Rain Forest

The Amazon Rainforest

Poll

Lesson: The Amazon Rainforest

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Poll

What region of the world is named for female warriors in Greek mythology?  Is as large as the 48 contiguous states?  Is home to over 2.5 million animal species?  Produces more than 20% of all the oxygen of the world?

• Antartica

• Sahara Desert

• The Amazon Rainforest

• Mariana Trench

A flower that’s three feet across, weighs 20 pounds, and smells like rotting meat?  Sounds like something out of science fiction, right?

Wrong.  You can find the giant rafflesia plant - and many other oddities and curious creatures hiding in our planet’s many rain forests. 

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​What's that smell?

In 1997, biologist Marc van Roosmalen made an incredible discovery  - an Amazonian Indian had brought the biologist a tiny monkey inside a tin can.

Van Roosmalen realized that the monkey was a kind of pygmy marmoset never before been seen by scientists.

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​A Human Perspective

Over the next 3 years, Van Roosmalen and his colleagues located the native region of this creature and along the way observed plants and animals unknown to science.

These scientists had confirmed the richness of plant and animal life in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.

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​A Human Perspective

Tropical rain forests are home to some of the world’s greatest treasures:  countless species of plants and animals, oil, rubber, precious metals, and much, much more.

Many of these riches already benefit us humans.  They contribute to medicines, foods, and industrial products.  Many other useful resources have yet to be discovered.

The world’s tropical rainforests are beautiful and mysterious.

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​A Human Perspective

The rainforest definition is "an area of tall trees and a high amount of rainfall."

DID YOU KNOW?

..the rainforests cover only 6% of Earth’s surface, but contain more than ½ the world’s plant and animal species!

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​What is a Rainforest?

They are found mostly in tropical regions around the world, near the Earth's equator. The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into the northern and southern halves, and it's warm all year round. This warmth helps rainforests grow.

The majority of the world's rainforests are found in South America. The Amazon Rainforest, the largest rainforest in the world, is here. It stretches across several countries, including Brazil, Peru, and Colombia.

Africa – The Congo Rainforest is in Central Africa, mostly in the countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon.

Southeast Asia – Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have tropical rainforests.

Oceania – The islands of Papua New Guinea and parts of Australia (like Queensland) also have rainforests.

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Where will you find Rainforests?

Hotspot

Which CONTINENT is home to the majority of the world's rainforests?

Multiple Choice

Where are tropical rainforests found?

• Near the equator.

• In the Arctic region
• In the mountains of Europe
• In the deserts of Africa

Multiple Choice

What percent of the earth's surface is covered by rainforests?

• 6%
• 3%
• 15%
• 10%

WHY ARE RAINFORESTS IMPORTANT?

Ok, the Amazon is big and diverse.  It’s got some great-looking animals and loads of plants.  But what’s the big deal??

Plenty.

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Rainforests: Big Deal

LIFE IN THE RAINFOREST

Rainforests are important because they are home to many animals, plants, and insects. In fact, More than half of the world’s animal species live in rainforests. That’s a big deal!

Some rainforest animals use camouflage to hide from their enemies. 

Some katydids look just like leaves. Stick insects look like the twigs they crawl on, and pink Malayan mantises look like orchids.

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​Life in the Rainforest

Some have strong arms and curved claws. These let them cling to tree branches for hours. 

These slow-moving animals eat and sleep in the canopy.  They have weak back legs and curved claws, so walking is hard.

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​Life in the Rainforest

Tropical rainforests are home to many  kinds of birds, including parrots, toucans, and raptors like eagles, hawks, and vultures.

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​Rainforest Birds

Tropical rainforest waters -- including rivers, creeks, lakes, and swamps -- are home to the majority of freshwater fish species. The Amazon Basin alone has over 3,000 known species and possibly as many unidentified species.

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​Rainforest Fish

Most of the animal species found in the rainforest are invertebrates, including insects, arachnids (such as spiders and scorpions), and worms. 

Amazingly, about ¼ of all animal species that have been named and described by scientists are beetles. More than 500,000 kinds of beetles are known to exist, many of them from the world’s rainforests. 

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​Rainforest Life

Not all the rainforest animals hide themselves.  Some show off with bold colors.  

These poison dart frogs have poisonous skins, and their bright colors may warn off animals that might want to eat them.

Choco hunters rub the tips of blowgun darts on the skin of these frogs.  That makes the arrows deadly.

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Life in the Rainforest: People!

Rainforests are important because they are home to tribal peoples who rely on their surroundings for food, shelter, and medicines. 

Today very few forest people live in traditional ways; most have been displaced by outside settlers or have been forced to give up their lifestyles by governments.

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Living in the Rainforest

Of the remaining forest people, the Amazon supports the largest native, or indigenous populations, although these people, too, have been impacted by the modern world. 

While they still depend on the forest for traditional hunting and gathering, most grow crops (like bananas, manioc, and rice), use western goods (like metal pots, pans, and utensils), and make regular trips to towns and cities to bring foods to market. 

Still, these forest people can teach us a lot about the rainforest. Their knowledge of medicinal plants used for treating illness is unmatched.

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Living in the Rainforest

Poll

From this list, which do you prefer to do the most?

• Watch YouTube/Scroll through social media

• Play Video Games

• Play Outside

• Stream movies/shows

Although they generally don’t watch TV, use the internet, or play video games, kids in the rainforest do many of the same things you probably do.

They play with friends, help their families with chores, and go to school. 

Since “rainforest kids” live closer to nature than the average American child, they learn things that are helpful in the environment around them.

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Living in the Rainforest

From an early age many children learn how to fish, hunt, and collect materials and food from the forest. 

Instead of going to a playground or a shopping mall for fun, children in places like the Amazon spend most of their time outdoors playing in the forest and in rivers and streams.

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Living in the Rainforest

Rainforests are essential for Earth's climate

Rainforests are important because they contribute in providing about 20% of the world's oxygen. HOW?
You probably know that carbon dioxide, one of the gases in air, is called a “greenhouse gas” because it traps the sun’s heat and contributes to the warming effects of climate change.

Well, during photosynthesis plants absorb carbon dioxide.  Overall, the plants in the Amazon absorb nearly 5% of all the CO2 added to the air -  and altogether the world’s rainforests absorb over 25%, along with producing 20% of Earth's oxygen. That's why rainforests are known as the "lungs of the Earth." That’s a big deal!

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Carbon Dioxide

MEDICINE

Rainforests are important because plants from rainforests are the basis for many life-saving medicines. 

For centuries, people native to the Amazon have been using the plants there as medicines.  More recently, scientists have discovered that rainforests plants are sources for medicines to treat diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. 

In general, 1 in 4 of our medicines contains ingredients that come from a plant. Scientists have studies only 1% of the plants in the Amazon!  There may be dozens more medicines just waiting to be discovered.

That’s a big deal!

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Medicine

Multiple Choice

Why are rainforests often called the "lungs of the Earth"?

• Rainforests are primarily made of sand and rock.
• Rainforests are known for their extreme cold temperatures.
• Because they produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.

• Because they are home to many animals.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT an important role of rainforests?

• They produce oxygen

• They provide habitats for animals

• They provide habitats for humans

• They prevent natural disasters like tornadoes

For centuries, people native to the Amazon have Rainforests are disappearing. Fast.

Every year an area of rainforest the size of new Jersey is cut down and destroyed.  

Deforestation, or the process of cutting and clearing away trees from a forest, has greatly affected the Amazon rainforest.

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Why are Rainforests being destroyed?

Humans are the main cause.

One of the biggest reasons rainforests are being cut down is to make space for farming. As the world’s population grows, more land is needed to grow crops and raise livestock. For example, large areas of the Amazon Rainforest is being cleared to grow crops like palm oil, or to create space for cattle ranching.

Logging: Some companies cut down trees in the rainforest for their wood. This wood is used for things like furniture, paper, and building materials.

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Why are Rainforests being destroyed?

The people who are hired to clear the rainforest land use the slash and burn technique. Sometimes these fires get out of control, destroying large areas of forest in the process.

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Why are Rainforests being destroyed?

Multiple Choice

What is deforestation?

• Deforestation is cutting the grass in my yard.

• Deforestation is the planting of new trees in a forest.
• Deforestation is the process of growing crops in forested land.
• Deforestation is the clearing or removal of forests or trees from land.

There is a cost to pay for deforestation.

Deforestation means fewer plants absorbing carbon dioxide, which leaves more CO2 in the atmosphere. 

This buildup prevents heat from escaping into space and by the beginning of the 21st century, evidence of global warming, or an average increase in the Earth’s temperature which in turn causes changes in climate, appeared around the world.

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The Price of Destruction

Deforestation means plants possibly becoming extinct before scientists learn how they can be used to improve our lives.

Deforestation means losing habitats for many thousands of animal species. 

It also means the loss of a way of life for those who inhabit the rainforests.

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The Price of Destruction

Rainforests are disappearing very quickly. The good news is there are a lot of people who want to save rainforests.

For example, the American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known as Mr. Beast, was challenged to plant 20 million trees to celebrate reaching 20 million subscribers on YouTube in May of 2019.

As of September 5, 2024, more than 20 million trees have been planted.

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SOLUTIONS