Effectively Monitoring Biodiversity in Rainforests

A shadow moves through the forest canopy, giving off an eerie green shine in the pale moonlight. An emerald tree boa has set its sights on a tiny bird sleeping in the hollow of the tree. Using its tail to keep steady, the boa enters the nest, ready to kill the bird through asphyxiation.

Sharp claws dig into its scaled back, lifting the boa into the air. A Guinea crested eagle is furiously flapping its wings after finding its meal, and the small, unsuspecting bird will now live to see another day.

This is a typical scenario in rainforests, which make up 2.5% of the globe. Rainforests are some of the most biodiverse spots on Earth and harbour millions of species, with many more that are unknown to humans.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil has approximately 10 million different animal species, and 3000 edible plants. From the Amazon River dolphin to the golden poison frog to the abundance of reptiles, birds, and insects, the Amazon rainforest is considered a biodiversity hotspot.

What is Biodiversity in a Rainforest

Biodiversity is the the number and types of organisms in a habitat, ecosystem, region or environment. It can refer to genetic, species, or habitat variation at any scale. Tropical rainforests are all extremely biodiverse areas, however each regional forest has its own characteristics and species, though the species often share the same roles in their respective ecosystems. A single hectare of forest may contain 480 tree species. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and forests in the Americas are generally more biodiverse than those in Africa or Asia.

To thoroughly understand biodiversity in tropical rainforests, it’s important to understand the different levels of variation.

A biome refers to a distinct type of ecosystem. Biomes are characterized by their climate, which determines the plants that grow there and the animals that reside there. The tropical rainforest biome has 4 defining factors: very high annual rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity, the richness of species. Biomes often contain ecosystems within them, areas in which living organisms interact with their physical surroundings.

Rainforests are some of the world’s wettest ecosystems, receiving amounts of rainfall ranging between 200 to 300 cm in South America. They also have high humidity, with 88% in the wet season, and 77% in the dry season. The heavy rain washes away the dead leaves and top soil, the layer in which most of the nutrients are stored from decomposing organic matter, leaving the soil with a lack of nutrients.

An ecosystem refers to a community of organisms and their non-living environment. The tropical forest biome includes terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Some smaller ecosystems that can be found within the tropical forest biome include the Varzea (floodplain forests), the Terra Firma (rainforest), and the Igapo (forests on the black waters of the Amazon).

A community is a group of populations of 2 or more species occupying a certain geographical area at the same time. They are bound together by their shared environment and the influence of each species on each other.

Some examples of plant communities in the rainforest include wet and dry sclerophyll forests, paperbark forests, wetlands, mangroves, heathlands, sedgelands, grasslands and rocky pavements.

A population is a group of individuals of the same species in a certain area, and an organism is an individual living thing. Animals like the ocelot, the emerald tree boa, the scarlet macaw, etc would be considered as organisms.

Microbes in the rainforest often go unnoticed, however. Rainforest bacteria play a crucial role in decomposition and the circulation of nutrients throughout the ecosystem. Mycorrhizae is a type of fungus that has a mutualities relationship with plants in order to provide nutrients. Actinomycetes are some of the most complex bacteria, and though some types can be extremely deadly to living things the ones found in the rainforest are harmless. Acidophilic bacteria flourish in the rainforest due to the heat and acidity.

How to Monitor Biodiversity

The majority of species in the Amazon rainforest are insects, followed by plants, then animals. If we include microbes, the soil contain the most biodiversity.

To accurately monitor biodiversity, we would have to look at all 3 types of living things. For soil biodiversity we would have to look at key species, functional groups, as well as microbial activity. As an example, scientists can check the rate of decomposition to make predictions about the number of decomposing bacteria in a certain area or amount of soil. This would allow us to know the species and volume of microbes, one aspect of measuring biodiversity. For insects, they would most likely have to be characterized by the number of legs, and their ability to fly due to the large variety.

For plants, they would have to be characterized by height and other characteristics such as flowers, stems, foliage, branch structure, etc. A fern would have to be distinguished from a sequoia tree or an orchid. A key distinguishing factor would be whether the plants are flowering or not.

For animals, measuring biodiversity would be incredibly difficult because of the massive variety between different species. Species would have to initially be classified as terrestrial, aquatic, or treetop species. Within these reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals would have to be separated. This would allow species to be better organized and give scientists an environmental specialists to have a better idea of the concentration of biodiversity in different levels of the rainforest. Taxonomy could also play a role.

Risks to the Amazon Rainforest

• A lack of policy frameworks that support sustainable development and natural resource protection, political instability, the inability of some institutional and governmental entities to establish and enforce legislation for nature conservation, and poverty and inequality.
• Regional government programmes and initiatives are pushing for constant development and encouraging blind clearance of forests for cattle ranching, oil drilling or soybean production. This is to secure foreign exchange and generally develop economies.
• Responding to international demands in agricultural products requires infrastructure such as dams and roads laid down through the Amazon rainforest. To satisfy its industrial needs, China is involved in mining projects in the eastern Amazon, ranging from aluminium and steel to nickel and copper.2

This deforestation has cause a loss of biodiversity, habitat degradation, modified global climate, loss of water cycling, and other social impacts.