Post on topic: Rainforests.
Trees and plants use water not only for transporting nutrients but also for cooling. By evaporating water through the surface of the leaves, they protect themselves from overheating on a hot day. Lack of water can lead to the leaves and plants themselves drying out. Rainforests generate up to 80% of the rainfall in a given area, nourishing the local soil. Meanwhile, a dry atmosphere indicates a disruption in the water cycle of an ecosystem. It’s quite paradoxical, then, that this takes place in the humid rainforests in the heart of South America.
What Can This Lead to?
A disrupted water balance in the rainforest makes it more vulnerable to droughts and fires. In 2019, the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research observed over 80,000 forest fires throughout the country, half of which were in the Amazon Rainforest. High average temperatures and frequent fires only exacerbate the situation and result in even more fires.
Rainforests | What Role Do People Play?
Scientists note that the two factors with the greatest impact on drying rainforests are global warming and deforestation caused by agriculture. Moreover, the scale of the latter is shocking — every minute, a football field-sized area of the Amazon Rainforest is destroyed.
Deforestation in Malaysia. From 1990–2005, the country lost 6.6 % of its total undergrowth.
Interesting Facts About Rainforests
1. Home to Half of the World’s Species
Rainforests cover only about 6% of the Earth’s surface, but they are home to more than half of the world’s plant and animal species.
2. The Amazon: The Largest Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest, spanning across nine countries in South America, is the largest rainforest in the world and produces 20% of the world’s oxygen.
3. Incredible Biodiversity
A single hectare of rainforest can contain up to 750 species of trees and 1,500 species of higher plants.
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