Tropical Rain Forest

            The tropical rain forest biome is an amazing biome, but it is getting destroyed at a rate of 10 acres per hour.

          The ground in the rain forest is very odd.  It is very easy to walk through.  The treetops block the sunlight; therefore very few plants grow on the forest floor.  Plant biomass (the total plant matter) for a given area is generally higher than other biomes.  The soil is nutrient poor, and the topsoil is 2.5 centimeters deep.  There are many species of trees, vines, and epiphytes.  There are many animals in this interesting biome, mostly insects and arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals.

          The most well-known rain forest is probably the Neotropic Rain Forest.  It is in the Amazon River area, near Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.  Over 300 different languages and cultures have been developed.  The Amazon River holds 20% of the world’s freshwater.  Over 1600 species of pineapple grow in the Neotropic.  This is a wonderful example of a rain forest that is being destroyed.

          The weather is very hot and steamy in the tropical rain forest.  The air temperature changes very little during the day.  Air temperatures are between 75F and 86F.  It rains nearly 200 inches per year, and the humidity is very high.