ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks to my dad for giving me the names of the trees and to my mom for opening my mind to these marvelous forests Thanks to Dolores Mannix for sharing her love and knowledge of the rainforests of South America architect Geoff Miles for teaching me about the architecture of buttresses and Kevin Russell founder of the Rainforest Awareness Project for his insights on the Borneo rainforests Special thanks to Lisa Rosenthal and Cynthia Sherry for their enthusiasm and support And always to Dean and Lucie for their constant love and
INTRODUCTION In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous Aristotle The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote these words over 2 000 years ago And although Aristotle may never have traveled to a rainforest his words cer tainly resound in the minds of all who have experi enced these truly marvelous places Rainforests are the oldest kind of forest They have been growing on our planet for millions of years They are home to the largest concentration of animals birds and insects on earth In fact some rainforest creatures haven't even been named yet Rainforests give our world enormous amounts of oxygen and store two thirds of its fresh water They give us medicines spices fruits nuts and chocolate What could be more marvelous Most rainforests are near the equator Those are called tropical rainforests Others are farther away from the equator and are called temperate rainforests These are found in places such as the Pacific North west of the United States and in parts of New Zea land Both types of rainforests have a tremendous amount of rainfall each year and the same layers including the forest floor understory canopy and
emergent But they differ greatly in the variety of plants and animals they support Rainforests is written for everyone who marvels at these rainforests whether or not you have visited one Alone or in groups you will enjoy the activities that explore these tropical and temperate ancient forests You will also discover how you can help pre serve them You'll learn about creatures you may never have heard of and also about some familiar favorites Facts will pop out in Rainforest Reflection sidebars and ideas for more fun appear in Rainforest Challenges at the end of the book Most of all you will discover a new frontier that you'll want to explore again and again So turn the page and start getting wild about
THE FOREST FLOOR Have you ever taken a hike in the woods Think about what you see and hear there The ground under your feet might be rocky or covered with leaves Sunlight might be stream ing down through the leaves of the trees to the ground at your feet You may find deciduous trees which lose their leaves in the fall and ever green trees which stay green all through the win ter You could wrap your arms around most of the tree trunks you see It might be quiet on your hike or you might hear a bird or two Now imag ine you have traveled to a rainforest The word rainforest was created in 1903 to describe forests that grow in constantly wet conditions In rain forests the rainfall is more than 80 inches 2 m a year You would find many differences between a rain forest and other forests that grow in drier or more
