Plants of the Rainforest

The following plants can be found in the rainforest:

• Flowers: Provode food and shelter for many animals. Eg. Orchids
• Carnivorous Plants: They eat reptiles and small mammals and are an essential part of the rainforest. Eg. venus fly trap
• Vines: 90% of the wrold's vines grow in rainforests. They need sunlight to grow. Eg. Lianas
• Bromeliads: A cousin to the pineapple, they are waxy plants that grow on the rainforest floor. Each bromeliad can hold several litres of water and provide nutrients for many animals.



• Algae: Grow on bigger plants and trees and provide a food source for many of the smaller mammals. Algae also acts as a protective layer for many larger trees.

why should rainforest be protected?

Rainforests should be protected as:

• They are home to many specifes of animals and if they are not protected it will lead to many species becoming extinct.
• The trees provide most of the world's oxygen and carbon dioxide.
• Rainforests are home to many native tribes.
• Rainforests need to be around for children in the future

• Rainforests help stop flooding and prevent droughts.

Landcare organisation

Landcare is a community movement made up of volunteers. There are about 4 500 groups who volunteer for landcare. the government gave189 million dollars to land care over 5 years.

This organisation protects the enviroment by helping to restore a degraded area. It also encorages commmunities to work together to look after there local enviroment.

People can support this organisation by becoming a landcare volunteer. They can also raise money for landcare projects.

why are rainforests important and why are they valued?

Rainforests are impotrant because:

• They provide a home for plants and animals.
• They stabalise the world's climate.
• They have plants which are used for medicines and foods.
• They provide protection against flood and drought.
• They provide a home for tribal people.

where are rainforests found?

Rainforests are found in the tropics. this is the area between the tropic of Capricorn and the tropic of Cancer.
The largest areas of rainforests are found in Brazil, DR Congo, Peru, Indonesia, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Suriname and Australia.

animals of the rainforest

There are billions of species of animals in the rainforest. e.g parrots, insects, sloths, tree frogs and cheetahs. Many species are endangered including the cassowary.

Mammals are found on the forest floor and the canopy. Insects are found on the forest floor, the canopy and the emergent. Birds are found in the canopy and the emergent and finally reptiles are found in the canopy and on the forest floor.

The sloth. the sloth lives in the canopy and hangs from branches and they stay there for the most of the life being lazy curled around the trees

Layers of the rainforest

There are four different layers in the rainforest: The Forest Floor, The Understory Layer, The Canopy Layer and the emergent layer. The rainforest floor is the lowest part of the rainforest and home to many different animals and plant species. The understory is home to many birds, bugs and new trees. The canopy layer is the top of trees were most trees stop growing. The emergent layer is the very top of all of the trees and this is where all the trees stop growing

Temperate rainforests only have two layers the canopy and the floor.