Biomes Research Project

Biome: Tropical Rainforest

Location:
Aside from Madagascar, the rainforest biome is located in central Africa as well as throughout southeast Asia and South America. Rain forests account for just less than 6% of Earth's surface.

Climate:
Rain forests deal with a tropical wet climate. It is also very hot because tropical rainforests are all near the equator. The temperature can range from 20°C to 34°C and the amount of precipitation could be between 125 and 660 cm per year. The humidity in the rainforest can range from 77% to 88%.

Animals:
There are many animals which inhabit the rainforests of the world. Some of them are gorillas, anteaters, tigers, toucans, anacondas, butterflies, poisonous frogs, chimpanzees as well as many more. Some animals with adaptations include:

Anaconda - This long and heavy species of snake have adapted to the rain forest with regards to camouflage to hide among the trees and grass. Also, they possess prehensile tails to grip onto branches when hunting.

Bengal Tiger - These tigers have soft, padded feet which allow them to stalk their prey and they also have excellent nocturnal vision to allow for them to be able to hunt at night.

Jaguar - Jaguars have spots to help them with camouflage as well as long tails to assist with balance, sharp turns and for climbing.

Chimpanzee - Chimpanzees have strong arms to swing through the trees and they also have opposable thumbs which help them grip to branches.

Toucan - -Toucans in the rainforest have stronger/bigger beaks for eating fruits and they have two claws in front and 1 in the back of their feet to have an excellent grip to branches of the trees.
In most cases, species have adapted in ways involving camouflage, ability to grip to branches as well as altered body parts to enhance the stalking and hunting of prey.

Plants:
There are also an incredibly high number of species of plants in the rainforest. Some species which are present are orchids, tualang, fig trees, durian, curare, and ferns.
Almost all of the plants have adapted to the rainforest with regards to the high amount of rainfall. They have gained the ability to have bigger and stronger leaves to allow for the water to just fall off the plant in an effort to not weigh down and snap. Having bigger leaves is also beneficial as it can be very dark in the rainforest so bigger leaves will make it a little more likely for the plant to get some sunlight. Trees have thin bark to protect them from plants growing on them due to the high humidity. They also have buttress roots to allow for extra support in the shallow soil of the rainforest.

Soil:

The 2 types of soils present in the rainforest are the the ultisols and oxisols. Ultisols are known as well weathered, acidic red clay soils, deficient in major nutrients such as calcium and potassium. Oxisols are acidic, old, reddish, highly weathered and leached. But they are well drained compared to ultisols. The reddish color of both soils is the result of heavy heat and moisture forming oxides of iron and aluminum, which are insoluble in water and not taken up readily by plants. The soil is very shallow and heavy rains have pretty much completely depleted the amount of nutrients in the soil.

Limiting Factors:
Examples of this are predators hunting more of a specific prey in an area due to increase in population or food supply of a species declining due to rapid growth of a population. Also, natural disasters and tropical storms are examples of limiting factors. Rainforests can be very dark due to many tall trees which leads to a competition between plants on the floor for sunlight, which makes it very difficult for plants to survive in this biome.



Human Impact:

Human activity has had a primarily negative impact on this biome with one major problem; deforestation. Deforestation is essentially completely destroying many ecosystems and habitats which is leading to many species of the rainforests becoming endangered. The tropical rainforest biomes around the world are being broken down by deforestation slowly, but surely.

Bibliography:

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm#.VSREjU10wdU

http://lo2fosho.blogspot.ca/2011/01/limiting-factors-of-tropical-rainforest.html
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/rainforest.html#humans

Waste Management - Madagascar

Waste




1. Madagascar produces the least amount of municipal waste in the world, producing only about 9kg per year. Currently, all of Madagascar's waste is disposed of in two ways. 96.7% of their waste goes directly to landfills while only 3.5% of it is composted.


2. There are many problems with the way that Madagascar handles its waste. For one thing, there are no facilities for the disposal of chemical waste. There are also no regulations on the disposal of plastic waste.The movement of hazardous waste in the country is very poor and not well monitored. There is no legislation in place to deal with these issues and the public is not educated to understand the dangers of waste.


3. There are a few steps that Madagascar could take to improve the quality of their waste management. They need to pass legislation to ensure that there are regulations on the disposal of waste. They also need to educate the public about waste disposal as well as about composting. Composting can be very beneficial to the country with regards to organic farming. Organic farming can benefit the economy and can help sustain the environment.

Climate Controls of Madagascar

Climate Controls of Madagascar


1. Madagascar's dominant climate is formed by many of the climate controls. This country is surrounded by water and it is below (and near) the equator. The central region is made up of mountains and high lands while the rest of the country is mainly made up of coastal plains.

2. Their dominant climate is a subtropical one. The country is 20° south of the equator and is an island with the Indian Ocean to the east. The southeastern trade winds combined with the country's proximity to water leads to a climate with hot, humid summers and cool, dry winters. The temperature in the capital ranges between 14° and 17° Celsius in the summer months and between 19° and 22° Celsius in the winter.

3. Climagraph for the capital city of Antananarivo, Madagascar:

Hurricane - Madagascar

Cyclone Geralda

In late January of 1994, Madagascar was hit by a crippling tropical cyclone from the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Geralda was a category 5 storm which arose from low pressure in the Indian Ocean. It lasted from January 26th to February 8th, 1994. After several days, the storm had winds reaching 200 km/h. The highest gusts of wind during the cyclone reached up to 350 km/h. The cyclone caused heavy rainfall which led to intense flooding, especially in the valleys. There was severe damage done to the roads. Around 231 people died from the storm as well as over 10,000 cattle killed by the storm. Over 740,000 acres of crop fields were destroyed throughout the country. The country experienced food and fuel shortages throughout and close to 40% of their communications network were knocked offline. Over 40,000 houses were destroyed by the cyclone. Madagascar's only petroleum refinery was obliterated and the cost for it was around $800,000. The approximate economic damage that the storm caused was estimated to be over $10 million.

Air Mass, Global Winds and Rain

The prevalent air mass in Madagascar is Maritime Tropical

The main winds affecting Madagascar are southeasterly trade winds

The type of rainfall which affects most of Madagascar is orographic rainfall. It is hit with easterly on shore winds on the windward side of the mountain to create a wet tropical climate. While on the leeward side, it is dryer in the rain shadow.