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FAQ on rainforests
What is a rainforest?
A: A tropical
rainforest consists of three layers of life: the canopy, the understory
and the forest floor. The canopy is the treetops (160-220 feet tall!) which
make up the rainforest's green ceiling. Most of the animals of the rainforest
such as monkeys, birds, tree frogs and even snakes, live in the canopy.
The understory is the young trees, ferns and shrubs that are under the
canopy. Most plants in the understory never grow to adult size because
the canopy blocks out most of the sunlight. The forest floor is the bottom
layer of the rainforest. Except for rotting vegetation which nourishes
the thin tropical soil, the forest floor is almost bare. Large mammals
like jaguars and African gorillas live on the forest floor.
Where are tropical
rainforests?
A: Tropical
rainforests are located around the equator where temperatures stay near
80 degrees year round. Rainforests receive 160 to 400 inches (400-1000
cm) of rain each year. The largest rainforests are in Brazil (South America),
Zaire (Africa) and Indonesia (South East Asia). Other tropical rainforest
places are in Hawaii and the islands of the Pacific & Caribbean.
Who are the tribal
people of the rainforest?
A: They are
usually called Indians or indigenous people. No one knows for sure how
or when these original inhabitants of the rainforests got there. There
are perhaps a thousand or more forest groups around the world - many close
to extinction! In 1900, Brazil had 1,000,000 (one million) Indians. Today,
there are less than 200,000. Eighty-seven tribes have been killed off in
Brazil since 1900 - that's almost one tribe per year!
Indigenous people
live in small groups or tribes. They are either hunter-gatherers or hunter-gardeners.
They build their homes from trees and palm leaves. They have their own
spiritual beliefs. Rubber tappers also live in the rainforests of Brazil.
They are not Indians but have learned to take rubber from rubber trees
without killing the trees.
Why are the rainforests
so important?
A: Rainforests
help control the world's climate. In the rainforest, it rains a lot and
is very hot. When it rains, the heat makes the rainwater evaporate back
into the air - this means it's recycled. Rainwater in the Amazon an be
recycled five to seven times. 50% of rain in some rainforests comes from
evaporation. The clouds that cover the rainforests around the equator reflect
the sun. this keeps the rainforest from getting too hot.
Rainforest canopies
also absorb carbon dioxide, which is a gas in the atmosphere. When the
rainforests are burned and cleared, the carbon is released. This makes
the weather much hotter and is called the greenhouse effect.
What happens
to a rainforest when the trees are chopped down?
A: About 80%
of the rainforests nutrients comes from trees and plants. That leaves 20%
of the nutrients in the soil. The nutrients from the leaves that fall are
instantly recycled back up into the plants and trees. When a rainforest
is clear-cut, conditions change very quickly. The soil dries up in the
sun. When it rains, it washes the soil away.
Won't a rainforest
grow back?
A: Not with
the diversity of plants and animals. Rainforest ecosystems have been developing
for hundreds of millions of years and have species that only live there.
Why don't we
just buy rainforests to save them?
A: Remember
that people live in and depend on the rainforests. How would you like it
if somebody bought your home without asking you? Instead RAN has a Protect-an-Acre
Program to help the indigenous people legally own their land. They are
often the best protectors of the rainforests.