Systems

Tropical Rainforests

What are tropical rainforests like?

Starter

Watch the movie to learn some fantastic facts about tropical

rainforests.

Read the layers of the rainforest article.

Layers of the rainforest

1.Read the layers of the rainforest article.

2. Cut out the cards on the vocabulary worksheet and match the term with

the definition.

Layers of the Rainforest

Emergent trees

Canopy

Small trees

Shrubs

Undergrowth

50m

0m

liana saprophytesbuttress roots

Layers of the rainforest

Simplified food chain in the Amazon

Who eats whom in the rainforest?

Leaves

Fruit

Nuts

Porcupine

Parrots

Termites

Jaguar

Flowers

Berries

Decay

The red, tropical soil is naturally infertile.

Soil

How does so much vegetation grow if the soil is infertile?

BUT…

Nutrient cycle

Nutrient Cycle

Twigs and leaves fall to the ground and become ‘litter’

Decomposition (breaking down) of litter by termites, fungi and bacteria

Nutrients enter the soil

Soil is fertile

Dense vegetation

So what happens if we cut down the trees?

Broken Nutrient Cycle

Less vegetation

Deforestation

Fill in the gaps

Watch the video with Ray Mears climbing up through the layers of the

rainforest. This will be used as stimulus for your homework.

Plenary

Write a piece of creative writing about climbing through the layers of

the Rainforest.

Homework