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 * The Amazon Rainforest covers over a billion acres, encompassing areas
in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and the Eastern Andean region of Ecuador
and Peru. If Amazonia were a country, it would be the ninth largest in
the world. * The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. *
More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants,
animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the
world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin. * One hectare (2.47 acres)
may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants.
* At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical
rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like
avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas,
pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes,
rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne,
chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and
vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews. * At least 3000
fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use
in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000. *
Rainforest plants are rich in secondary metabolites, particularly
alkaloids. Biochemists believe alkaloids protect plants from disease
and insect attacks. Many alkaloids from higher plants have proven to be
of medicinal value and benefit.
* Currently, 121 prescription drugs currently sold worldwide come from
plant-derived sources. And while 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are
derived from rainforest ingredients, less than 1% of these tropical
trees and plants have been tested by scientists. * The U.S. National
Cancer Institute has identified 3000 plants that are active against
cancer cells. 70% of these plants are found in the rainforest.
Twenty-five percent of the active ingredients in today's
cancer-fighting drugs come from organisms found only in the rainforest. * Vincristine, extracted from the rainforest plant, periwinkle, is one
of the world's most powerful anticancer drugs. It has dramatically
increased the survival rate for acute childhood leukemia since its
discovery.
 The Online Tropical Plant Database
 Rainforests may pump winds worldwide THE acres upon acres of lush tropical forest in the Amazon and tropical Africa are often referred to as the planet's lungs. But what if they are also its heart? This is exactly what a couple of meteorologists claim in a controversial new theory that questions our fundamental understanding of what drives the weather. They believe vast forests generate winds that help pump water around the planet. If correct, the theory would explain how the deep interiors of forested continents get as much rain as the coast, and how most of Australia turned from forest to desert. It suggests that much of North America could become desert - even without global warming. The idea makes it even more vital that we recognise the crucial role forests play in the well-being of the planet. Scientists have known for some time that forests recycle rain. Up to half the precipitation falling on a typical tropical rainforest evaporates or transpires from trees. This keeps the air above moist. Ocean winds can spread the moisture to create more rain. But now Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva of the St Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in Russia say that forests also create winds that pump moisture across continents. How can forests create wind? Water vapour from coastal forests and oceans quickly condenses to form droplets and clouds. The Russians point out that the gas takes up less space as it turns to liquid, lowering local air pressure. Because evaporation is stronger over the forest than over the ocean, the pressure is lower over coastal forests, which suck in moist air from the ocean. This generates wind that drives moisture further inland. The process repeats itself as the moisture is recycled in stages, moving towards the continent's heart. As a result, giant winds transport moisture thousands of kilometres into the interior of a continent.
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Why does it rain so frequently in the rainforests?Rain forests, are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall. I always see rainforests on Discovery or Natgeo channel on TV and I was just wondering why does it rain so frequently in the rainforests? Rainforests covers less than 2 percent of the Earth's total surface area, the world's rainforests are home to 50 percent of the Earth's plants and animals. Evergreen forest get an annual rainfall of at least 406 centimeter. Rainforests are found on every continent across the Earth, except Antarctica. A Rainforests...a) Receive >1500 mm of rainfall each year
So why does it rain so frequently in the rainforests?After searching for couple of hours, I finally found the answer to my question - Solar radiation is strongest near the equatorThe equator is mostly covered by water so a large amount of water evaporates As air heats it become less dense and rises As air rises it cools and water condenses to form rain which is why the tropics are wet Air flows from high pressure to low pressure areas Hadley cell - system of air and water vapor circulation near the equator Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) - convergence of northern and southern Hadley cells, moves from 23N to 23S with the change in season Rain forests fall within boundaries of ITCZ Spinning of the earth (Coriolis effect) means that Hadley cells are actually curved In areas where there are mountains near the coast and prevailing winds are towards the continent, water evaporates from the ocean, as it rises over the mountains it cools and water condenses to form rain - this is the reason for most temperate rain forests
  |  ECO KIDS
Rainforest Protection IssuesRELEASE: Major Victory for Ivory Coast's Rainforests as Oil Palm Successfully Resisted Côte
d'Ivoire's (Ivory Coast) main palm oil company, Palmci, on Friday
announced it was abandoning a major plantation scheme in the south of
the country after opposition by environmentalists to destruction of
12,000 hectares (29,700 acres) of primary rainforests. Tanoé Swamps
Forest is one of the last remaining old growth forests in the country
and the last refuge for three highly...
VICTORY! California Leads in Saying No to Deforestation Biofuels California is setting the precedent of regulating greenhouse gas emissions from transport fuels [ark].
The regulation requires producers, refiners and importers of gasoline
and diesel to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10% over the
next decade. And it launches the state on an ambitious path toward
cutting its overall heat-trapping emissions by 80% by mid-century.
Critically, as our recent...
Biofuel from Corn Ethanol Is Not Renewable, Does Not Address Climate Change TAKE ACTION! Let California Air Resources Board know all industrially produced biofuel crops from live biomass [search],
edible or not, still require land, soil, water, fertilizer and other
finite inputs. It is clear that industrial biofuels are not "renewable
energy" given that these inputs are all in limited supply, and indirect
land uses lead to destruction of soil and forest carbon...
RELEASE: United States Starts Down Long, Difficult Road to Sufficient Climate Change Policy (Earth)
-- Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's ruling today that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
"may endanger public health or welfare", a finding that opens the door
to future regulation of such emissions under the Clean Air Act. EI
continues to demand that emission cuts be fast and large, that Congress
not weaken planned E.P.A. carbon...
REDD Must Only Support Willing Protection of Old Forests Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) [search] proposals to use carbon market monies to protect forests appear to be gathering steam [ark], something that Ecological Internet cautiously supports as long as it does not pay for first time logging of primary forests [search].
More of the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems have already been lost and
diminished than required to maintain an operable climate...
continue |
comment (1)Up To Date Rain Forest News
24/6
- Researchers say increased biofuel production could harm water resources,
Voice of America
[search]
24/6
- Saving tigers by counting feces,
Mongabay
[search]
23/6
- UK firm plans to log habitat of critically endangered orangutan for palm oil production | Map,
Mongabay
[search]
23/6
- First comprehensive study of insect endangerment: ten percent of dragonflies threatened,
Mongabay
[search]
23/6
- Proving the ‘shifting baselines’ theory: how humans consistently misperceive nature,
Mongabay
[search]
22/6
- Megafauna demise blamed on humans,
BBC
[search]
22/6
- Brazil: Amazon deforestation in 2009 declines to lowest on record,
Mongabay
[search]
22/6
- Mixed signals from the crown? Queen knights logging tycoon while Prince fights deforestation,
Mongabay
[search]
22/6
- 'Synthetic tree' claims to catch carbon in the air,
CNN International
[search]
22/6
- Brazil to pay farmers $50/month to plant trees in the Amazon,
Mongabay
[search]
How can you help save the Rainforests? You can Adopt an Acre of rainforest and help to protect Costa Rica's breathtaking Osa Peninsula now and for future generations. Rainforests of the WorldWild and wondrous, rainforests extend from as far as Alaska and Canada to Latin America, Asia and Africa. They nurture thousands of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth and provide life's essentials such as our medicines, food and water. The Nature Conservancy is working around the world in places like Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula to protect rainforests, engaging local and indigenous communities in creative solutions that balance the needs of people with nature. The places and projects featured on this site reflect examples of The Nature Conservancy's current work in rainforest protection. And every year, through our Adopt an Acre® program, we choose an imperiled rainforest site that is in critical need of protection. Why Should You Care About the Rainforest?Besides providing food, water and air to the rest of the world, rainforests offer critical habitat for many of the Earth's most interesting and rare plants and animals. Read on for more rainforest facts:
The Nature Conservancy's Rainforests WorkThe Nature Conservancy has launched many conservation programs to protect these vital forests and all the plants, animals and people that depend on them. Working in many of the world's most threatened forest systems, The Nature Conservancy has had many tangible and lasting successes:
As some of the last truly wild places left in the world, rainforests deserve our immediate attention. You can help preserve the world's rainforests and the local communities around them when you adopt an acre of rainforest today. How Can You Help Save the Rainforest?We are all part of this Earth. Invest in our future and the future of our planet. Be a steward of the rainforests. When you make a gift to protect the rainforest, you'll help to ensure that the world’s most vital forests like the Osa are restored, protected and sustained for future generations. Help Protect the Earth's Great Rainforests |
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