Large photo: http://franslanting.photoshelter.com/image/I00008WSjaWRc0SA
Laterite: http://www.ecplaza.net/product/sell-laterite-nickel-ore--67011-652388.html Slash and burn: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog030/book/export/html/141 |
The tropical rain forest is one of the earth's most complex biomes in terms of both structure and diversity of species. They are usually found near the equator and, as a result, the climate is warm and humid for the entire year. There are three distinctive layers of the tropical rain forest; The canopy, the understory, and the forest floor.
The canopy is formed by the tall trees that create a "rooftop" made of leaves, which block out any possible sunlight. Because of this, most of the rainforest animals live in the upper canopy and never go down to the forest floor. Below the canopy is the understory which is made up of the trunks of canopy trees, shrubs, plants, and small trees. There is little air movement which results in the humidity being constantly high. These layers only allow about 3% of the light to get to the forest floor so the forest is always shaded. This shade is the reason for many plants not growing there. Laterite is a soil layer of reddish, clay material that is formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Rich in iron and aluminum, Laterite is the topsoil is some tropical and subtropical regions. When Laterite is dried, it becomes hard and can be used for building. Slash and burn is an agricultural technique used to create farmland by the cutting down and burning of forests and woodlands. As a result, this technique causes serious deforestation. In Brazil alone, 500,000 small farmers cleared a hectare of forest per year. Farmers use this method because the burning releases nutrients which then fertilizes the soil. The soil in tropical rain forests is not fertile because it is so wet and wet climate is perfect for bacteria and other organisms. As a result, these organisms take out the precious nutrients of the soil. However, by using slash and burn, they are damaging the ecosystem in ways they can't imagine. |