Rainforests Geographic Process

Year 8 Geography- Topic 1 – Global Environments - 2011

Geographic Process in the Rainforests

What is an ecosystem?

A natural system made up of

living organisms and their

environment.

Geographic Process in the Rainforests

In a rainforest, there is a complex

relationship between climate,

landforms, soils, trees, plants and

animals

A change in one, impacts

the entire system

Natural Environment

Atmosphere (Air)

Hydrosphere (Water)

Lithosphere (Land)

Biosphere (Living Things)

Geographic Process in the Rainforests

Geographic Process in the Rainforests

Paste into your workbooks and discuss as a class

Geographic Process in the Rainforests

The balance of

the rainforest

can be easily

upset and

affected by the

intervention of

people

Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes in the Rainforests

Why do you think

countries along the

equator experience hot

and wet conditions all

year?

Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes in the Rainforests

What type of climate

do rainforests grow

best in?

Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes in the Rainforests

What type of climate do

rainforests grow best in?

-Warm to hot temperature

-Regular heavy rainfall

Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes in the Rainforests

Paste into your workbooks and discuss as a class

Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes in the Rainforests

Soon, after the downpour

the hot sun reappears,

creating a steamy, sticky

feeling in the air.

Humid conditions result

because their is a high

percentage of water

vapour in the atmosphere

Why are Rainforests Here?

Plants need light, heat and moisture in order to grow. These elements must be in abundance to create the right conditions for growth. The area between the two tropic lines receives the greatest intensity of light and heat from the sun (also called insolation). This heat drives what we call the hydrological cycle which in turn causes high rainfall

+ =

Atmospheric Processes

Rainforests help maintain the balance of gases in the atmosphere. During daylight hours, trees and other plants carry out the process of photosynthesis by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen needed by all living things

In Carbon Dioxide

Out Oxygen

Lithosphere & Biotic Processes in the Rainforests

Nutrient Recycling

The rainforest is warm and moist,

therefore organic matter decays

rapidly.

When trees die in the rainforest,

living organisms quickly absorb the

nutrients before they have a chance

to be washed away.

This is called nutrient recycling

Lithosphere & Biotic Processes in the Rainforests

Rainforest Soils

Do you think rainforest soil

would be really rich and fertile or

poor and infertile?

Lithosphere & Biotic Processes in the Rainforests

Rainforest Soils

Q:Do you think rainforest soil

would be really rich and fertile or

poor and infertile?

A: Poor and infertile

Lithosphere & Biotic Processes in the Rainforests

Rainforest Soils

Because it rains so much in a

rainforest the nutrients in the topsoil

get dissolved really quickly. The

nutrients get washed down into the

lower layers of the subsoil. This is

called leaching