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Many of the Tropical Rainforests are in danger of deforestation due to the needs of us humans.

This is what is happening to the rainforests. This affects not only the people living near and in the rainforests, but also the whole world.

Rainforests are usually located 5° either side of the Equator.

• The temperature within the rainforest is high throughout the year, at an average of 27c.

• Also, there is daily convectional rainfall, which totals to over 2000mm per year.

The red clay soils up to 30 metres deep because of rapid weathering.

The soil is leached as the nutrients are washed away by the heavy rainfall.

Once the soils nutrients has been used up by for example farmers then it is left in this condition.

Emergent Layer: The tallest trees are about 50 metres high, but can be about 80 metres. Canopy Layer: trees more than 30 metres high, home to most insects, birds and animals. Under story: Receives only 2-15% of sunlight and contains young trees.

The tropical rainforest is stratified into 5 different layers.

Rainforests are cut down everyday for several different reasons and they are:

•AGRICULTURE – farmland needed for settlers

•SETTLEMENT – land needed to provide homes

•RANCHING – forest cleared to graze cattle

•LOGGING – timber exported, to MEDC’s

•MINING – gold, iron ore and aluminium ore

•DAMS – hydro-electricity power

•ROADS – 12,000km of new roads

The effects of these are harming the environment around the area and globally. Firstly, it’s causing excess soil erosion as there are less trees to intercept the heavy rainfall. Secondly, as the rainforest contains 90% of all known species of plants and animals, it is predicted that in the next 40 years 100,000 species will become extinct.

Globally, cutting down trees is causing increased global warming.

Global Warming is the rise in the Earth’s average temperature caused by an increase in the greenhouse effect. The sun sends solar

energy which reaches the earth as light. The Earth’s surface absorbs solar energy and radiates heat, however some of the heat is trapped in the Earth’s surface. This is called global warming.

One of the main causes of global warming is deforestation. This is due to the fact that forests are being cut down therefore there are fewer trees converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Evidence that global warming

exists is:

1. Glaciers are melting

2. Coral reefs are dying

3. Average global temperature has increased by 0.6°c in the past 100 years

If things carry on as they are then the following problems will occur in the future