Deforestation threatens more than just the trees that are cut down It affects every part of the life cycle from tiny insects to humans Nature’s Paradise Imagine a place that teems with life It is full of trees waterfalls rivers animals plants noises smells sounds and movement Hot and humid wet and steamy this place is home to an estimated 50 million different species including bright scarlet macaws beautiful jaguars and brilliant (cid:79)(cid:92)(cid:84)(cid:84)(cid:80)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:73)(cid:80)(cid:89)(cid:75)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:91)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:91)(cid:3)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:197)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:91)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:89)(cid:3)(cid:94)(cid:80)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:24)(cid:25)(cid:19)(cid:23)(cid:23)(cid:23)(cid:3)(cid:91)(cid:80)(cid:84)(cid:76)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:3) minute This is the most biodiverse environment on the planet Welcome to the incredible rain forest Earth’s green belt For millions of years the rain forests of the Earth have provided clean air for us to breathe When we breathe out we release a poisonous gas called carbon dioxide Rain forest plants and trees absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen Located in the warm central belt of the Earth the rain forests survived the last ice age but now they are in danger and they are disappearing fast 4 The Amazon rain forest is the world’s largest tropical rain forest It covers 3 7 square miles 6 million sq km Around half of all the world’s known animals and plants live there N umber Crunc h i n g Why are rain forests so important
The jaguar is one of the species threatened with extinction if the rain forests disappear Under threat Scientists estimate that half of the world’s rain forests have been destroyed in the last 25 years as a result of human activities The rain forest is rich with valuable resources Farmers clear the rain forest to use the land for cattle ranches and crops Trees are cut down to provide timber for the construction industry Large companies and governments make fortunes selling oil All of this comes at an incredibly high price Fragile forest Natural processes on Earth are often interlinked When something happens such as the rain forests disappearing it can trigger a series of actions that can have devastating effects This book looks at the chain of links between the causes and effects of rain forest destruction Why are rain forests so special and what will happen if they disappear 5
Marvelous Madagascar Inside a Rain Forest Millions of years ago the land of our planet was all joined together in one supercontinent that geologists have named Gondwanaland When the continents split apart the wildlife on each of the land masses developed very differently The island of Madagascar saw the development of some very special species New species The Madagascan rain forests are home to thousands of rare and unusual animals like the extremely slow-moving three-toed sloth and the mouse lemur the world’s smallest primate It is estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the 250,000 species in the island’s rain forests do not exist anywhere else on Earth In the last 10 years alone more than 600 new species have been found However this extraordinary biodiversity will be lost if the forests disappear 6 Rain forests are home to a whole ecosystem of rivers plants and animals including the colorful toucan
Layers of the rain forest There are four layers in a rain forest the forest floor the understory the canopy and the emergent layer Each layer is home to an amazing range of animals and plants The forest floor gets very little light so this is mostly made up of decaying plants The understory is between the forest floor and the canopy Here you can find animals such as frogs snakes jaguars tigers and capybaras The canopy is made up of large trees and plants like ferns and orchids The emergent layer is the realm of monkeys bats and eagles 7 What happens next Rain forests are the most species-rich places on the planet A single rain forest in South America has 18,000 different types of plants Nearly all of our medicines are made from plants Cures for serious illness such as cancer and AIDS may be found in the rain forests one day but not if the habitats for these plants are destroyed What is a rain forest made up of The rain forest is home to plants and animals with medicinal uses For example tea tree oil is used as an antiseptic and the rosy periwinkle contains anti-cancer chemicals Scientists are currently studying the toxins in the poison dart frog to see if they can be used to treat heart attacks
