My Science School

Rainforests only cover a small part of the Earth’s surface but they are sometimes called the lungs of the world. They help control the world’s weather and affect the air we breathe.

Rainforests help to recycle gases in the air.

Trees and other plants breathe in the opposite way to humans and animals. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide (which we breathe out) and breathe out oxygen (which we breathe in). This helps to balance gases in the air and ensures there is plenty of oxygen for us to breathe.

 

 

 

Rainforests soak up the heat from the Sun.

Dark green rainforests absorb the heat and strong sunlight that shines in the tropics. When rainforests are cut down and lighter coloured vegetation grows instead, it creates a mirror effect. Sunlight and heat are reflected back up into the atmosphere causing it to warm up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting down rainforests is helping to make the Earth warmer.

When rainforests are destroyed, there are fewer trees to remove carbon dioxide from the air, so it starts to build up. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat from the Sun like the glass in a greenhouse. This is called the greenhouse effect and it is making the Earth warmer.

 

Many of the things that we use and eat every day come from the rainforest. New animals and plants that could be useful in the future are being discovered all the time.

All of these things come from rainforest plants.

Many of the foods that we eat come from the rainforest. Banana, coffee and avocado plants first grew wild in rainforests and are now grown in large plantations. Some foods, such as Brazil nuts are still collected from trees growing in the rainforest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading "Rain forest Nature’s superstore"

 

 

The rainforest floor is covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves called leaf litter. Millions of insects, tiny creatures and fungi help to break down the leaves. Anything that falls to the forest floor is not there for long!

 

 

 

 

 

Everything that falls to the ground is recycled.

The hot, wet conditions in the rainforest are perfect for rotting, or decomposing. Insects and fungi help to break down dead plants and animals into simple nutrients. These are quickly absorbed by the shallow roots of trees and plants. Rainforests are so good at recycling that 99 percent of nutrients never leave the cycle!

 

 

Continue reading "Rainforest recyclers"

 

The forest floor is the darkest and warmest part of the rainforest. Very little sunlight reaches the ground so few plants grow here. The forest floor is home to many insects and the animals that like to eat them, such as lizards!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This huge rainforest spider is as big as a dinner plate.

The Goliath bird-eating spider is the largest spider in the world. It lives on the rainforest floor and hides in burrows or under logs during the day. At night, it comes out to hunt for lizards, frogs, insects and small birds, which it bites with its poisonous fangs.

 

 

Continue reading "Life at ground level in rainforest"