The Information Centre

1  What is a Rainforest
Canopy: The canopy is just like a roof to the rainforest. It consists of many different tree-tops and vines as well as small plants. Some trees are the Umbrella Tree, Euodea and the Silky Oak tree as well as the Red Cedar. Some plants are Mistletoe and the Black Bean flower.
Understorey: The understorey includes the smaller shrubs, bushes, ferns, small trees and the trunks of other trees. Some of these include orchids, Native Monstera and a lot of different ferns such as the staghorn fern, elkhorn fern, birds nest fern, and the tree fern or Cooper’s treefern.
Forest Floor: The forest floor is home to mosses, fungi, rotten tree branches as well as various insects, marsupials and rodents.
Giant Rainforest Trees: The Red Cedar is one of the most important trees in the history of Australia. It was also know as ‘red gold’ to the early settlers!

2 Bio-diversity (flora & fauna)*
Tropical rainforests are home to nearly 90% of all the species on earth. In fact, there are so many animals and plants that scientists believe that there are still many to be discovered and even to be named! There’s so many different types of animals that it contains up to 50% (half) of the species that live on earth! Scientists also believe that there are nearly 50 million different species of insects in a rainforest. Sometimes there are up to fifty different types of ants in one tree. You would only need a few hours of poking around in a rainforest to find a new species. This is believed to be caused by the ‘Giant Freeze’ which didn’t reach the rainforests. Therefore, plants and animals could keep on living and developing to one of the oldest, most complete, ecosystems on earth.

3 Decay and Renewal
In a rainforst nothing is wasted. Plants are always shedding leaves and bark which mixes with the manure of other animals and the bodies of dead ones to form a layer called ‘humus’ on the forest floor. Micro-organisms, bugs and fungi break the humus down and change it into rich nutrients for the soil.

4 Food Chains.
As you can see, humans end up on the end of these food chains. This is because of modern technology and guns (or weapons).

5 Indigenous* People
A lot of people still live in tropical rainforests. Many have moved to live just as we do, but, may still live just like their ancestors.

6 Where are the Rainforests?
Rainforests are found in equatorial* regions. They are there because they need alot of rainfall and a high average temperature. Therefore they are in parts of Africa, Indonesia, India, Australia, Papua New Guinea and South America.

7 Climate
Animals rarely have to worry about being cold or starving in a rainforest with a constant 75⁰ to 80⁰ F (24⁰ to 27⁰ C). Water is never a problem because rain falls nearly every day.

8 Importance of Rainforests
A rainforest is one of the most important parts of life. They are even often called ‘The Womb of Life’. They are home to animals and have many helpful plants. Furniture is made from the rainforest’s trees. Medicines such as a treatment for cancer, is made of plants from the rainforest.

9 How to Help
• Don’t buy products from the rainforest that are not used responsibly (furniture etc.)
• Try walking places instead of driving.
• Don’t support ‘rainforest-beef’*
• Try to buy rainforest-safe products eg. tree free paper which is made from the kenaf plant, not trees.
• Try not to place impact on the rainforest when walking.
• Use less paper. Try and use cloth towels not paper ones.

10 Destruction
Everyday the rainforests get more and more destroyed. Trees get cut down, animals die and today only a little rainforest remains. Try to use the ‘How to Help’ tips above.

11 Glossary
Bio-diversity:  the range of flora, fauna and micro-organisms in an eco-system.
Indigenous:  native, belonging naturally
Equatorial: area near the equator
(research by G.Mumford yr4/5 1999)