What I have Learnt about Rain Forests

A Rainforest can be described as a tall, dense jungle.  The reason it is called a “rain” forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year.

These  are some of the main facts about a rainforest that we have been learning about in school:

•   The climate of a rain forest is very hot and humid so the animals and plants that exist there must learn to adapt to this climate.
• These incredible places cover only 6 %of the Earth’s surface but yet they contain MORE THAN 1/2 of the world’s plant and animal species!
• Most rainforests are between the tropic of Capricorn and the tropic of Cancer.
• Most of them are in South America and South Africa
• There are over 750 different types of trees in a rain forest.
• Some of the trees can grow up to 300 feet tall, that’s the  size of a football pitch standing up.
• Rain forests produce most of the Earths oxygen.
• There are over 350,000 species of plants and animals in there.
• Lots of rain forests are disappearing because of the amount of paper we use and that’s why we need to recycle.
• 1 out of 4 ingredients in our medicine is from the rainforest.
• Possible cures for life threatening diseases come from plants that grow in the rain forest.
• Due to poor agricultural practices, over logging and population increase, Rain forests are being destroyed.
• It is estimated that 8% of the Rain forests in the world have been destroyed.
•  This means that over half of the original species have been destroyed as well.

        

As you can see from these facts rainforests are very important for us, so we should help saving the rainforest by recycling more.