Rainforests
The are very important to the world for many reasons, most of them being very simple. One major reason is that the plants in the forest turn carbon dioxide into clean air, which helps us fight pollution. Also, by absorbing carbon dioxide, the help deter the greenhouse effect. The trees of the rainforest store carbon dioxide in their roots, stems, branches, and leaves. The plants and animals of the rainforest also provide us with food, fuel wood, shelter, jobs, and medicines. "Image losing the potential cure for cancer or AIDS that might have been found in an undiscovered plant from the rainforest." (Tropical Rainforest Coalition, 1996) "The vine Aucistrocladus koropensis may be effective ...
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to the National Forest Association of Forest Industries (1996), "there are about 4 billion hectares of forest in the world, of which about 25 percent is tropical rainforest." The rainforest is full of diversity when it comes to the plants and animals that inhabit it… many of them are found no where else on Earth. These species have extremely valuable medical properties… the only known cure for certain diseases come from species of the rainforest. As an example of the rainforest’s diversity, "a single hectare in Kenya’s Kakamega Forest may host between 100 and 150 different tree species, compared to only about 10 different species in a hectare of the forest of North America." (Allo, 1996) The diversity of rainforest species applies to much more than just trees. "Although insects represent only 62 percent of the 1.4 million named organisms on the planet, scientists estimate that the total number of arthropods to number between 8 million and 80 million." (Allo, 1996) Only 20 ...
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near the equator, where temperatures stay above 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round. These dense, damp forests occur in Latin and South America, Africa, and in Southeast Asia. "Although they [tropical ] cover just seven percent of the Earth’s surface, they can provide habitat for between 50 and 90 percent of its plant and animal species. In 1990, tropical totaled some 1.7 billion hectares." (Forest Alliance of British Columbia, 1996) Half of the world’s lie within the borders of Brazil, Indonesia, and Zaire. A tropical rainforest has three layers: the forest floor, the understory, and the canopy. The forest floor has poor soil. Mainly insects live on this layer, although large mammals like ...
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Rainforests. (2006, December 21). Retrieved November 22, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Rainforests/57489
"Rainforests." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 21 Dec. 2006. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Rainforests/57489>
"Rainforests." Essayworld.com. December 21, 2006. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Rainforests/57489.
"Rainforests." Essayworld.com. December 21, 2006. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Rainforests/57489.
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