Rainforests and Tropical Diversity

Gaby Orihuela Visitor Experience Manager Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

 Objective IV: Education and awareness about plant diversity, its role in sustainable livelihoods and importance to all life on earth is promoted.

– Target 14: The importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation incorporated into communication, education and public awareness programs. What are Rainforests?

 Forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 68–78 inches, and as much as 390 inches. (Miami receives an average annual of ~60 inches.)  Two types: Tropical (wet and warm) and Temperate  Around 40% to 75% of all biotic species are indigenous to the tropical rainforests  Natural reservoir of genetic diversity and ecological services: – Rich source of medicinal plants – High-yield foods and a myriad of other useful forest products – Sustain a large number of diverse and unique indigenous cultures – Important habitat for migratory animals

Peruvian Amazonia Where in the World?

 Today less than 3% of Earth’s land is covered with these forests (about 2 million square miles). A few thousand of years ago they covered 12% (6 million).

 Tropical forests are restricted to the latitudes 23.5° North and 23.5° South of the equator, or in other words between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.

 Global distribution in four biogeographic realms: – Afrotropical (mainland Africa, Madagascar, and scattered islands) – Australian (Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands) – Indomalayan (India, Sri Lanka, mainland Asia, and Southeast Asia) – Neotropical (South America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands)

Neotropical Realm The Amazon Rainforest

 +50 % of the world’s rainforests lie in the Neotropical realm  The largest unbroken stretch of rainforest is found in the Amazon river basin of South America  It include parts of 9 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana, French Guiana and Bolivia  Over half of this forest lies in Brazil (~1/3 remaining in the world). Rainforest Structure

 Typically divided into four main layers, each with different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular area:  The emergent layer contains a small number of very large trees, which grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 120– 150 feet.  The canopy layer contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 98 to 148 feet tall. The densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops.  The understory layer lies between the canopy and the forest floor. Only about 5% of the sunlight shining on the rainforest canopy reaches this layer. The leaves are much larger at this level and many seedlings that will grow to the canopy level are present.  The forest floor, the bottom-most layer, receives only 2% of the sunlight. Only plants adapted to low light can grow on this layer. Rainforest Structure Plant Diversity

 Rainforests contain 170,000 of the world’s 250,000 known plant species  A recent survey in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil found 487 tree species in 2.5 acres, while the US and Canada combined only have 700 species Botanical Biodiversity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVnveDTKAJo

A Tropical Rainforest

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUuA-C_I3DE

1/3 of world’s spp. Insect Biodiversity

 A single square mile of rainforest often houses more than 50,000 insect species  Whereas all of Europe has some 321 butterfly species, a locality in the Southeastern Peruvian Amazonia has ~ 1,300 species

So, why are Rainforests important?

 Help stabilize the world’s climate;  Habitat to many thousand of spp. of flora and fauna;  Maintain the water cycle;  Protect against flood, drought, and erosion;  Are a source for medicines and food;  Support livelihoods of native people

Threats to Rainforests

 Natural threats – Fire – Draughts – Tropical storms  Human induced threats – Deforestation – Pollution – Hunting – Dams Causes of Rainforest deforestation in the Amazon #1 cause of deforestation: Cattle ranching Deforestation +15% carbon • Agriculture emissions come • Timber extraction from deforestation • Roads and forest degradation. UN data. REDD REDD

 What is REDD and why do we need it? – Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – UN mechanism to mitigate climate change by using forest management – It gives financial incentives to help developing countries reduce deforestation rates to meet Carbon emission ‘baseline’ – Countries can sell ‘carbon credits’ on the international carbon market – Over 70 countries eligible Other threats: Bush meat hunting Other threats: Illegal mining

…& the native communities of the rainforest! Some solutions in the field:

Biodiversity inventories Using Technology as well as traditional survey methods.

Camera Traps

Smithsonian Project, 2011- 2014 Images courtesy of Patricia Alvarez Amazon Rainforest: Still new discoveries, new ethnicities and new species for humanity and science!

Photo by Diego Cortijo/Survival International How can YOU save Rainforests?

 Teach others about the importance of this ecosystem and how they can help save rainforests – Interpreting this ecosystem at Fairchild!  Encourage people to live in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment – Reduce, reuse and recycle way of living  Support companies which operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment – Sustainable tourism  Be an ethical consumer – Buy sustainable forest products like certified cacao, coffee, timber, etc.

Thank you!