Geology of the soils of the rain forest

Sunday, August 21, 2011

 

 

Rainforests

Less than six percent of the earth’s surface is covered in rain forests.  There is about fifty to two hundred and sixty inches of rain that falls on our planets rain forest every year. Tropical rain forests have tall trees that can reach up to sixty feet off the ground. This causes little rain to reach the forest floors. Tropical rain forest have very unique traits like, geology of the rain forest, temperatures, sunlight, humidity and rain fall, and even soil composition. These are the many things that make tropical rain forests as unique as they are.

Rain forests are decreasing more and more every year.  Forty percent of earth’s oxygen comes from tropical rain forests.  Majority of plants in the rain forests are trees.  There are many plants among the rain forest that are used as key ingredients to medicines we use today. Malaria can be treated from quinine from the cinchona tree.  There are fourteen hundred varieties of plants that have the potential to cure cancer. The American, African, and Asian are three of the largest rainforests in the world.  Amazon River Basin rainforest contains more varieties of plants than any other rain forest in the world.  Southeast Asia has the second largest population plant and animal life.

Rain forests have an average temperature of seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit.  Also, it never drops below sixty degrees.  Rain forests near the equator get really hot.  You get more solar radiation when you are closer to the equator.  It gets really hot when there is more solar radiation.  When the rain forests get cooler all plants die out.  Because there is little air movement on the rain forest floor it results in high humidity.  Decomposers like termites, earth worms, fungi, heat, and humidity help break down the litter, such as fallen leaves, that falls to the surface of the rain forests floors.  The rainfall usually never gets the smaller plants in the ground below the plants.  Most of the trees have thin, smooth, bark because water loss and freezing temperatures are not an issue and there is no need for them to be protected from that.

The average amount of sunlight rain forest receives is twelve hours.  Through the process of photosynthesis, the plants convert the sunlight into energy.  A lot of energy is locked up in the rain forest because there is so much sunlight.  This energy is stored in the plants.

Early settlers thought that because of the lushness of the rain forest that the soil must be good for crops.  The settlers tore down trees and began to farm on the land.  They soon found out once the trees and plants were removed the soil was no longer good.  The reason is soils in some tropical rain forests are shallow, have soluble minerals, and pour nutrients.  Plants take the nutrients immediately from the soil, so the nutrients do not get a chance to not make the soil rich.  More than two-thirds of the world’s rain forest and three-fourths of the Amazonian rain forest grow on a red and yellow clay-like soil.  These soils are acidic and low in nutrients.   Rain forest soil loses all of its nutrients in a very short time.  Lots of tropical rain forest soils are underfed.  Amazonian soils have lots of minerals like, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.  Rain forest soil uses organic matter that makes rich nutrients in the ground.  Some soils are poor, but some are made up of flood plain and volcanic soils.  The best soils come down on steep slopes because exhausted top soils release minerals. 

There are many things that make tropical rain forests as unique as they are.  There is the geology of the rain forest, the temperature, rainfall, and humidity.  There is also the soil composition of the rainforest that makes it unique.  If you ever go to a tropical rain forest, try thinking of the aspects of the rain forest life.

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/