Despite the large, dead tree limbs on the trails and forest floor I thought that perhaps if these limbs weren’t on the forest floor decomposing and adding nutrients back to the soil; then there may not be as much tree diversity. Although many people feel it is our job to manage and manipulate nature to be ‘healthy’, we as humans cannot mimic mother nature and sometimes it is important to recognize that although a forest may not appear healthy in our eyes, it could be functioning in a way that is natural. Years before humans altered ecosystems, they functioned on their own and have adapted to many environmental…
The Amazon Rainforest is known to the largest River on the planet Earth. The Amazon Rainforest covers 40% of the South American continent and swivels its way through 8 countries; Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. The Amazon Rainforests consists of many different ecosystems and different vegetation types which include, rainforests, seasonal rainforests, deciduous rainforests, flooded forests and savannahs. The Amazon Rainforests also consists of the second biggest river (The Amazon River) following after the Nile River in North Africa. The river plays a massive part for the reproduction of the Rainforest and has done this for many years.…
The region is heavily forested with coniferous and deciduous trees, they can live on the plateaus and in river valleys as well as survive in poor conditions such as unproductive mountain soil. Furthermore, at lower elevations and river valleys, there are a multitude of trees, such as sugar maple, white pine and eastern hemlock; which form a rich mixed wood forest. The quality of agricultural life varies depending on the location, the soil by the river is much richer which has resulted in healthier trees, and there is a greater concentration of coniferous trees in cooler northern locations. Many of the valleys in the appalachian mountains have deep, and fertile soils. Moreover, the central chain of mountains, high elevations and strong maritime influences combine to produce a forest dominated by conifers.…
The biome that I picked was the Arctic Tundra. The animal from Arctic Tundra I picked is the polar bear. Female polar bears would rather build their den in old snow,( like from a few years ago.) The polar bear is found in Canada , the U.S (Alaska), Greenland, Russia Norway (the Svalbard archipelago), and Arctic Tundra.…
2. Identify two different types of forest environments. Two different types of forest environments are Tropical Rainforests and Coniferous Forests. Tropical Rainforests are typically dense and are located near the equator. Whereas, Coniferous Forests are located near the two poles and is usually in a snowy environment.…
Interesting Information: According to Wikipedia, “The Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America and the most biodiverse savanna in the world. However, it is not currently recognized by the Brazilian Constitution as a National Heritage.” According to CEPF.net, “ The Cerrado is also the only hotspot that consists largely of savanna, woodland/savanna and dry forest ecosystems.…
Monongahela National Forest is home to many unique plants and animals. Three of these organisms, the American beech tree, the black cherry tree, and the Virginia opossum, make Monongahela especially extraordinary. The American beech tree is one of the many beautiful types of trees that you can find at Monongahela National Forest. It has smooth light gray bark, that you can run your hand along without getting a scratch.…
Here is my essay on the Tropical Rainforest. The Tropical Rainforest is close to the equator and it makes up six percent of the earth's land surface. The rainforest is made up of four layers the emergent, the upper canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. It gets up to an average of 50 to 260 inches of rain…
Every year, many plants and animal species are killed, or even put to the brink of extinction, due to Amazon Deforestation. “Forests are complex ecosystems that affect almost every species on the planet. When they are degraded, it can set off a devastating chain of events both locally and around the world.” (Bradford) By deforesting the amazon, many animals are losing their homes and food sources.…
If I could live anywhere in the world and I had no family I would live in the Madagascar Rainforest. Every morning you would wake up to beautiful sunrise beaming off the water and gleaming through the mountains. The birds would be flying about chirping and the animals would be roaming looking for food. You can walk around the forest for days and you would never find the end. Through the trees you can see the blazing sunlight trying to break the layers upon layers of trees.…
Fungi was found growing along the log leading the path of the nature trail. This Fungi seemed to like the damp low level environment it was growing in. I even came upon this peeled upon Melaleuca tree. They seem to be abundant in the trail in low hydroperiod levels and they are dispersed due to the twenty million seeds it produces and sheds per tree. This tree has very distinctive black and white coloration and has a paper…
Tropical deforestation is an issue that has plagued mankind since the beginning of time. It is an important component of global change and has a large influence on many different environmental issues we have today such as climate change and carbon emissions. Over a twelve year period that ended in 2012, 1.1 million km2 of tropical forest was lost, with the rate of forest loss increasing during this span. One of the largest and most biodiverse tropical forests’ in the world is the Amazon, covering an area of 5.5 million square kilometers and shared by nine countries. Brazil holds the majority of it, over 60%.…
“As a general rule, the variety of life is most impoverished at the poles and the richest at low latitudes” (Kolber 152) and this is referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Inorder to prove this phenomenon, more than 30 theories have been advanced. One theory holds that more species live in the tropics because they can produce more generation at lower latitudes and with more generation will come more mutations and a more likely chance of emergence of new species. Kolbert goes around the forest with Silman discovering new species of trees, some of whose leaves are as big as a dinner plate. “The trees were not just trees; they were more like botanical gardens, covered with ferns and orchids...strung with lianas” (Kolbert 155).…
Role: Top predator in the tropical rainforest that consumes a variety of organisms to keep the ecosystem in check. Interactions: Jaguars are very important keystone species. Since they are apex predators, and devour many organisms, they control the population of their prey. An example is that if jaguars go extinct, then the population of herbivores will increase causing a massive loss of vegetation.…
Think back to the last vacation you had overseas and how many American companies you may have seen in that foreign country. Whether it was McDonalds or a JW Marriott, western culture is an overarching presence in Latin America. Not only can it potentially interfere with the current culture of the country, it also exploits the land and resources in the area. In Through the Arc of the Rainforest, Yamashita discusses the globalization process through overarching American corporations westernizing Southern America. Because of this, nature is exploited and not left to be natural.…