What Is A Rainforest?
I know this is a question that deserves a really obvious answer, but in fact, it really isn't that simple. A rainforest is not only a huge group of trees growing in the tropics with a buch of monkeys and parrots. A rainforest is much more than that. Webster's Fourth Edition College Dictionary states that a rainforest is, "a dense, evergreen forest having abundant rainfall throughout the year." The rainfall in the rainforests are so abundant, that there is at LEAST 2.5 meters(100 inches) of precipitation every YEAR! That's basically why they call it a RAINforest! Ooh, brain busting! Anyway, the Rainforest consists of four different elevations, or strata. They are:
- The Forest Floor: The darkest, dampest, humidest part of the rainforest stratas. They are swamped with animal life, including insects and some of the largest known rainforest animals. They're eyesight is well equipped for the dark.
- The Understory: Dim and cool, this strata is made up of leaves, which help keep the shade in the Forest Floor. Some insects may dwell in the Understory.
- The Canopy: The upper parts of the trees. One of the brightest and windiest of the strata. Up here live many many animals, from birds to insects to mammals to reptiles and much more. The canopy is host to possibly the most amazing living organisms.
- The Emergents: These are the treetops that go higher than the average canopy height. MUCH higher! It houses a few of the only animals that can reach this altitude: birds and some insects.
So now you know what a rainforest is . . . Why not venture back to the HomePage?