Have you ever looked at nature and were just astounded at what you saw? Maybe it was the feeling you got when you first stepped foot on a beach or when you hiked to the top of Mt. Everest to see the breath-taking view. It’s those silent and speechless moments that have me convinced that there has to be a Creator who loved me enough to make something that He knew would take my breath away.
One of God’s many creations is the Amazon Rainforest, also known as the Amazon River Basin. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest on Earth. Covering about 40 percent of the South American continent, I think it is safe to say that this rainforest is huge. It gets about 9 feet of rainfall every year. Over 500 mammals, 175 lizards and over 300 other reptiles’ species and one third of the world's birds live in the Amazon Rainforest. Competition for survival is extremely fierce.
The Amazon Rainforest consists of 4 layers, each with unique ecosystem, animals and plants. The first layer is the emergent layer. This layer may have trees rising up to 200 feet tall. The emergent layer is exposed to the most harsh weather conditions such as rainfall, winds and fluctuation of temperature. The trees in this layer have small waxy leaves that hold water and leaves that are able to disperse seeds to other parts of the rain forest.
The second layer is the canopy. This layer contains trees that are very dense and block out about 80 percent of the sunlight. The leaves are oval-shaped with a drip tip shaped for easy flow of water and prevention of growing fungus. Lots of flowers and fruit grow in the canopy layer.
The third layer is the understory. This layer consists of trees that are only about 12 feet tall with solar-collecting leaves that are dark green. The understory only gets about 5 percent of sunlight. Plants rely on insects for pollination because of little air movement.
The lowest layer is the forest floor. Barely any plants grow in this layer because of only 2 percent of sunlight being seen. Lots of decomposition takes place on the forest layer. This provides food and nutrients for many plants and animals.
The Amazon rainforest has a very warm and humid. The average temperature ranges at about 79 degrees Fahrenheit. About 20 percent of this rainforest has been destroyed for the use of humans.
This example of the Amazon Rainforest is a living, breathing example of how much God cares for his people. One of the most common verses in the bibles that demonstrates this love is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This undying, inarguable, sacrificial love is shown to us by simply looking at God’s creation. To think that God, the Creator of all the universe, loves you and I with this amazing love, is one of the most mind-blowing thing I could ever think of.
Beautiful job, excellent
ReplyDelete