Ecosystems Paper

Ecosystems Paper

Team A

Brant King

Lucie Viau

Stephen Taylor

Juan Buitragoquijano

ENV 100

January 23, 2012

Onesimus Otieno

Ecosystems Paper

The tropical rainforest is a warm, moist ecosystem that covers almost 7% of the Earth’s surface (Stork, 2007). Rainforests are located around the equator where temperature is always warm, and there is a high level of precipitation. The rainforest consists of three levels of vegetation. The emergent level is the top level of the rainforest, which receives the most sunlight and consists of the tops of the tallest trees. The second level of the rainforest is the canopy where 90% of the species live (Wiley, 2009). The canopy is a dense shelf of leaves around 100 feet off the ground that lets very little, if any, light to the bottom level of the rainforest, or the ground. The ground has sparse vegetation because of low levels of light and the quick rate of decomposition from the moisture in the air.

Ecosystems survive through the biotic and abiotic interactions within them. Climate is a very prominent abiotic factor that contributes to the makings of the rainforest. Climate is the weather in an area over an extended period of time. All ecosystems have a unique climate that directly affects and creates that ecosystem. The unique climate characteristics of the rainforest include it always being warm with plenty of precipitation. Evergreen flowering plants thrive on large amounts of rain and the warm temperatures within the rainforest.

The soil within the rainforest is also directly affected by the climate. The warm temperatures in the rainforest aid quick decomposition of organisms. The roots of the vegetation absorb the nutrients very quickly draining the soil of all its nutrition (Wiley, 2009). This makes it hard for other vegetation to grow along the floor of the rainforest. If the climate within the rainforest were to change the ecosystem would as well....