Rainforest structure

THE RAINFOREST FLOOR

The rainforest floor is often dark and humid due to constant shade from the canopy’s leaves. Despite its constant shade, the rainforest floor is an important part of the forest ecosystem.

The forest floor is where decomposition takes place. Decomposition is the process by which fungi and microorganisms break down dead plants and animals and recycle essential materials and nutrients.

Also, many of the largest rainforest animals are found on the forest floor. Some of these are elephants (in Asia), the tapir (Southeast Asia and Central and South America), tigers (Asia), and the jaguar (Central and South America).

PHOTOS FROM THE RAINFOREST FLOOR
Rainforest tree (Malaysia) Liana wrapped around a rainforest canopy tree (Belize) Roots of a strangler fig (Indonesia) Rainforest creek (Suriname) Borneo rainforest (Malaysia) Osa Peninsula rainforest (Costa Rica) Rainforest in Chambura Gorge (Uganda)		Borneo rainforest (Malaysia) Looking up the trunk of a giant Ceiba tree (Costa Rica) Tropical rainforest in the Osa Peninsula (Costa Rica) Buttress roots of a canopy tree (Malaysia) Tropical rainforest in the Osa Peninsula (Costa Rica) Buttress roots of an Amazon rainforest tree Buttress root of a canopy tree in the rainforest of Barro Colorado Island (pan01-0698)		Giant Dipterocarp tree (Indonesia) Forest of Brownsberg (Suriname) Sumatran rainforest (Indonesia) Sumatran rainforest (Indonesia) Rainforest creek (Suriname) Gunung Leuser rain forest (Indonesia) Canopy tree and a liana (Suriname)

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FAQs

May I use graphics from mongabay.com for my projects? Yes, you may provided that you don't remove the mongabay label from the images. You may use information from the site for class projects and can cite kids.mongabay.com as the source.

Is this web site credible? Mongabay is the world's most popular source for information on tropical forests. The site is highly acclaimed by a number of the world's leading tropical scientists and is run independently, meaning it is has no affiliation with advocacy groups or outside corporations. Rhett Butler, who founded Mongabay in 1999 and runs the site today, has published several scientific papers.

Can I interview the founder of mongabay.com for my school project? Unfortunately due to the large number of requests and the need to work on the main Mongabay site, Rhett is not available for interviews. However he has answered some common questions on the Rainforest Interview page.

Do you have any games or activities? Currently there are a few on the resources page. There may be more in the future.

Who are some scientists who study rainforests? Take a look at the Interviews with rainforest experts page.

How can I help save rainforests? Some ideas are listed on the Rainforest Solutions page.

Where can I learn more about rainforests? There is a wealth of information at the main rainforest site