Saving the Rain Forests

By Sally Morgan

Genre: Expository Nonfiction

Rain Forests:

A rain forest is a special kind of forest that grows in warm, wet places• Trees are tall and grow close together

• Three types of rain forests are:• Tropical• Cloud• Temperate

Authors Opinion: The future of the rain forest is important to everyone

Tropical Forest• Grows near equator

• Climate is hot & rain falls nearly every day!

• EVERGREEN trees – (they have leaves all year long)

The largest area of rain forest is the Amazon rain forest

• Located in the Amazon River basin in South America

• Central Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia also have tropical rain forests.

Cloud Forests• These are rain forests that cover mountains in tropical regions

• Up in the clouds and air is cooler - higher up the mountain

• Trees are shorter than those in tropical forests (deciduous trees are here)

• Deciduous trees drop their leaves once a year

Temperate Forests• Grow farther from the equator where climate is cooler

• There are different seasons • Some parts of year are cool & others are warm

• Conifer trees needlelike leaves that drop gradually all through year• Trees covered in mosses & lichens

Found in: Australia New Zealand North Americaand parts of South America

Rain Forests at Risk

• In the last few years there have been huge fires in Brazil & Indonesia

Millions of plants & animals• Rain forests are home to nearly 2/3 of the approximate ten million different

types of plants & animals that live on Earth!Water & Climate• Water from rain forests is important because the rain forests release so

much water into the air that it affects the climate of the tropics• Plant roots draw up the water from the ground, a lot of the water

evaporates and helps to form rain clouds.

Rain Forests at Risk – (con’t)

Gases in the Air• Leaves use energy of the sun to join water & carbon dioxide gas from air

to make food – thus giving off oxygen

• Most living things (including trees) need oxygen to convert food material into energy for their bodies

• Removing the rain forests cuts down the amount of oxygen in the air which threatens the lives of many plants & animals

Disappearing Forests• Half of the world’s rain forests have been destroyed to provide timber

or farmland.

• It will take centuries for them to grow back

Land for farming• In Central & South America, land that was once forest is now pasture

for cattle. • In many countries, the best farmland outside the forest is owned

by rich people• The poorer farmers need somewhere to live so they clear

forestland for farms• They grow crops and use wood as fuel• Wood is the only fuel available for cooking and heating

water

Tropical Woods ( VALUABLE TIMBER!!!)• Used a lot in building

• In Southeast Asia & Africa, logging for timber is the main reason for clearing the forests

• Timber companies build roads into the forests so they can bring machinery in to cut down trees & pull out the logs

• The logs are exported all over the world to make tables & other furniture

Big Business – Money ! Money! Money!• Huge areas are burned to clear land to plant cash crops

• Cash crops (crops grown for sale) such as coffee, bananas & rubber are grown instead of fruit & vegetables for local people

* Mining, industrial development, building large dams & tourism are big business and threaten the rain forests.

Washed Away• Heavy downpours of rain every day!• About 6 inches can fall in just a few hours

A Huge Sponge• Plants soak up most of the rainwater• It evaporates from the leaves – creating mist & low clouds• Water in clouds falls back on to the forest as rain (RECYCLED!)• Then drains into streams & rivers

Soil Erosion• If trees are cleared away, there are no roots to hold the soil

• The soil washes into streams and rivers and chokes them up with mudLess Rain

• With fewer trees, rainwater drains away quicker.

• Less water evaporates so less falls as rain The climate of the rainforest changes

Instead of reliable rainfall there could be droughts!

Rich Resources

Rain forests are rich in materials used in industry

• Wood is used in building and making furniture• Rocks beneath the forest may contain oil & metals such as

gold, silver & zinc

Logging• Many rain forests produce hardwood which is tough &

long lasting(makes it good for building and making furniture)

….BUT…..

• The best trees are scattered and hard to get to. • Loggers damage other trees & the soil, which makes it

hard for young trees to grow.

Mining

• Mining companies clear the rain forests to reach rock that contains oil & valuable metals

• In doing this, they can remove whole hillsides!

• All this digging produces a lot of waste material which is usually dumped on nearby land

• Water running off this waste may pollute rivers & streams and harm the aquatic life in them

New Finds• Scientists believe that they have only found about 1/10th of the animals & plants

in the world’s rain forests

• New species are being discovered every day!• Many forest plants could be the source of new medicines or foods

New Medicines• About 1/4th of all modern medicine came originally from rain forests• Forest people discovered most to these long ago• Used meds to treat headaches, fevers, cuts, snakebites, toothaches & skin

infections

***** It is important to continue to test new things found in rain forests because they may help to cure many diseases *****

Exotic Foods• Rice, coffee, bananas, & peanuts all originally came

from the rain forests

• There could be around 75,000 types of edible plants in the world HOWEVER, we eat only a few 100 of them!

• Our diets could be more varied & healthy if we used more rain forest plants

Making Discoveries• There are some fruits that contain more vitamin C

than oranges

• One tree produces a kind of oil that can be used in diesel engines

• Some plants contain insecticides (substances that kill insect pests)

Why Test

Rainforests?

Eco Thoughts• More than one billion people depend on the waterthat falls in the rain forest. They need it fordrinking, cooking & watering crops

In a -4- mile area of rainforest, there can be 1500 speciesOf flowering plants, 400 species of birds, 150 species of butterflies,100 species of reptiles & 60 species of amphibians.

After logging, as many as -3- out of -4- trees left behind in the forest may have been badly damaged. It takes hundreds of years for them to regrow fully

What Can We Do?• The future of the rain forests is important to everyone

• People and government need to work together to make sure the precious resource of the rain forests is used well

The Earth Summit• 1992 – in Brazil• Politicians & experts from 150 countries discussed biodiversity, importance of

rain forests, and global warming

• Created a biodiversity action plan - listed plants & animals found in their own countries

• Set up more nature reserves & national parks• Management of forests in a better way

Rain Forest Charities• Some charities raise money to use to save

the rain forests.

• Some charities use money to set up nature reserves to protect wildlife

• We can help by supporting these charities

Challenge• Find ways for people to live in rain forests

• Find sufficient food in them• Earn a living from them• Protect them

• ALL AT THE SAME TIME! !!