THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST o Northern Hemisphere - wet

season: May to July

 Between 10 N and 10 S of
o o
equator
 E.g. Amazon basin  S. America,
N. Australia, Indonesian, South-
east Asia, Guinea Coast of Africa,
Congo.
o Southern Hemisphere – wet
season: November to
February
SOIL:
 Zonal soil – developed over a
long period of time + in balance
with the environment
o Called the Latosol in the
rainforest
 Characteristics of the soil

Characteristics

 2,200gm-2year-1 (high energy)

 High humidity – huge amounts of
Evapotranspiration
 High temperature and rainfall
 Huge biodiversity – approx. ½
gene pool

CLIMATE:
 Temperature
o Remains high – 27-28
degrees
o Fluctuates more daily than
over the year
o Dual peaks in temperature
 Rainfall – over 250cm/year
o 50% rainfall is due to
evaporation from the
rainforest
 12 hours sunlight everyday 6am  The Latosol is very nutrient poor
dawn – 6pm sundown – all nutrients are immediately
absorbed by the vegetation
 Morning: Air heats up, lots of
evaporation, low pressure, air  Red/brown colour due to iron
rises and forms clouds and aluminium oxides in the soil
 Mid-afternoon: thunderstorms  High amounts of leaching – due
due to build up of water vapour to high precipitation
 Can be +40m deep
 Late afternoon: clear skies after
storm. Temperatures can reach  Chemical weathering (i.e.
+30oC ferralitisation: the break down
of bed rock to soil) – due to hot,
 Night: <20 oC – no insulation wet climate.
 ITCZ – intertropical convergence
zone VEGETATION:
o Low pressure belt  Net Primary Productivity (NPP) =
o Travels between tropics of 2,2000gm-2year-1
Cancer and Capricorn
o Brings wet weather/low
 Growing season all year round
pressure  Litter rapidly decomposes and is
almost immediately absorbed
 Deciduous – but different
species lose their leaves at
different times
 300 species of tree/km2
o Mahogany, teak, rosewood,
rubber, balsa + brazil nut
 Layers
o Emergent +45m
o Canopy – most rainwater
intercepted by this layer
o Understory
o Shrub layer
o Forest floor – only 5-10%
light reaches the floor. Growth
limited to mosses and lichens.
 Plant adaptations
o Climbers – Lianas (often
strangle host tree) and
Epiphytes (non-parasitic)
o Drip tip – prevent water from
building up on plant
o Buttress roots – stabilise
the plants against high winds
o Flexible trunks – allow trees
to sway in the wind
o Fast growing – in order to
reach the top layers where
there is most light
o Shallow roots – to take
advantage of heavy
downpours
o Thin bark – not needed for
protection – reduces wasted
energy
o Broad, thin leaves –
maximised surface area fro
absorption of light
EXPLOITATION:
 Deforestation
o Hardwood – teak
(building/furniture)
o Land is cleared for:
• Rubber plantations
• Cattle ranches
• Soya plantations
• Palm Oil
o Clearance for settlements and
agriculture: Transmigration
Java  Sumatra
 Rubber Plantation: Southern
Yunnan, China
o Deforestation when forest is
removed for plantations of
rubber trees. Rubber trees
can drain the areas water
supplies and the pesticides
are contaminating local
reservoirs.
 Hydroelectric Power: Tucuruí
dam on the Tocantins River,
Amazonia
o Deforestation to provide more
land for flooding to occur and
for reservoirs.
 Palm Oil: Sarawak, Borneo,
Malaysia
o 86% of deforestation in
Malaysia from 1995-2000 was
for oil palm plantations
o Leads to loss of Climax forest
due to trees removal. Impacts
include those of pesticides,
loss of habitat (i.e. Orang-
utans) and lowering of the
water table.
EFFECTS OF EXPLOITATION:
o Climate change: less CO2
absorbed, more released in
burning/ decomposition
o Loss of biodiversity
o Plants become endangered ->
food chain disrupted
o Micro-climate – daily water
cannot occur
o Cultures of indigenous
people are moved or killed
o Top soil is lost very quickly
(open to erosion/leaching of
minerals)
THE FUTURE + SUSTAINABILITY
 Ecotourism
o Foreign income
o Encouragement for
protection of the forest
itself
 Control of the
rainforest/planning
o Guyana  allowed a
British led team to control
the remaining 50 million
acres of forest
 Reforestation
o Indonesia – 2007, 79
million trees planted
 Conservation of seeds
o Seeds for the Future
Project, Australia
 o Allows for replanting of
species which may
diminish as a result of
deforestation
 Sustainable Rubber Tapping
o No harm done to the
organism
 Control of logging
o Measuring trees – only
certain sizes are allowed
be cut down
o Secondary products –
recycling of wood
Fundecor, Costa Rica
o Reduced impact logging
 Improved
Technology to
reduce soil impact
 Cut lianas/climbers
off before felling
 Directional felling
 Shifting Cultivation
o Farmers moving to
another area of land –
allows rainforest to
recover
 Reduce use of pesticides
o Reduces damage to soil
and bioaccumulation
which could lead to the
death of some animals.