Rainforest
hideRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches). The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.
From 40 to 75% of all species on Earth are indigenous to the rainforests. It has been estimated that many millions of species of plants, insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth", and the "world's largest pharmacy", because of the large number of natural medicines discovered there. Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the worlds oxygen turn over, often misunderstood as oxygen production, processing it through photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and through breathing to carbon dioxide.
The undergrowth in a rainforest is restricted in many areas by the lack of sunlight at ground level. This makes it possible to walk through the forest. If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense, tangled growth of vines, shrubs, and small trees called a jungle. There are two types of rainforest, tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest.
For more information about Rainforest, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with rain forest
Ferns took to the trees and thrived
Jul 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment.
New orangutan population found in Indonesia
Apr 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia - perhaps as many as 2,000 - giving a rare boost to one of the world's most critically ...
The search for 'green' gold in the Amazon rain forest
Oct 01, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a hunt for plants in the Amazon rain forest that have potential to be used for sustainable light-weight construction beams, electronic cases or other high-performance materials, Cornell ...
Central Africa's tropical Congo Basin was arid, treeless in Late Jurassic
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 10, 2009 |
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The Congo Basin -- with its massive, lush tropical rain forest -- was far different 150 million to 200 million years ago. At that time Africa and South America were part of the single continent Gondwana. The Congo Basin was ...
Forest service carves new experimental forest out of Tongass NF
Jul 02, 2009 |
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The USDA Forest Service established a new experimental forest in Alaska on June 25. The 25,000-acre Héen Latinee Experimental Forest is located inside the Tongass National Forest, and is easily accessible ...
