There are days when the vagaries of the weather throw you off balance. The measured drops of rain calm you down when you are at home, warm and cozy – this is pure hygge. But what if you have to hurry to work, and the skies have opened up and it is pouring down?! But there are places on our planet where the amount of precipitation exceeds 2000 mm per year – the thick air just wants to be squeezed out of moisture. Rain forests with their climatic features are unsuitable for human life, but are ideal for many species of animals and birds.
Where are rain forests located?
Why do they have such a strange name – not by the type of plant, density of growth or location, but by weather conditions?! Rainforests are distinguished by abundant precipitation throughout the year. They grow in three main areas around the world: Central and South America, West and Central Africa and Southeast Asia. The proximity to the equator provides a large amount of sunlight and warm average annual air temperatures. But there are also temperate rainforests outside the tropics – in Canada, Norway, Alaska and the Western Caucasus. They are much colder – the average temperature does not always reach 12 degrees. And the largest rainforest in the world is located in the Amazon basin.
Structure of rainforests
Rainforests usually consist of several tiers. The forest floor receives almost no sunlight, so it is usually home to plants adapted to low light and various types of fungi. The cozy semi-darkness of the undergrowth is formed mainly by young trees and shrubs with large leaves. Life is in full swing here: birds chirp and scream, snakes and lizards rustle, tropical insects of exotic sizes buzz, and predators roam. The greatest biodiversity on the planet is in the forest canopy – a continuous cover of foliage, tangled vines and trees. These thickets, often impassable, are called jungles. Eagles, butterflies, bats and monkeys have taken a fancy to the forest stand – they are not afraid of high temperatures and strong winds.
Rainforest dwellers
Scientists believe that rainforests are a place of high evolutionary change, they are home to many species of living organisms. The diversity of inhabitants is amazing – if in the territory of some European country there are several hundred species of insects, then in the kingdom of a humid climate they are counted in tens of thousands! Local birds are mainly herbivorous – their diet includes juicy fruits, well, and termites. In order not to become prey to predators prematurely, the birds build hanging nests for themselves. Animals of rainforests rarely go out onto open surfaces – during the day they prefer to sleep in cozy thickets, and at night they go hunting.