Tropical Forests

Question 1

Rainforest

Answer 1

high rainfall, dark because of canopy, tall trees (up to 40 meters), no branches until the canopy

Question 2

Cloud Forest

Answer 2

occurs on tropical mountains, almost 100% humidity

Question 3

Dry Forest

Answer 3

rain shadow side of mountain, long dry season

Question 4

Mangroves

Answer 4

base of the mountain, on the wet side, nurseries for small coral reef fish that hide within the mangroves

Question 5

Where are tropical forests disappearing the fastest?

Answer 5

The Amazon Rainforest

Question 6

Subsistence Agriculture

Answer 6

people who grow crops for their own personal needs, typically done by slash and burn, soils aren’t very nutritious, when your burn the trees the nutrients at the top of the trees is moved to the soil, however after 6 years the nutrients is lost so the process is repeated, common in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia

Question 7

Why tropical rainforest are disappearing (five reasons)

Answer 7

1. Subsistence Agriculture
2. Commercial Agriculture
3. Forest Fires
4. Fuel Wood
5. Timber

Question 8

Commercial Agriculture

Answer 8

grows crops to sell, plantations, plants perennial crops, popular with livestock and ranching

Question 9

Forest Fires

Answer 9

tropical forests not adapted to fire, after a forest fire, the forest becomes degraded, soil is dryer and there are more dead trees

Question 10

Fuel Wood

Answer 10

cooking in developing countries done with fuel wood (accounts for 80% of all wood use in the developing countries)

Question 11

Living Fences

Answer 11

we create living fences where you take seeds and fruits from trees, stick it in the ground, and they’ll begin to grow, not a cause for deforestation

Question 12

Timber

Answer 12

when you cut down a tree that has economic value, trees don’t have rims, mahogany, teak, ebony, illegal logging (the ITTO tries to prevent this)

Question 13

Forest Fragmentation

Answer 13

“islands” of forest surrounded by deforestation

Question 14

Selective Extinction (three indicators)

Answer 14

predict which species go extinct first

Question 15

Species Area Relationship

Answer 15

the relationship between the area of habitat and the number of species found within the area (direct relationship)
1. Size of animals, the largest creatures go extinct first
2. Solid forest, species that have evolved the a dark, dull forest
3. Rare species, low density of creatures

Question 16

Non-native invasions (examples)

Answer 16

rats and mosquitos in Hawaii, rabbits in Australia