About the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon River is surrounded by a vast river basin. Huge areas of this basin are home to the world's largest tropical rainforest on the earth. The rainforest is distributed across eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia and Suriname. It also includes French Guiana, an overseas region of France. This rainforest is also known as Amazonia and covers more than 750,000 square miles (1,950,000 sq km). A wide diversity of plants and animals thrive here.
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Climate
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The Amazon rainforest is located in a tropical climate zone and therefore is hot and humid. During the daytime, the temperature in a rainforest averages close to 93 degrees F (34 degrees C). At night, the temperature drops to below 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). The average humidity in this region is between 77 and 88 percent. It rains quite heavily in the rainforest (up to 150 cm per year).
Flora
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The vegetation in the Amazon rainforest is extremely diverse. It is divided into four layers: the emergent layer, the canopy layer, the understory layer and the forest floor. The emergent layer has tall trees, and they grow to be more than 200 feet high (61 m). Just below this layer is the thick canopy layer. The trees in this layer grow 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 m). The understory layer grows between the canopy and the forest floor. Here the plants are usually less than 12 feet tall. Very few plants grow in the forest floor. This region is dark and damp and is home to fungus, lichen and moss.
Many rainforest trees have buttress roots to provide extra support to trees. Trees here are often covered by plants called epiphytes (plants that grow on another plant) such as orchids and ferns. Several species of orchids thrive in these rainforests. Spectacular flowering plants such as the heliconia plant are also found here.
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Fauna
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A wide variety of animal species abound in the Amazon rainforest. Over 200 species of mammals such as the uakari monkey reside here. They are also home to the puma, the jaguar and ocelot. Water birds such as ducks, parrots, tiny hummingbirds and the harpy eagle live in the Amazon basin. Different kinds of insects are also found in this region. The Amazon rainforest is home to large snakes such as the green anaconda and the boa constrictor. Many species of amphibians such as frogs and toads thrive here as well.
Economic Activities
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The Amazon rainforest is a storehouse of natural resources. The native people of this region are engaged in its traditional industries, including logging, fishing, mining and agriculture. The tourism industry is growing at a fast pace in the Amazon basin.
Destruction of Amazon Rainforest and Conservation Efforts
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Mining, logging, farming and road building have led to the destruction of Amazon rainforests. Due to deforestation, thousands of plant and animal species have lost their habitat. To alleviate this situation, several organizations and individuals are taking steps for the conservation of the rainforest.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit rainforest tree laden with epiphytes, vines and lianas image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com
