Rainforest facts
A rainforest is a forest area where the annual rainfall is atleas 1750 millimetres. There are both tropical and temperate rainforests both with their own unique environments.
There is usually not too many plants on the ground in the rainforests due to the limited amount of light that is able to penetrate the canopy. The densest area of biodiversity is instead found in the canopy layer, which is typically found at a height of 30-45 meters. According to some estimates, up to 50 percent of all plant species and 25 percent of all insect species live here.
Scientific exploration of the canopy layer didn’t really take off until the 1980s when researchers began experimenting with firing ropes into the trees using crossbows. Today researches use hot air ballons and other airships to help explore the canopy.
If the rainforest canopy for some reason is destroyed or thinned, the emerging light will start off intense growth on the forest floor below and soon densely grown vines, shrubs, and small trees will have sprouted, forming a so called jungle which can be very hard to penetrate.
Tropical rainforests
As the name suggests, tropical rainforests are rainforest located within the tropics, i.e. between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Tropical rainforest can be found in all parts of the tropical world. Many Pacific Islands, including Hawaii, are also home to tropical rainforests.
Tropical rainforests are often referred to as “Earth’s lungs” but in reality they actually contribute very little net oxygen to the atmosphere since most of the vast amounts of oxygen emitted by photosynthesizing rainforest plants is consumed within the rainforest ecosystem.
The tropical rainforest is home to a lot of famous tropical rainforest flower which have become famous house plants such as the Amazonian Canndle bush (Senna reticulata), the scarlet red Forest Flame (Delonix regia) and the well-known Ylang Ylang Perfume Tree (Cananga odorata).
Temperate rainforests
This type of rainforest can be found all over the world except for Antarctica. In Europe, you can for instance find rainforests in southern Norway, along the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, in the north-western parts of Spain, and along the Adriatic coast of western Balkan.
Temperate rainforests are typically situated near the ocean and are especially common in mountainous areas near the sea. Temperate rainforests tend to be kept cool and moist by fog during the summer season and aren’t prone to rapid changes in temperature. Epiphytes such as mosses thrive in the damp environment.
You might think the tropical rainforests have the highest biomass of all terristrial ecosystem but in that case you are wrong, the coniferous rainforests contain a higher biomass level. The European rainforests are famous for their abundance of huge oak trees and for having been managed by people for thousands of years. Oak wood have many uses and have been among other things been used to build houses, wine barrels and ships.
