivory Coast's forests are essentially non-existent. Nigeria's forests have been decimated as well.
  •   Peasant farmers also clear the rainforest to have land for planting, by cutting the forest, and then in the dry season burning what they have cut.
  • Today we have less than 1.5 billion acres left, and we are clearing this remaining rainforest at the rate of 30 to 50 million acres per year, two to three times as rapidly as just a few decades ago.
  •   It is increasingly vitally important to plant tropical hardwood trees for harvest and to protect the world's remaining tropical rainforests.      It is also vitally important to get the message out to others about the importance
  • With the help and faith of our tree owners, with more than 2 million tropical hardwood trees planted to date, we are beginning to make a difference.
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    who is doing this
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    who is doing this
Antara V

Sloths are cool. - 28 views

They spend their lives just hanging out. Hanging around, hanging loose. Nothing's too much bother for a sloth. In fact, they never bother with anything. Do you ever see one in a hurry? Hassled? Ha...

Audrey C

http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entries/does_the_un_effectively_fulfill_its_mission - 0 views

  • Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.
  • Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.
  • Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.
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    Opinions on the UN.
Gurupranav G

Rainforest Biomes - 0 views

  • Many species of animal life can be found in the rain forest. Common characteristics found among mammals and birds (and reptiles and amphibians, too) include adaptations to a life in the trees, such as the prehensile tails of New World monkeys. Other characteristics are bright colors and sharp patterns, loud vocalizations, and diets heavy on fruits. Insects make up the largest single group of animals that live in tropical forests. They include brightly colored butterflies, mosquitoes, camouflaged stick insects, and huge colonies of ants. The Amazon river basin rainforest contains a wider variety of plant and animal life than any other biome in the world. The second largest population of plant and animal life can be found in scattered locations and islands of Southeast Asia. The lowest variety can be found in Africa. There may be 40 to 100 different species in 2.5 acres ( 1 hectare) of a tropical rain forest.   When early explorers first discovered the rainforests of Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, they They were amazed by the dense growth, trees with giant buttresses, vines and epiphytes . The tropical vegetation grew so dense that it was difficult to cut one's way through it. It was thought at the time that the soil of a rainforest must be very fertile, filled with nutrients, enabling it to support the immense trees and other vegetation they found. Today we know that the soil of the tropical rainforests is shallow, very poor in nutrients and almost without soluble minerals. Thousands of years of heavy rains have washed away the nutrients in the soil obtained from weathered rocks. The rainforest has a very short nutrient cycle. Nutrients generally stay in an ecosystem by being recycled and in a rainforest are mainly found in the living plants and the layers of decomposing leaf litter. Various species of decomposers like insects, bacteria, and fungi make quick work of turning dead plant and animal matter into nutrients. Plants take up these nutrients the moment they are released. A study in the Amazon rainforest found that 99% of nutrients are held in root mats. When a rainforest is burned or cut down the nutrients are removed from the ecosystem. The soil can only be used for a very short time before it becomes completely depleted of all nutrients.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      A great peice of info if you want to look at the biodiversity of animals in a rainforest
  • Besides these four layers, a shrub/sapling layer receives about 3 % of the light that filters in through the canopies. These stunted trees are capable of a sudden growth surge when a gap in the canopy opens above them. The air beneath the lower canopy is almost always humid. The trees themselves give off water through the pores (stomata) of their leaves. This process, called transpiration, can account for as much as half of the precipitation in the rain forest. Rainforest plants have made many adaptations to their environment. With over 80 inches of rain per year, plants have made adaptations that helps them shed water off their leaves quickly so the branches don't get weighed down and break. Many plants have drip tips and grooved leaves, and some leaves have oily coatings to shed water. To absorb as much sunlight as possible on the dark understory, leaves are very large. Some trees have leaf stalks that turn with the movement of the sun so they always absorb the maximum amount of light. Leaves in the upper canopy are dark green, small and leathery to reduce water loss in the strong sunlight. Some trees will grow large leaves at the lower canopy level and small leaves in the upper canopy. Other plants grow in the upper canopy on larger trees to get sunlight. These are the epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads. Many trees have buttress and stilt roots for extra support in the shallow, wet soil of the rainforests. Over 2,500 species of vines grow in the rainforest. Lianas start off as small shrubs that grow on the forest floor. To reach the sunlight in the upper canopy it sends out tendrils to grab sapling trees. The liana and the tree grow towards the canopy together. The vines grow from one tree to another and make up 40% of the canopy leaves. The rattan vine has spikes on the underside of its leaves that point backwards to grab onto sapling trees. Other "strangler" vines will use trees as support and grow thicker and thicker as they reach the canopy, strangling its host tree. They look like trees whose centers have been hollowed out. Dominant species do not exist in tropical rainforests. Lowland dipterocarp forest can consist of many different species of Dipterocarpaceae, but not all of the same species. Trees of the same species are very seldom found growing close together. This bio diversity and separation of the species prevents mass contamination and die-off from disease or insect infestation. Bio diversity also insures that there will be enough pollinators to take care of each species' needs. Animals depend on the staggered blooming and fruiting of rainforest plants to supply them with a year-round source of food.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Again, another useful peice of info if you are looking at the diversity of plants in the rainforest.
  • There are four very distinct layers of trees in a tropical rain forest. These layers have been identified as the emergent, upper canopy, understory, and forest floor. Emergent trees are spaced wide apart, and are 100 to 240 feet tall with umbrella-shaped canopies that grow above the forest. Because emergent trees are exposed to drying winds, they tend to have small, pointed leaves. Some species lose their leaves during the brief dry season in monsoon rainforests. These giant trees have straight, smooth trunks with few branches. Their root system is very shallow, and to support their size they grow buttresses that can spread out to a distance of 30 feet. The upper canopy of 60 to 130 foot trees allows light to be easily available at the top of this layer, but greatly reduced any light below it. Most of the rainforest's animals live in the upper canopy. There is so much food available at this level that some animals never go down to the forest floor. The leaves have "drip spouts" that allows rain to run off. This keeps them dry and prevents mold and mildew from forming in the humid environment. The understory, or lower canopy, consists of 60 foot trees. This layer is made up of the trunks of canopy trees, shrubs, plants and small trees. There is little air movement. As a result the humidity is constantly high. This level is in constant shade. The forest floor is usually completely shaded, except where a canopy tree has fallen and created an opening. Most areas of the forest floor receive so little light that few bushes or herbs can grow there. As a result, a person can easily walk through most parts of a tropical rain forest. Less than 1 % of the light that strikes the top of the forest penetrates to the forest floor. The top soil is very thin and of poor quality. A lot of litter falls to the ground where it is quickly broken down by decomposers like termites, earthworms and fungi. The heat and humidity further help to break down the litter. This organic matter is then just as quickly absorbed by the trees' shallow roots
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This peice of info tells you about the plants that live in each of the layers of the rainforest and some of their qualities. Very useful indeed.
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  • The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly. Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%; rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal areas, there is a real dry season. Almost all rain forests lie near the equator. Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. Scientists estimate that more than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests. Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen. A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world. Scientists have counted about 100 to 300 species in one 2 1/2-acre (1-hectare) area in South America. Seventy percent of the plants in the rainforest are trees. About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants. Curare comes from a tropical vine, and is used as an anesthetic and to relax muscles during surgery. Quinine, from the cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria. A person with lymphocytic leukemia has a 99% chance that the disease will go into remission because of the rosy periwinkle. More than 1,400 varieties of tropical plants are thought to be potential cures for cancer. All tropical rain forests resemble one another in some ways. Many of the trees have straight trunks that don't branch out for 100 feet or more. There is no sense in growing branches below the canopy where there is little light. The majority of the trees have smooth, thin bark because there is no need to protect the them from water loss and freezing temperatures. It also makes it difficult for epiphytes and plant parasites to get a hold on the trunks. The bark of different species is so similar that it is difficult to identify a tree by its bark. Many trees can only be identified by their flowers. Despite these differences, each of the three largest rainforests--the American, the African, and the Asian--has a different group of animal and plant species. Each rain forest has many species of monkeys, all of which differ from the species of the other two rain forests. In addition, different areas of the same rain forest may have different species. Many kinds of trees that grow in the mountains of the Amazon rain forest do not grow in the lowlands of that same forest.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This tells you about what a tropical rainforest basically is, some of it's qualities, even the temperature of the rain that falls there.
Antara V

Save the Amazon Rainforest | Amazon River - Rainforest Animals - 0 views

shared by Antara V on 22 Sep 09 - Cached
    • Antara V
       
      I didnt know that.....interesting.
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    It gives us a lot of information on the disappearance of the animals and the rainforest.
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    On what we can do to save animals....and why they are disappearing so fast.
Marius S

Tropical Rainforest- Trivia & Facts on Saving - 0 views

  • Today, we know that the soil of the tropical rainforests is thin and very low in nutrients. Decomposers like leaf-cutter ants, termites, bacteria, and fungi quickly turn falling leaves and dead organisms into nutrients. Plants take up these nutrients the moment they are available, so they don’t get a chance to enrich the soil. Keeping Tropical Rainforests Healthy Conservation of tropical rainforests should be easy. They have survived for millions of years. The trick to keeping them healthy is to not take too much too fast. This gives the rainforests time to recover from human activities like logging. But many countries that have tropical rainforests are poor. They can make money by cutting down and developing the rainforests. But uncontrolled development results in deforestation
    • Marius S
       
      About the rainforest cycle. (First Paragraph)
  • Rainforests have 170,000 of the world's 400,000 known plant species. The United States has 81 species of frogs, while Madagascar (which is smaller than Texas) may have 300 species. Europe has 321 butterfly species, while Manu National Park in the tropical rainforest of Peru has 1,300 species! The world’s only species of flying snake and lizard live in the Borneo rainforest. The largest catfish in the world lives in a tropical rainforest river in Vietnam. It weighs over 300 kg. About one-quarter of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants. Curare comes from a tropical vine. It is used as an anesthetic and to relax muscles during heart surgery. Quinine, from the cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria. A person with leukemia has a 99% chance that the disease will go into remission because of the rosy periwinkle. More than 1,400 varieties of tropical plants might be potential cures for cancer.
  • Some traditional rainforest cultures still live in the forests. They travel as a group to collect and hunt food. As rainforests are destroyed, so are the homes of these interesting and amazing people.
    • Marius S
       
      Interesting facts on rainforest people.
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  • More than half the species on Earth are found in tropical rainforests. Many species living in these forests have never before been seen or studied by scientists. Most of these unknown species are insects, like moths.
  • Tropical rainforests are wet nearly all the time. They get lots of rain all year long, but they also help make rain through evaporation. Tropical rainforests help regulate weather all over the world.
  • Tropical rainforests are found in a narrow region around the equator that is known as the tropics. The climate is rainy and the temperatures are warm and nearly the same every day. The sun and the rain combine to create an environment that is very humid. This climate is ideal for the growth of many kinds of green plants.
  • Many different frog species live in the canopy of the rainforest. Most spend their entire lives in the canopy. They lay their eggs in little pools of water held in leaves instead of in ponds or streams.
  • Tropical rainforest plants have many adaptations for living in the forest. Some collect all their water from the air. For this reason, many of them have very large leaves. Others have flexible stems that allow them to bend and follow the sunlight so they can carry out photosynthesis all day.
  • which is part of a conservation effort known as ecotourism. People also are trying to help wildlife survive by creating protected areas and rehabilitation centers.
  • Decomposers like leaf-cutter ants, termites, bacteria, and fungi live on the forest floor. These decomposers quickly turn fallen leaves and dead organisms into nutrients. This creates food for trees and other plants and animals.
    • Marius S
       
      Decomposers
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