Equatorial Rainforests Essay

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Location of the Equatorial Rainforest Equatorial forests are located right above the equator and have very hot temperatures. The major Equatorial Rainforests are found in South and Central America, West Africa and Eastern Asia. • South and Central America – Amazon Rainforest • West Africa – Congo Rainforest • Eastern Asia - South Eastern Asia Rainforest • The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world. The Congo is the second and the South East Asia the third. See Diagram 1. [pic] Diagram 1 Equatorial Rainforest • The Equatorial Rainforests which are also called hot and wet rainforests are vegetation areas or forests that grow in both areas of high rainfall and dry temperatures. Characteristics of the Equatorial Rainforest • The Equatorial Rainforest has various types of trees and plants. The rainforest consist of three layers. These are: • The Bottom Layer • The Middle Layer • The Top Layer The Bottom Layer - This consists of ferns, small plants and saprophytes. The Middle Layer - This layer has trees, ferns and eprophytes. The Top Layer- This layer contains tall trees that have buttress roots. • The leaves of the tall trees will form a continuous canopy which will shut out most of the light at the ground level resulting in little undergrowth. • The majority of the trees in the rainforest are broad leaf and green which helps in getting rid of excess water through transpiration and leafs will protect themselves through a drip tip. Also, the size of the leaf will allow the absorption of more sunlight. Therefore the broader the leaf the more sunlight will be absorbed. • The tree barks are often thin

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