Zone of tropical vegetation. Where do rainforests grow? Fauna of the rainforest

The tropics cover less than 2% the earth's surface... Geographically climatic zone goes along the equator. The latitude of 23.5 degrees is considered the limit of deviation from it in both directions. More than half of the world's animals live in this belt.

Plants, too. But, today in the lens of attention rainforest animals... Let's start with the Amazon. The area covers 2,500,000 square kilometers.

These are the largest tropics of the planet and, in combination, its lungs, whose forests produce 20% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. There are 1800 species of butterflies in the forests of the Amazon. Reptiles of 300 species. Let's dwell on the unique ones that do not live in other areas of the planet.

River dolphin

In addition, they differ in color. The backs of animals are gray-white, and the underside is pinkish. The older the dolphin, the lighter its top. Only in captivity, the endemic does not become snow-white.

Amazon dolphins live with humans for no more than 3 years. Sexual maturity occurs at 5. So, the offspring in captivity, zoologists did not wait and stopped torturing animals. As you can imagine, there are no Amazonian endemics in any third-party dolphinarium in the world. In their homeland, by the way, they are called inya, or bouto.

River dolphin or inya

Piranha trombetas

Trombetas is one of the tributaries of the Amazon. What are the animals in the rainforest instill terror? In the series of names, for sure, there will be. There are cases when they gnawed at people.

A lot of books have been written on this topic, films have been made. But, the new kind piranha prefers grass, algae to flesh. On a dietary feed, fish eats up to 4 kilograms. The length of the Trambetas piranha reaches half a meter.

Trumbetas piranha

Red-bearded (copper) jumper

It is included in interesting animals rainforest only 3 years ago. A new species of monkey was discovered in the Amazon jungle in 2014 during an expedition organized by the World Fund wildlife.

In the "lungs of the planet" they found a new species 441-yin. There is only one mammal among them - the red-bearded jumper. classified as broad-nosed. Presumably, there are no more than 250 jumpers in the world.

Animals are monogamous, having formed a pair, do not change and live separately with their children. When the jumpers are happy with each other, they purr, which makes them stand out from other monkeys.

Pictured is a copper jumper monkey

Possibly lost

In Latin, the name of the species sounds like Alabates amissibilis. This is the smallest one. A species on the verge of extinction. The difficulty of detecting it is also related to its size. Alabates are frogs about the size of a fingernail.

They are beige and brown with stripes on the sides. Despite the tiny size, the frogs of the species are poisonous, so they are not suitable for French cuisine, even if not protection status.

The smallest frog Alabates amissibilis

Herbivore dracula bat

Looks intimidating, but vegetarian. Dracula is flying. On her face there is a skin outgrowth called the nasal leaf. Combined with wide-set, slanting eyes, the outgrowth creates an intimidating look.

We add large and pointed ears, compressed lips, gray color, bony. It turns out an image of nightmares. Actually, herbivorous devils are active at night. During the day, animals hide in the crowns of trees or caves.

Herbivorous bat dracula

Fire salamander

Species names, while generalized, refer to. It was their relative who was found in the tropics near the Amazon. The scientific name of the species is Cercosaura hophoides. The lizard has a red tail.

The body is dark with thin yellowish veins. Scientists have suspected the existence of the species for a long time. A clutch of eggs of an unknown reptile was found on the lands of Colombia.

However, neither dad nor mom could be found. Perhaps found in 2014 is the parent of the masonry. Zoologists assume that Cercosaura hophoides is no more than a hundred years old.

In the photo is a fire salamander

Okapi

On the verge of extinction and the population. it rare view giraffe. Pygmies showed it to Western zoologists. It happened in 1900. However, this conversation is already about endemics. African jungle particularly the forests of the Congo. Let's go under their canopy.

Outwardly, this giraffe looks like a horse with an elongated neck. In contrast, the neck of an ordinary giraffe is short. On the other hand, the okapi has a record-breaking language. The length of the organ allows you not only to reach the luscious foliage, but also to rinse your eyes animals. Rainforest world okapi also enriched with the blue color of the tongue.

As for the coat color, it is chocolate. Transverse white stripes are visible on the legs. Combined with dark brown, they are reminiscent of the colors of zebras.

Okapi are gentle parents. These animals living in the rainforest, they love children dearly, they do not take their eyes off them, they protect them to the last drop of blood. Considering the number of okapi, it cannot be otherwise. The species is listed in the Red Book and each cub is worth its weight in gold. Several giraffes are not born. One pregnancy - one child.

Tetra Congo

This is a fish of the haracin family. There are almost 1,700 species in it. Congo is found only in the basin of the river of the same name. The fish has a bright blue-orange coloring. It is expressed in males. Females are “dressed” more modestly.

The fins of the species resemble the finest lace. The length of the Congo reaches 8.5 centimeters, they are peaceful. Description ideal for aquarium fish... Endemic is really kept at home. Congo loves dark soil. One fish needs about 5 liters of soft water.

Tetra Congo fish

Balis shrew

Refers to shrews, lives in the east. The area is 500 square kilometers. The minks of the animal are not found along their entire length, but only in 5 localities. All of them are destroyed by man.

The animal has a conical nose, an elongated body, a bare tail, and gray short fur. In general, for the majority, yes a mouse. The problem of its survival is that the animal does not last more than 11 hours without food. In conditions of danger and hunger, the latter wins. While the shrew is catching the insect, others catch it.

The balis shrew mouse

African marabou

Refers to storks. For its peculiar gait, the bird was nicknamed the adjutant. He is ranked among the most large birds... This refers to the flying species. African grows up to 1.5 meters.

At the same time, the weight of the animal is about 10 kilograms. A bare head eases the figure a little. The absence of feathers reveals wrinkled skin with a massive outgrowth on the neck, where the bird, in a sitting state, folds an equally massive beak.

Appearance, as they say, is not for everybody. It is not for nothing that the animal is made the hero of many phantasmagoric books, where the bird inspires, at least, awe. An example is Irwin Welch's Nightmares of the Marabou Stork.

Now, let's move on to the Asian tropics. They are also filled with rare animals. At first glance, the names of some of them are familiar. On the island of Sumatra, for example, they are proud. The fact that it is unusual is indicated by the prefix to the name of the beast.

Pictured is an African marabou

Bearded pig

The animal looks like a cross between a wild boar and an anteater. The elongated nose, resembling a trunk, helps to reach the leaves, pluck fruits and fish for fallen fruits from the forest canopy.

It swims well, also uses its nose during spearfishing. Its main function is also in place. Smell helps to find mating partners and recognize danger.

Tapirs are distinguished by long bearing of cubs. They give birth approximately 13 months after conception. More than one offspring is not born. At the same time, the life span of tapirs is a maximum of 30 years.

It becomes clear why the species is dying out. Despite the protected status, tapirs are a welcome prey ... for,. Decreases the population and deforestation.

Panda

Not a single list is complete without it " rainforest animal names". The endemic to China lives in bamboo groves and is a symbol of the country. In the West, they learned about it only in the 19th century.

Zoologists of Europe have long argued whether to refer to raccoons or bears. Genetic tests helped. The animal is recognized as a bear. He leads a secretive life in three provinces of the PRC. This is Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu.

The pandas have 6 fingers on their paws. One of them is just an appearance. This is actually an altered wrist bone. Number of teeth grinding vegetable food, also rolls over.

A person has 7 times less. I mean, pandas have more than 200 teeth. They are involved about 12 hours a day. Only 1/5 of the eaten leaves are absorbed. Considering that pandas do not hibernate, rainforests save only fast growth bamboo a couple of meters a day and the small number of bears themselves.

Let's complete the journey. Her tropical belt also affects. The continent is deserted. Tropical forests grow only along the coasts. Their eastern part is included in World heritage UNESCO. Let's find out for what such curiosities.

Helmeted cassowary

This is a bird of the ostrich order, it does not fly. The name of the species is Indonesian, translated as "horned head". The skin outgrowth on it resembles a crest, but flesh-colored. There is also a semblance of earrings under the beak. They are scarlet, but thinner and more elongated than that of a rooster. The feathers on the neck are indigo-colored, and the main color is bluish-black.

Colorful looks are combined with power. A case was recorded when a person was killed with a kick. It is because of the cassowaries that a number of Australian parks are closed to the public.

The birds are not aggressive under normal conditions. Protective reflexes make themselves felt. The force of the blow is predictable at 60 kilograms of weight and a height of one and a half meters. Legs are the strongest part of cassowaries, like other ostriches.

Helmeted cassowary

Wallaby

The second name of the species is arboreal. At first glance, it looks more like a bear. Thick, dense coat covers the entire body. The bag is not immediately visible. A cub in it, by the way, can linger on indefinite time.

During periods of danger, they are able to postpone childbirth. Physiologically, they should pass a maximum of a year after conception. It happens that a child dies without waiting in the wings. Then, a new embryo comes to replace, the first to become stillborn, not obliging to take care of oneself.

Scientists are pinning their hopes on the tree kangaroos for the salvation of mankind. The endemic stomach is able to process methane. In the event of global warming, this will come in handy not only for wallaby, but also for people.

They are also racking their brains over thermoregulation of tree kangaroos. The species manages to maintain a comfortable body temperature in the heat. Not a single individual has yet died from overheating, even without a shadow and drink plenty of water.

Woody wallabies are called due to their lifestyle. Observation of animals has shown that most of them die on the same plant where they were born. Here the hunters found the wallaby.

The raid on the endemic was announced because of the legend that one day the beast attacked a child. This has not been documented, however, the population is in danger.

The animal's conservation status helped to stop the extermination. Several tens of thousands of individuals are not enough to save humanity. Therefore, to begin with, they will be saved and multiplied.

Tree kangaroo wallaby

Koala

Without her, as in Asia without the panda, the list would be incomplete. - the symbol of Australia. The animal belongs to wombats. These are marsupials with two incisors. The colonialists of the continent mistook koalas for bears. As a result, the scientific name of the species phascolarctos is translated from Greek as "bear with a sack."

Like pandas addicted to bamboo, koalas only eat eucalyptus. Animals reach 68 centimeters in height and 13 kilograms of weight. Found the remains of an ancestor of koalas, which was almost 30 times larger.

Like modern wombats, the ancients had two thumb on each paw. The fingers set aside help to grip and rip off branches.

Studying the ancestors of koalas, scientists have come to the conclusion that the species is degrading. In the head of modern individuals, 40% of the cerebrospinal fluid. Moreover, the weight of the brain does not exceed 0.2% of the total mass of marsupials.

The organ doesn't even fill the cranium. The ancestors of koalas had this. Zoologists believe that the reason for choosing a low-calorie diet. Although, foliage is eaten by many animals that are distinguished by their quick wits.

I recall the beginning of the article, where it is said that the tropics are less than 2% of the earth's surface. It seems a little, but how much life. So koalas, although they do not differ in intelligence, inspire entire nations.

And, what the hell is not joking, in the presence of animals about their mental abilities better not to speak, suddenly offend. Koalas are blind, and therefore have excellent hearing.

Tropical rainforests stretch over large areas on both sides of the equator, but do not go beyond the tropics. The atmosphere here is always rich in water vapor. Lowest average temperature about 18 °, and the highest is usually not higher than 35-36 °.

With abundant heat and moisture, everything grows here with remarkable speed. Spring and autumn are invisible in these forests. Throughout the year, some trees and shrubs bloom in the forest, others fade. Summer is all year round and the vegetation turns green. There is no leaf fall in our understanding of the word, when the forest is exposed by winter.

The change of leaves occurs gradually, and therefore it is not noticed. On some branches young leaves bloom, often bright red, brown, white. On other branches of the same tree, the leaves were fully formed and turned green. A very beautiful range of colors is created.

But there are bamboos, palms, some types of coffee trees, which bloom all at once in one day over an area of ​​many square kilometers. This striking phenomenon makes a stunning impression with the beauty of the bloom and the aromas.

Travelers say that in such a forest it is difficult to find two neighboring trees belonging to the same species. Only in very rare cases are tropical forests of uniform species composition.

If you look at the rainforest from above, from an airplane, then it will appear surprisingly uneven, sharply broken, not at all like the flat surface of a forest of temperate latitudes.

They are not similar in color. Oak and our other forests, when viewed from above, seem monotonous green, only with the arrival of autumn do they dress up in bright and variegated colors.

The equatorial forest, when viewed from above, seems to be a mixture of all tones of green, olive, yellow, interspersed with red and white blooming crowns.

Entering the rainforest is not so easy: usually it is a dense thicket of plants, where, at first glance, they all seem entangled, intertwined. And it is difficult to immediately figure out which plant this or that trunk belongs to - but where are its branches, fruits, flowers?

A damp twilight reigns in the forest. The sun's rays weakly penetrate into the thicket, so trees, shrubs, all plants here stretch upward with amazing strength. They branch little, only three to four orders of magnitude. One involuntarily recalls our oaks, pines, birches, which give five to eight orders of branches and widely spread their crowns in the air.

In equatorial forests, trees stand in thin, slender columns and somewhere at a height, often 50-60 meters, carry small crowns to the Sun.

The lowest branches begin about twenty to thirty meters from the ground. To see leaves, flowers, fruits, you need good binoculars.

Palm trees, tree ferns do not give branches at all, throwing out only huge leaves.

Column giants need good foundations, like the buttresses (slopes) of old buildings. And nature took care of them. In African equatorial forests, ficuses grow, from the lower parts of the trunks of which additional - plank - roots develop up to a meter or more. They hold the tree firmly against the wind. Many trees have such roots. On the island of Java, inhabitants make table covers or cartwheels from board roots.

Between the giants, trees are densely growing trees of lesser height, in four to five tiers, even lower - shrubs. Fallen trunks and leaves rot on the ground. The trunks are entwined with vines.

Hooks, thorns, whiskers, roots - by all means, vines cling to tall neighbors, twine around them, crawl along them, use devices popularly known as "devil's hooks", "cat's claws". They twist with each other, now as if merging into one plant, then again dividing in an irrepressible striving for light.

These thorny barriers terrify the traveler, who is forced to take every step among them only with the help of an ax.

In America, along the valleys of the Amazon, in the virgin rainforests, lianas, like ropes, are thrown from one tree to another, climb up the trunk to the very top and comfortably settle in the crown.

Fight for light! In a humid tropical forest, there are usually few grasses on the soil, and shrubs are also sparse. Everything that lives must receive some amount of light. And many plants succeed in this because the leaves on the trees are almost always perpendicular or at a significant angle, and the surface of the leaves is smooth, shiny and perfectly reflects light. This arrangement of leaves is also good because it softens the force of the blows of rains and downpours. And it prevents stagnation of water on the leaves. It is easy to imagine how quickly the leaves would fail if water lingered on them: lichens, mosses, mushrooms would populate them immediately.

But for the full development of plants on the soil, there is not enough light. How, then, can we explain their diversity and splendor?

Lots of tropical plants not related to soil at all. These are epiphytic plants - lodgers. They don't need soil. Trunks, branches, even leaves of trees give them an excellent shelter, and there is enough heat and moisture for everyone. In the axils of the leaves, in the crevices of the bark, a little humus forms between the branches. Wind, animals will bring seeds, and they germinate and develop well.

The very common bird's nest fern produces leaves up to three meters long, forming a rather deep rosette. Leaves, bark scales, fruits, animal remains fall into it from trees, and in a humid warm climate quickly form humus: the "soil" for the roots of the epiphyte is ready.

In the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta, they show such a huge fig tree that it is mistaken for a whole grove. Its branches have grown above the ground in the form of a green roof, which is supported by pillars - these are adventitious roots growing from the branches. The crown of the fig tree is spread over more than half a hectare, the number of its aerial roots is about five hundred. And this fig tree began its life as a freeloader on date palm... Then she braided her with her roots and strangled her.

The position of the epiphytes is very advantageous in comparison with the "host" tree, which they use, making their way higher and higher towards the light.

Often they carry their leaves above the top of the "host" trunk and take away the sun's rays. The "owner" dies, and the "lodger" becomes independent.

For rainforests, the words of Charles Darwin are best: "The greatest amount of life is realized with the greatest variety of structure."

Some epiphytes have thick fleshy leaves, some kind of swelling on the leaves. They have a supply of water in case there is not enough water.

Others have leathery leaves, tough, as if varnished, as if they did not have enough moisture. The way it is. In the hot season of the day, and even at strong wind, in a highly raised crown, water evaporation increases sharply.

Another thing is the leaves of shrubs: they are tender, large, without any adaptations to reduce evaporation - in the depths of the forest it is small. The grasses are soft, thin, with weak roots. There are many spore plants especially ferns. They scatter their leaves on the edges of the forest and in the rare lighted meadows. Here are brightly flowering shrubs, large yellow and red cannes, orchids with their fancifully arranged flowers. But herbs are far less diverse than trees.

The general green tone of herbaceous plants is pleasantly interspersed with white, red, gold, silvery leaf spots. Whimsically decorated, they are not inferior in beauty to the flowers themselves.

It may seem at first glance that the rainforest is poor in flowers. In fact, there are not so few of them,
they are simply lost in the green mass of foliage.

Many trees have flowers that are self-or wind-pollinated. Large bright and fragrant flowers are pollinated by animals.

In the rainforests of America, tiny, shiny plumage, hummingbirds soar for a long time over flowers, licking the honey from them with a long tongue folded in the form of a tube. In Java, birds often act as pollinators. There are honey birds, small, similar in color to hummingbirds. They pollinate flowers, but at the same time they often "steal" honey without even touching the stamens and pistils. In Java there is the bats pollinating vines with brightly colored flowers.

In the cocoa tree, breadfruit, persimmon, ficus, flowers appear directly on the trunks, which then turn out to be completely hung with fruits.

In equatorial humid forests, swamps are often found, flowing lakes come across. The fauna is very diverse here. Most of the animals live in trees, feeding on fruits.

Rainforests different continents have many common features and at the same time each one is different from the others.

In Asian forests, there are many trees with valuable wood, plants that give spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon). Monkeys climb in the tree crowns. On the outskirts of the tropical thicket, an elephant wanders. The forests are inhabited by rhinos, tigers, buffaloes, poisonous snakes.

Wet equatorial forests Africa is famous for its impenetrable thickets. It's impossible to get through here without an ax or a knife. And there are many tree species with valuable wood. The oil palm is often found, from the fruits of which oil, coffee tree and cocoa are extracted. In places in narrow hollows, where fogs accumulate, and the mountains do not let them to the sides, tree ferns form whole groves. Heavy dense fogs slowly creep upwards and, cooling down, pour abundant rains. In such natural greenhouses, the spore ones feel as good as possible: ferns, horsetails, moss, curtains of delicate green mosses descend from the trees.

Gorillas and chimpanzees live in African forests. Monkeys tumbling in the branches; baboons bark the air. There are elephants and buffaloes. Crocodiles hunt all kinds of living creatures in the rivers. Meetings with a hippopotamus are not uncommon.

And everywhere mosquitoes fly in clouds, mosquitoes, hordes of ants crawl. Perhaps even this "trifle" is more noticeable than large animals. It disturbs the traveler at every step, stuffing itself into the mouth, nose and ears.

The relationship of tropical plants with ants is very interesting. On the island of Java, in one epiphyte, the stem at the bottom is a tuber. Ants lodge in it and leave their excrement on the plant, which serves as a fertilizer.

In the rain forests of Brazil, there are real ant gardens. At a height of 20-30 meters above the ground, ants arrange their nests, dragging them onto branches and trunks along with the ground, leaves, berries and seeds. Young plants sprout from them, fastening the soil in the nest with roots and receiving soil and fertilizers right there.

But ants are not always harmless to plants. Leaf cutter ants are a real scourge. They attack coffee and orange trees and other plants in hordes. Cutting pieces from the leaves, they load them onto their backs and move in solid green streams to the nests, exposing the branches,

Fortunately, other ant species can settle on the plants, which destroy these robbers.

The rainforests of America along the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries are considered the most luxurious in the world.

Vast flat areas, regularly flooded with water during flooding, are covered with coastal forests. Above the spill line, there are huge virgin forests. And drier areas are occupied by forests, albeit less dense and lower.

There are especially many palm trees in the coastal forests, forming whole groves, running in long alleys along the banks of the rivers. Some of the palms fan out their leaves, others stretch out feathery leaves 9-12 meters long. Their trunks are straight, thin. In the undergrowth there are small palms with clusters of black and red fruits.

Palm trees give a lot to people: the fruits are used for food, the locals get fiber from the stems and leaves, and the trunks are used as building material.

As soon as the rivers enter their course, grasses develop with extraordinary speed in the forests, and not only on the soil. From trees and bushes hang green garlands of climbing and climbing herbaceous plants, colored bright flowers... Passion flowers, begonias, " day beauties”And many other flowering plants form draperies on the trees, as if laid out by the artist's hand.

Myrtle, Brazil nut, blooming ginger, cannes are beautiful. Ferns and graceful feathery mimosas maintain the overall green tone.

In the forests above the border of the river flood, trees, perhaps the tallest of all tropical representatives, stand in a dense closed formation on supports. Among them are the Brazilian walnut and the silk cotton with its enormous plank supports. Laurel trees are considered the most beautiful trees in the Amazon. There are many legume acacias, many aroids. Philodendron and Monstera are especially good with fantastic cutouts and cuts on the leaves. There is often no undergrowth in this forest.

In less high, flood-free forests, lower tree layers of palms, shrubs and tall trees, sometimes very thick and almost impassable.

The herbaceous cover cannot be called luxurious: few ferns, sedges. In some places, there is not a single blade of grass in a large area.

Almost the entire Amazon lowland and part of the northern and east coasts the mainland is occupied by moist forests.

The even heat and abundance of rainfall make all days look like one another.

Early in the morning the temperature is 22-23 °, the sky is cloudless. The leaves are shiny and fresh with dew, but the heat quickly intensifies. By noon and a little later, it is already intolerable. Plants drop leaves and flowers and appear completely wilted. No air movement, animals hid. But now the sky is covered with clouds, lightning flashes, deafening peals of thunder.

The crowns are shaking with sharp gusts of the oncoming wind. And the blessed downpour revives the whole nature. It soars strongly in the air. A sultry, hot and damp night sets in. Leaves and flowers torn by the wind fly.

A special type of forest covers in tropical countries seashores protected from waves and winds. These are the mangroves - dense thickets evergreen shrubs and low trees on flat banks at river mouths, in lagoons, bays. The soil here is a swamp with black, foul-smelling silt; it undergoes rapid decomposition with the participation of bacteria organic matter... At high tide, such thickets seem to emerge from the water.

At low tide, their so-called roots are exposed - stilts, which stretch far over the silt. From the branches into the silt, there are still supporting roots.

Such a root system strengthens trees well in silty soil, and they are not carried away by high tide or low tide.

Mangroves push the coast to the sea, because plant residues accumulate between the roots and trunks and, mixing with silt, gradually form dry land. Trees have special respiratory roots, which are very important in the life of these plants, since the silt contains almost no oxygen. Sometimes they are serpentine in shape, in other cases they resemble a cranked tube or stick out of the silt like young stems.

A curious way of reproduction found in mangroves. The fruit is still hanging on the tree, and the embryo is already sprouting in the form of a long pin, up to 50-70 centimeters. Only then does it break away from the fruit, falls into the silt, burrowing into it with its end, and it is not carried away by the water into the sea.

These plants have leathery, shiny, often fleshy leaves covered with silvery hairs. The leaves are arranged vertically, the stomata are reduced. These are all signs of plants in arid places.

It turns out a paradox: the roots are immersed in silt, they are constantly under water, and the plant lacks moisture. It is assumed that sea ​​water, when it is saturated with salt, cannot be easily absorbed by the roots of trees and shrubs - and therefore must evaporate sparingly.

Together with sea ​​water plants get a lot table salt... The leaves are sometimes almost completely covered with its crystals, isolated by special glands.

The richness of species in tropical forests is exceptionally great, and it is achieved primarily by the fact that the use of space by plants is brought here by natural selection to the extreme limits.

5491

Add to bookmarks:

Rainforests- biomes, located approximately 10 degrees north and south of the equator. Biome (biome) is a biotic environment with homogeneous characteristics, which has its own special types plants, animals and climate. Rainforests are divided into tropical rainforests and dry deciduous tropical forests (subtropics). They are widespread in Asia, Australia, Africa, South and Central America, Mexico and many islands. The Pacific... Temperatures in these forests range from 20 ° C to 35 ° C with no hot or cold seasons. And the average humidity reaches 77% - 80%. The Amazon rainforest is the most famous of the various rainforests in the world. The humid and warm rainforests are home to 80% of all animal and plant species on the planet. These forests in the world are called "the largest pharmacy in the world" because more than a quarter of modern medicines are made from the plants growing in these forests. Undergrowth in the humid tropics is limited in many areas due to the lack of sunlight at ground level. This fact makes rainforests passable for humans and animals.

If the crowns of trees are destroyed or broken for some reason, then it reaches the ground and then everything very quickly becomes overgrown with vines, shrubs and small trees - this is how the jungle appears. They are also called "the lungs of the Earth", since a humid climate promotes effective air filtration, due to the condensation of moisture on microparticles of pollution, which generally has a beneficial effect on the atmosphere.

The struggle for existence in these forests led the vegetation to the fact that the forest began to divide into separate layers. These include:

Emerging or new layer: it is formed from tree crowns reaching 30 - 70 meters. They are dome-shaped - umbrella-shaped, which receive the maximum amount of sunlight when they reach the high levels of the rainforest. The trees in this layer are home to a large number animals and birds such as eagles, monkeys, bats, etc.

Upper tier: forms a dense "ceiling" of evergreen trees with broad leaves that grow close to each other. It is because of this layer, sunlight cannot penetrate the lower levels and the ground. The growth of trees in this region is from 20 to 40 meters. This layer is the main life support of the rainforest and is home to most tropical animals - leopards, jaguars and exotic birds.

Lower tier- undergrowth. It is located immediately below the upper tier and consists of tropical plants that grow up to 20 meters. There is little air movement in this layer and the humidity is constantly high. Due to the lack of sunlight, this layer is constantly in the shade, and grasses, shrubs, trees and woody vines grow here.

And the last one - forest litter. She barely receives sunlight. Hardly any vegetation can be found in this layer, but it is rich in microorganisms. This layer is rich in animals and insects. Giant anteaters, beetles, frogs, snakes, lizards and many insects inhabit the forest floor.

How do animals and plants survive in such warmth and humid climate typical of these forests. Here are some examples of adaptation:

• Rainforest trees should not have thick bark to prevent moisture loss. Thus, they have a thin and smooth bark.
• These forests are characterized by a large amount of rainfall and tree leaves have developed a "drip runoff" so that rainwater drains off quickly. These are the grooves of the wax coating on the leaves.
• Tree leaves for more low levels wide, and at higher levels narrow, in order to allow sunlight to pass to lower levels.
• There are creepers that climb tree trunks and reach the uppermost layers in search of.
• There are plants like that that grow directly on trees.
• Plants in the lower layers of tropical rainforest have spectacular blooms and attract insects for pollination, as there is not much wind at these levels.
• Carnivorous Plants: Many of the tropical plants get their food by eating animals and insects.

Other commercially important plants: cashews, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coffee, cocoa, mango, bananas, papaya, peanuts, pineapple, nutmeg, sesame seeds, sugarcane, tamarind, turmeric, vanilla are just a few of the many plants with which we have to face in everyday life and which grow precisely in tropical rainforests.

Of the houseplants that are often found here, grow here: monstera, spathiphyllum, stromant, ferns, (dendrobium, cattleya, vanda, oncidium, phalaenopsis, papiopedilum, etc.), anthurium, medinilla, akalifa, selaginella, pineapple, banana, bromelia, vriezia, heliconia, arrowroot, gloriosa, gusmania, dipladenia, dieffenbachia, jacaranda, philodendron, zebrina, ixora, calathea, caladium, ktenanta, clerodendrum, episisia, coleria, codiaum, coconut, columnea, neparendra, costus passionflower, pachystachis, plectranthus, poliscias, saintpaulia, sinningia, scindapsus, Robelen date, eschinanthus. They all need high humidity air in room conditions.

If you notice an error, select the required text and press Ctrl + Enter to inform the editors about it

Tropical region the globe crosses the American and African continents and also includes southern part Asia and adjacent islands.

The vegetation of tropical rain forests, or, as they are also called, rain forests, is especially rich and diverse. These forests reach their best development where heavy rainfall is frequent and regular. When a tropical downpour falls from the sky with a loud noise, more water falls in one and a half to two hours than we have near Moscow in several months. Abundance of moisture and warmth, bright sun standing directly overhead at midday - all this creates the most favorable conditions for vegetation, especially for trees.

The air temperature in the tropics remains almost unchanged throughout the year. For example, in West Java, in Bogor, where the best botanical garden in tropical countries is located, the most cold month- August (Java is located 8 ° south of the equator) is only 1 ° colder than the hottest month - February. The difference in temperature during the day and at night is small: during the day it rises to + 30 °, and at night it drops to + 20 °.

A person who comes from the north finds it very difficult to have no night coolness and a colder season. But for plants, this constant warmth is extremely beneficial: they grow all year round, with an amazing speed. For some 10-15 years, tropical trees reach a height of 30-40 m and a thickness of up to a meter. In our climate, trees reach this size only by the age of 100-150.

The harsh conditions of the northern winter leave an imprint of some monotony on our forests. Often woodlands we consist almost entirely of one tree species that is best adapted to the climate and soil.

The composition of the rainforest is very diverse. Among dozens of nearby trees, you will not always find two identical. In addition, they are so intertwined with branches that it is difficult to make out to which trunk this or that leaf, flower or fruit belongs. In the rainforests of Brazil, there are about 250 different tree species. And none of them prevails.

In our forest, usually no tree rises above the others, and from a distance it seems that the “roof” of the forest is completely flat. main reason this is the cold winter winds. They dry out the tops that are too protruding beyond the common surface of the crowns. Trees, as it were, protect each other from the destructive effects of these winds.

There is no frost or cold winds in the rainforest. It rains almost daily and keeps the tops of trees taller than others from drying out. Some trees stretch in breadth, others stretch up. From a distance, the profile of the rainforest is visible as a wavy line.

Many people mistakenly think that the rainforest is made up of palm trees. Palm trees in the tropics grow more in open areas. For example, coconut palms form large groves along the sea shores, and in the forest they are found only here and there, singly, among other trees. Rainforest trees are similar in type to our forest trees, but most of them have large leathery leaves, such as, for example, indoor ficus. We are used to seeing him as a small tree growing in a pot or in a tub. At home, ficus is a huge tree, larger than our oak.

The strong, leathery leaves serve the tree for two to three years, and sometimes even longer. The tree sheds its leaves not all at once, as in our forests in autumn, but one at a time, at different times. Therefore, tropical rainforests are always leafy, that is, evergreen. There are many in the rainforests and conifers, for example, araucaria, reaching enormous sizes. But evergreen deciduous trees prevail there. The branches of the trees are closely intertwined, the foliage on them is dense, and almost no light penetrates to the soil surface. There always, even in the midday hours of sunny days, a greenish twilight reigns. Herbaceous plants not much in the rainforests. The soil is mostly covered with mosses and ferns. There are tree ferns; they grow to a considerable size and resemble small palms in appearance. They are especially common in the forests of Australia and New Zealand.

Almost daily tropical rains powerful streams flow down the branches and trunks of trees. Water lingers on the forks of branches, where epiphytes grow abundantly. The epiphytes themselves promote water retention with their stems and roots.

Among the epiphytes, there are also flowering plants. Of these, orchids are the most beautiful.

Our forests also have orchids: lyubka (night violet) and orchids (cuckoo's tears). But they give only a faint idea of ​​the beauty and diversity of tropical orchids. With their bizarre shape and bright color, their flowers occupy one of the first places in the world of plants and are extremely highly valued in horticulture. Just like lyubka and orchis, tropical orchids have tubers, but they are not underground, but on tree branches. Orchid roots hang in the air. They are silvery-white in color from the loose fabric covering them, which, like a sponge, greedily sucks in the water flowing down during the rain. In the soil, the roots of these aerial plants suffocate and rot. In greenhouses, they are also suspended in the air, placed in moss-filled baskets or simply on large pieces corks, and instead of watering, they are sprayed daily with water.

In the rainforest South America, in addition to orchids, representatives of the bromeliad family are often found. These are almost entirely epiphytes. They are distinguished by brightly colored, very beautiful flowers... The bases of the leaves of these plants tightly cover the stems and form, as it were, a funnel in which rainwater stagnates. The leaves are covered with glands with caps. In wet weather, the caps are raised and let water through the leaves, and in dry weather they are tightly closed. Plants from the bromeliad family are also bred in greenhouses. Pineapple belongs to this family.

An insectivorous plant, nepentes, also belongs to the epiphytes of the tropical forest. Trapping organs hang from the ends of its leaves - beautiful, variegated "jugs" (see Art. "").

It is a mistake to imagine a tropical rainforest as a blossoming garden. Flowering plants are not so common there, and it is many times more difficult to find an orchid flower in the rainforest than in our forests, lyubka or orchis. You can wade through dense thickets all day and find only one or two blooming orchids. In the twilight of the tropical forest, the eye distinguishes only dark green foliage, moss and epiphytes on tree trunks and branches. In this forest, one does not hear the songbirds that revive our forests so much.

The characteristic plants of the rainforest are lianas. They, just like epiphytes, strive to seize a place in the sun at the lowest cost. Liana grows extremely fast. Its trunk is leafless, thin and flexible; it easily climbs to the tops of the tallest trees, throwing its shoots from tree to tree. Below, only the thick trunks of vines are visible, wriggling like giant boas, and their leaves are lost high among the tree crowns. It is even difficult to distinguish which leaves and flowers belong to the vines, and which are the trees that the vines climbed. Vines intercept sunlight with their leaves and thereby cause significant damage to the trees that support them.

Even more dangerous for trees are those vines that tightly wrap around their trunks and thus make it impossible to thicken. As the tree grows, the vines' rings cut deeper and deeper into its bark and eventually completely cut it.

Then the normal sap flow is disrupted, and the tree dries up. Such lianas are called "tree stranglers".

The growth power of the rainforest is amazing. The glades and roads, cut through it, overgrow in several months so that not a trace remains of them. Even clear cuttings or fires turn into completely impenetrable thickets in a few years. The same fate befell cultural fields, for some reason abandoned. Residents of areas adjacent to the forests have to wage a continuous struggle with the forest advancing on the fields. One has only to weaken this struggle a little, as an impenetrable jungle grows in the place of arable land.

Yet man conquers the rainforests. In more densely populated tropical countries, such as Indonesia, forests are preserved mainly in the mountains. On the plains and in the foothills, rice fields and plantations of cultivated trees and bushes are cultivated: coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber trees.

Replacing the jungle with cultural plantations improves climatic conditions: the soil is drained, water stagnation is eliminated, tropical fever is reduced - this scourge of hot countries. However, the predatory economy of the colonialists, excessive deforestation and uprooting of tropical forests, especially in the foothills and mountains, entails disastrous consequences. Tropical downpours quickly wash away fertile soil bare from forest vegetation, break through deep ravines and cause floods and landslides. Reasonable use of tropical territories is possible only where the peoples inhabiting these countries have become the masters of their land.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.

• The tropical rainforest is one of the oldest ecosystems on planet Earth.
• Its appearance changed - new mountains rose, retreated and advanced on the land of the sea, the climate of the planet changed, but for almost 100 million years there has been a vast zone of tropical rainforests, where you can find an abundance of plant and animal life, an abundance created here for centuries and preserved until our days.
• The greatest biological diversity is noted in these forests: over 50% of all species of all living things of our mother Earth live here.
• According to the assumptions of scientists, specialists have not yet been able to study even half of all living organisms living in tropical rainforests.
• The main reason for such an extraordinary wealth of nature is the temperature and humidity that are optimal for life. No wonder the tropical forest is called the lungs of our planet.
• And he also got the name familiar to everyone - jungle. Initially, this name did not refer to the rainforest at all.
• This term in India (where this word came from) called thickets of acacias, bamboo and palms. As a rule, these thickets appeared on the place of abandoned agricultural lands, reaching a height of 10-12 meters and were very difficult to pass.
• English hunters in colonial India liked the word "jungle", and they called them rainforest for convenience.
• Thanks to R.Kipling "jungle" amazed the imagination of the public and firmly entered the lexicon.
• The appearance of tropical forests is almost the same everywhere, both in Asia and in Africa, and in America.
• 
  
• One of the most striking features of rainforest rainforests is the huge variety of tree species.
• V virgin forests the trees reach a height of 30-45 meters, with the tallest trees rising sharply above the upper canopy of the forest.
• The trunks of such trees are straight and unusually slender, and the crowns are small. Many species develop plank-like roots in the lower stems of the trunk, giving trees the stability they need during thunderstorms and typhoons that are common in the jungle.
• A notable feature of the rainforest is the abundance of lianas - climbing plants that are visible everywhere.
• They twine around the trunks, hang from the branches, throw from tree to tree and, wriggling, lie on the ground.
• Some are thin and smooth, others are rough and knobby. Where did they come from at once and you will understand.

• Rainforest epiphytic fern

  
  Rainforest epiphytic fern
• And finally, another important feature of the rainforest is that there is no grass in it. The soil in the forest is covered with fallen leaves.
• One of the fundamental characteristics of the tropical wet forest is an extraordinary constancy of temperature, almost the same day and night and in all seasons (it drops slightly in the rainy season due to cloud cover).
• The rainforest should receive at least 1800-2000 mm annually. precipitation and their distribution throughout the year should be uniform.
• If the dry season extends to two to three months, the evergreen rainforest gives way to seasonal wet forests, where trees shed their foliage during the dry season. They are also called monsoon forests since the precipitation regime is regulated by the monsoon.
• In them, of course, there are lower trees and smaller animals, but in general there are vines and epiphytes there.
• These are the main features of a rainforest.