Some plant species called epiphytes grow directly on the surface of the giant trees. These plants make up much of the understory, the layer of the rainforest right below the canopy. Epiphytes are close enough to the top to receive enough light, and the runoff from the canopy layer provides all the water and nutrients they need, which is important since they don’t have access to the in the ground.
And some epiphytes develop into stranglers. They grow long, at the same time the strangler plant’s branches extend upward, spreading out into the canopy. And sooner or later the strangler’s patter of roots remains, giving the plant the structure it needs to reach from the forest floor to the canopy.
Competition over nutrients is almost as intense as competition for light. The excessive rainfall rapidly dissolves nutrients in the soil, making relatively infertile except at the top layers. For this reason, rainforest tree roots grow outward to cover a wader area, rather than downward to lower levels. This makes rainforest trees somewhat unstable, since they don’t have very strong anchors in the ground. Some trees compensate for this by growing natural buttress. These buttresses are basically tree trunks that extend out from the side of the tree and down to the ground, giving the tree extra support.
Nutrient cycle
Weathered rock releases nutrients such as calcium, carbon and nitrogen into the soil. Then the plants and animals circulate nutrients through the system.
The cycle occurs quickly in hot, wet ecosystems e.g. tropical rainforests,
And then nutrients are lost by percolation and run-off into rivers.
Human activity can effect of the cycle by deforestation – loss of plant material and increased run-off.
Water cycle
Water cycle is important in the rainforest. Trees, small plants, and forest litter absorb rainwater, reducing erosion and runoff. Leaves capture up to 60 percent of precipitation. When rain falls on bare ground, the full force of raindrops can wash soil into streams, making them muddy. But when rain falls on the forest, it drips down through leaves and branches to the forest floor. The forest canopy, as well as layers of plant litter under trees, protects the soil from the full force of rain. Tree roots hold the soil in place so that it doesn't wash away.
The sun is the source of all the energy in the ecosystem, light energy fro the sun is absorbed by the green plants in the process called photosynthesis.
The leaves of the trees absorb sunlight and CO2 and release oxygen.
What interest groups see a value in the rainforest? Are these local, global or international interests?
There are so many different groups who see a value in the rainforest and some of these are local, global and national groups, these groups are the rubber tapers, logging company’s, mining company’s, cattle ranchers etc
Logging companies
Much of the logging takes place on the edge of the forest where there are roads as moving the wood is problem. The most valuable woods wanted are Mahogany which fetches £500 a tree on the world market. In the UK it’s used for furniture and doors. And they see a value in the rainforest because they think by selling the mahogany trees they’ll get more income which means they get more money.
Mahogany trees do not grow close together only one or two Mahogany trees grow in each hector and in order for them to reach those expensive trees they damage approximately 28 other trees and loggers remove at least 30 trees a day which they transport them by lories and in order for the lories to transport the Mahogany trees roads must be built and when building roads they have to remove trees which is a damage on the rainforest.
And there are 4000 saw miles in the Amazon region. Some make plywood used to make cheap furniture.
These interests are local, global and international interests because the mahogany wood is sold all over the world.
Mining companies
In Rondonia there is mining for gold, copper, bauxite, nickel, manganese and tin which are all important to us as humans we need all of these products for our daily life and these are some of the things that we get from rainforest and that’s why its so important to use the rainforest in sustainable way because if the rainforest is damaged then we won’t get all of these products and that’s why it’s very important to use the rainforest with out damaging the ecosystem, men women and children work in the mines and they get paid for doing it although they don’t get that much money but still that’s where they get their income from.
Oil and natural gas have also been discovered and these are likely to have more impact.
Most of the mining groups are local and some of them are national and some are global interest groups.
Indigenous people
Tropical rainforests are bursting with life. Not only do millions of plants and animals live in rainforests, but many people also call the rainforest home. In fact, indigenous people, or native, peoples have lived in the rainforest for thousands of years, and they still live in the rainforest today.
Some indigenous people live much as we do, but some still live much as their ancestors did thousands of years ago.
Indigenous people rely on the rainforest for food, medicine, shelter and clothing. They live what is called a sustainable existence, meaning they use the land without doing harm to the plants and animals.
Besides hunting, gathering wild fruits and nuts, and fishing, some indigenous people also plant small gardens, using a sustainable farming method called shifting cultivation. They clear a small area of land and burn it, then they plant many types of plants to be used for food and medicines after while,
How do the activities of these interest groups affect the environment and economy? Is the matter local national or global concern?
These activities affect the rainforests ecosystem because these interest groups are not using the rainforest in sustainable ways, and there are many other ways which the rainforest is being exploited and many of these ways are damaging the environment, because the majority of these groups are cutting down trees, in other words they’re clearing the rainforest.
Cattle ranching is one of the major causes of rainforest destruction in the Brazilian rainforest. Ranchers slash and burn rainforests to grow grass pasture for cattle. Once the cattle have grazed sufficiently, they are slaughtered and exported to industrialized countries, including the United States, to be made into fast food hamburgers and frozen meat products. For every quarter pound hamburger made from rainforest cattle, fifty-five square feet of rainforest was cleared and clearing fifty-five square feet of rainforest releases five hundred pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.
And if trees are removed from the ecosystem it would mean less CO2 is absorbed from the atmosphere.
And also when trees are cut down there will be nothing to intercept the rain so rain falls directly on the ground which means more water run on the surface, rivers are more likely to flood down stream. This also means heavy rain leaches minerals from the soil, and fewer nutrients enter the soil so it becomes less fertile, and also there will be less leaves falling on the floor which also means there will be less nutrients on the soil.
When trees are removed, the canopy no longer protects soil from the rain and soil is more easily eroded specially on slopes. Also when trees are cut down completely roots no longer exist, which means roots no longer hold the soil together, more water runs on the surface which means sediments and nutrients are washed away into rivers, and soil is compacted and hard which means plants can hardly grow on it.
My opinion.
In my opinion the future of the rainforest is not very good because most of the rainforest has been destroyed and it is very to say that it will be better again the same way it was because it take many years to grow the trees again and I think the only way it will be managed when they will stop cutting trees and remove illegal loggers, try to plant as many trees as they can and they can take help from people who live in rainforest to make the rainforest grow faster.
