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
temperate conditions Rainforests are made up of many more layers than the temperate forests that might be near your home The first layer of the rain forest is called the forest floor and it's the first layer that we'll explore As you step into this layer the first thing you might notice is the darkness You will probably also find that it's very humid There are very few plants in this layer of the rainforest because only a small amount of sunlight is able to filter down through the upper layers Soon however you will see that the forest floor is actually teeming with life Let's find out about the creatures and plants that call this dark and humid layer home Decomposers Almost everything that dies in the rainforest ends up on the forest floor The fallen leaves and dead ani mals that end up there become food for an abun dance of insects bacteria and fungi that help to decompose or break down these things into soil Together with the humidity of the forest they make the forest floor an efficient decomposing machine In fact an ordinary leaf that would take up to a year to decompose on the floor of a temperate forest near your home could completely decompose and disap pear on the floor of a tropical rainforest within six
Give Me the Dirt All that is decomposed gives life to other organisms It becomes soil that provides nutrients for plant life It becomes food for critters such as worms How do you think the dirt in your neighborhood is made It also comes from decomposing plant and animal mat ter The decomposition just happens a lot slower than in the rainforest You can see the process in action by creating your own container for compost or decomposing material What You Need A grown up to assist Garbage pail either plastic or metal See Drill Soil or peat moss
