Amazon Rainforest
Amazon is the world’s largest tropical Rainforest. It covers an area of nearly 2.8 million square miles, which is nearly the size of the continent of Australia. Amazon Rainforest gets its life from the majestic Amazon River, the world’s second-largest river, which runs directly through the heart of the region. Rainforest itself is simply the drainage basin for the river and its many tributaries. The vast forest itself consists of four layers, each featuring its own ecosystems and specially adapted plants and animals. Amazon Rainforest has four layers there are The Emergent Layer, The Canopy Layer, The Understory Layer and The Forest Floor Layer.
The Emergent Layer
The Emergent Layer is the top layer of the Rainforest and it is above The Canopy Layer. Trees in this layer breakthrough The Canopy Layer and may reach heights of 200 feet. Leaves in this layer are small and covered with a special wax to hold water. Seeds are blown to other huge buttress roots. Trunks can be 16 feet in circumference. Many animals that survive in this layer never touch the ground.
The Canopy Layer
The Canopy Layer is below The Emergent Layer and above The Understory Layer. This is where much of the action in the Rainforest occurs. Many Canopy leaves have specially adapted leaves which from “Drip Tips”. Drip Tips allow water to flow off the leaves which prevent mosses, fungi and lichens from occupying the leaves. Leaves in this layer are very dense and filter about 80 percent of the sunlight. This layer is where the wealth of the Rainforest’s fruits and flowers grow. Bromeliads, Cup-like plants, provide drinking pools for animals and breeding locations for tree frogs.
The Understory Layer
The Understory Layer is below The Canopy Layer and above The Forest Floor Layer. Much like The Forest Floor Layer, only about 2–5 percent of sunlight reaches this shadowy realm. Many of the plants in this layer have large, broad leaves to collect as much sunlight as possible. This layer is so thick that there is very little air movement. As a result, plants rely on insects and animals for their pollinations.
The Forest Floor Layer
The Forest Floor Layer is the lowest region. Since only two percent of sunlight filters through the top layers to The Understory Layer, very few plants grow here. This layer, however, is rich with rotting vegetation and the bodies of dead organisms, which are quickly broken down into nutrients integrated into the soil. Tree roots stay close to these available nutrients and decomposers such as millipedes and earthworms use these nutrients for food.
Some questions and answers about Amazon Rainforest.
- What are the names of layers of the Amazon Rainforest?
Answer: Amazon Rainforest has four layers there are The Emergent Layer, The Canopy Layer, The Understory Layer and The Forest Floor Layer.
2. Which layer of the Rainforest is right above The Forest Floor Layer?
Answer: The Understory Layer of the Rainforest is right above The Forest Floor Layer.
3. In which layer most fruits and flowers grow in Amazon Rainforest?
Answer: In the Canopy Layer most fruits and flowers grow in Amazon Rainforest.
4. What obviously happens to the animals living in The Emergent Layer?
Answer: Many animals that survive in The Emergent Layer never touch the ground.
5. Why do a few plants grow in The Forest Floor Layer?
Answer: The Forest Floor Layer is the lowest region. Since only two percent of sunlight filters through the top layers to The Understory Layer, very few plants grow here.
6. How does the ecosystem of The Forest Floor Layer work?
Answer: The Forest Floor Layer, however, is rich with rotting vegetation and the bodies of dead organisms, which are quickly broken down into nutrients integrated into the soil. Tree roots stay close to these available nutrients and decomposers such as millipedes and earthworms use these nutrients for food.
