Describe natural vegetation and wildlife in the Amazon basin
Answers
Forest Structure
Moist forests of the Amazon basin are normally evergreen forests stratified with 3-4 layers of vegetation: under-story, sub-canopy, canopy, and occasionally the emergents layer. Emerging trees reach up to 50-60 meters high, above the canopy of the forest. The canopy layer averages 25-30 meters in height and forms a mass of continuous tree coverage. The sub-canopy is often dominated by palms, and contains trees that wait for light openings to reach into the canopy. The understory layer contains small trees and shrubs often with morpohological adaptations to survive in low light and chemical adaptations to protect against predators.
While tropical forests often seem quiet on the ground, the forest canopy buzzes with life. Amazon rainforest trees support hundreds of species of vines and epiphytes such as orchids, bromeliads, and mosses. More than plants, the canopy provides the structure for birds and arboreal animals such as sloths and monkeys. The most abundant life in the rainforest, however, are insects; studies find thousands of species in one hectare of tropical forest. One of the first estimates of the incredible diversity of the rainforest canopy was estimated in 1982 by Terry Erwin at the Smithsonian Institution research station in Panama.
Moist forests of the Amazon basin are normally evergreen forests stratified with 3-4 layers of vegetation: under-story, sub-canopy, canopy, and occasionally the emergents layer. Emerging trees reach up to 50-60 meters high, above the canopy of the forest. The canopy layer averages 25-30 meters in height and forms a mass of continuous tree coverage. The sub-canopy is often dominated by palms, and contains trees that wait for light openings to reach into the canopy. The understory layer contains small trees and shrubs often with morpohological adaptations to survive in low light and chemical adaptations to protect against predators.
While tropical forests often seem quiet on the ground, the forest canopy buzzes with life. Amazon rainforest trees support hundreds of species of vines and epiphytes such as orchids, bromeliads, and mosses. More than plants, the canopy provides the structure for birds and arboreal animals such as sloths and monkeys. The most abundant life in the rainforest, however, are insects; studies find thousands of species in one hectare of tropical forest. One of the first estimates of the incredible diversity of the rainforest canopy was estimated in 1982 by Terry Erwin at the Smithsonian Institution research station in Panama.