Rain Forest (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what the rainforest is and what type of animals live there. Also, what is its flora like and the characteristics of the tropical jungle.

What is the rainforest?

Also called tropical forest, the tropical rainforest is a green belt that is located on the equator line. Among its main qualities are its high average temperatures, as well as its abundant rainfall, which is constant throughout the months, which can reach 5000 mm in a single year, in addition to having dense vegetation. Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Australia, China, Peru, India, the Philippines and Madagascar are some of the countries that have this biome.

Although it is true that they do not occupy a large part of the earth's surface – it is estimated that they represent close to 5 percent of the total -, The rainforest fulfills several functions that are key for the planet. First of all, this green belt, found mainly in the Congo basin, the Amazon and Southeast Asia, is the habitat of millions of species, both animals and plants, which are found in enormous quantities.

Furthermore, the importance of the rainforest has to do with the amount of carbon it manages to store which is essential to prevent soil erosion. And finally, this green belt helps to balance the climate and water.

Environmental experts have their eyes on this biome for a simple reason: more than half of it has been razed, damaged or isolated as a consequence of human intervention. And this not only puts the lives of the hundreds of thousands of plants and animals that inhabit it at risk, but also, the tropical forest is a source of essential raw materials for human beings, such as food, wood or even of the land where nearly 60 million people live and, therefore, need them to continue standing in order to survive.

You may be interested: Geographic Limits

Rainforest animals

Much of the fauna that inhabits tropical soils is characterized by being invertebrate, that is: without a vertebral column or articulated skeleton. On the other hand, yes arachnids, insects and worms abound. One of the most common insects are beetles. In fact, a good part of the 500,000 beetles that have been identified in the world are found there, in tropical forests.

Amphibians and reptiles also inhabit tropical soils. There, you can find reptiles such as crocodiles, turtles, snakes or alligators or amphibians such as salamanders, toads or newts.

Also, tropical forests have streams, lakes and rivers that are the habitat of different fish, and the most varied species. To give an example, Nearly 3,000 different species have been identified in the Amazon River..

Finally, in this habitat there are also mammals of different sizes. Some are small, such as rodents, but also others are larger, such as tigers or elephants.

Rainforest plants

Unlike what is usually portrayed, The rainforest floor does not have a huge amount of vegetation tangled but, on the contrary, is quite clear. The explanation is very simple: almost no sunlight reaches there.

For all this is that, When you set foot in the tropical forest you can already see long trunks which are the result of trees trying to reach contact with sunlight. And to this we must add that many plants grow on these trunks. According to experts, up to 2,000 epiphytic plants can live attached to the same tree.

On the other hand, tropical forests abound in species diversity. 200 different types can coexist in a single hectare.. And, in addition to epiphytes in tropical forests there are also lianas, hemiepiphytes and saprophytes.

You may be interested: Cultural Landscape

Characteristics of the jungles

In addition to the abundant rainfall, which occurs constantly throughout the year, another factor that characterizes tropical forests is its temperatures between 19 and 28° C. In any case, there are forests with lower temperatures, as a consequence of their high altitudes. In this type of forest, fog is also very common.

Tropical rainforests have four types of layers:

Floor. As previously mentioned, the ground has very little light, it is estimated that 2% is barely enough. This makes it a dark area, but also humid. This makes it an unfavorable terrain for the development of plant life. Instead, it is the place where animal and plant remains decompose. The soils are characterized by being shallow, this makes it not useful for agricultural activities.
Undergrowth. This layer, above the ground, receives a little more sunlight, although scarcely. It is in this second layer where short plants and bushes develop. Humidity is also recorded here.
Canopy. This third layer is where the branches of the different trees that coexist in the same tropical forest collide. It is also there where a good part of the fauna lives.
Emergent. Finally, there is this layer, which is the one on top of everything. This is where most of the sunlight reaches, which is received by the canopy of the tall trees. Unlike what happens in the understory, where humidity makes the leaves large, in this layer they are smaller.

Tropical forests are one Of the biomes that have greater diversity. Half of the species that exist in the world are estimated to live there. And, it is worth clarifying that experts on the subject know that there is still much to discover there.