Amazon Rainforest Essay

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The Amazon is the largest rainforest and is located in the upper section of Brazil south of the Equator but also extending into neighbouring countries. The total area of the forest is approximately 4 million square km. It is hot and humid throughout the year, with an average annual temperature of 27°C. The annual temperature range is about 2°C and the difference between day and night temperatures is greater than the difference between any two seasons. It rains every day, at very regular intervals, starting and ending very suddenly. This is called "convectional rainfall". The average annual rainfall is 2700mm. The plants in the rainforest have had to adapt to this heavy rainfall order to survive. Trees grow up to 40m high, break through the low cloud layer and gain the sunlight. The leaves have tips that curve downwards so the rain drips off. The undergrowth will spring up wherever light reaches the forest floor and fallen leaves and plant matter rot swiftly to provide the nutrients that the rest of the plants require. The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. One in five of all the birds in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon. The Amazon water lily is the biggest flower in the world with a diameter of two metres. The Caranguejeira spider is bigger than a baseball and one species of monkey weighing 130 grams is about the size of a toothbrush. There are about 30 times more fish species in the Amazon than in all European rivers. The Amazon River contains over 3000 rare aquatic species including two types of river dolphins, the giant otter, turtles and alligators. During the rainy season, the pink river dolphins move out of the main river and into the flooded forest where they can be seen swimming and hunting among the trees. The diversity of plant species is the highest on
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