Amazon Rainforest
...his time the water level rises by thirty to forty-five feet causing millions of acres to flood (Amazon Rainforest…blue planet). There are thirty to forty different types of rainforests (Rainforest Region). They are broadly classified as tropical, evergreen, deciduous and cloud. The Amazon is a tropical rainforest (Amazon Rainforest…redjellyfish). The Rainforest has four layers or communities, the emergent layer, the canopy, understory and the floor. Each layer contains different animals and materials. The Emergent layer is the tallest layer of the forest. It has trees that grow up to two hundred feet tall (Amazon Rainforest…blue planet). The trees are very straight with buttresses to hold them up. Buttresses are thick suppuls growing from the trunk like bookends (Goodman 30). These tress are widely scattered (Amazon Rainforest…redjellyfish). Some trees are leafless at periods of time. However it is rare for all of the trees loose their leaves at once (Greenway 11). There are lots of animals that inhabit the Emergent layer. Some examples of the different types of these animals are the Harpy eagle, the Colobus monkey, and the Sun Conure bird (Greenway11). The animals have adapted to the dry and bright conditions with the stiff breezes of the Emergent layer (Lessem 21). The Canopy is the main layer. It filters out eighty percent of the sunlight (Amazon Rainforest…blue planet). The trees are sixty to ninety feet tall. They are in Golden 4 constant sun. These trees also have buttresses (Goodman 30). To prevent damage the trees maintain an average of three feet apart from each other. This is called crown shyness it protects the trees from strong winds and insect pests. The Canopy contains more animals than any other layer (Lessem 18). Some of the animals are so adapted to the canopy that they never descend to the forest floor. Biologists have built walkways throughout the Canopy to study these animals. Common traits of the animals that inhabit the canopy are sharp claws and long grasping tails. Some examples of animals that live in the canopy are various types of tree frogs, all kinds of birds and monkeys, silky and pygmy anteaters (Greenway 13). The Understory only gets about two or five percent of available sunlight. From the ground up this layer’s vegetation only gets to be forty to fifty feet tall. The Understory is made of mostly tree trunks from the Canopy and Emergent layer. There are a few young trees that grow in the Understory. Only half of these will reach the height of the others due to the lack of sunlight (Goodman 32). Even with the little amount of plants there are fewer animals (Greenway 14). Examples of the few animals are flying squirrels birds snails and many other insects. The Floor is the lowest part of the Amazon. Less than two percent of sunlight reaches the layer (Amazon Rainforest…blue planet). The lack of sunlight makes the floor very dark and shadowy (Lessem 6). Very little plants grow in the little patches of Golden 5 sunlight. The plants that do grow have big leaves. These leaves help them absorb more light. The Floor’s soil is not thick or nutrient but thin (Goodman 40). There is a layer of decaying leaves and branches that cover the forest floor. The leaves and moisture create fungi and bacteria. Small invertebrate insects and reptiles eat the fungi and bacteria (Lessem 6). Examples of the insects are termites, scorpions, millipedes, and beetles. However, there are a few animals that live on the floor feasting on the insects like birds, lizards, frogs, and snakes. The leaves and branches also create nutrients for the plants. The tree roots grow along the top of the ground to collect these nutrients (Banks 14). Plant, animals, insects and reptiles are not the only thing living in the Amazon Rainforest. Many different tribes of people inhabit the forest. Most of the people come from ancestors that lived in the Amazon thousands of years ago. About two million people live in the forest today (Banks 27). Some are Hunter-Gatherers and live in small nomadic groups. Others farm food and live in families. Some names of the common tribes are Pygmies or Bushmen, Biami, Gibusi, and Kayapo. Kayapo is the main tribe that lives in the forest. But not all of the people inhabiting the forest are primitive. Some people have burned down parts of the forest to build modern homes and raise cattle. (Tangley). Since the 1990’s there has been a forty percent increase in deforestation in the Amazon. Now for the past fifteen years the Amazon has been subject to an excessive Golden 6 amount of attention by both the media and environmental organizations (Amazonia). The attention has lead to a growing awareness to the importance of the rainforest. Brazil has set up one of the most advanced laws to avoid further local destruction. Enforcing the law is the problem (Amazon Rainforest…redjellyfish). Threats to the Amazon include poverty, population growth, greed, short-term planning, fire and new Asian timber companies. Though the companies show a negative record in their home countries they are showing a great interest in South America (Amazonia). If poor planning and disregard to the future are not taken into consider...