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Tropical rainforest v temperate rainforest - Coggle Diagram
Tropical rainforest v temperate rainforest
Temperate rainforests
Location
Mostly occur between 40 and 60 degrees in both hemispheres
Found along the western coasts of North and South America and in Southeastern Australia
The largest temperate rainforests span from California to southern Alaska and along the coast of southern Chile
Smaller temperate rainforests can be found in New Zealand, Japan and even the UK
Climate
Mean annual temperature of 4 - 12C
Annual precipitation over 140cm
Flora and Fauna
Very tall trees
Mostly small animals that live close to the ground
Several species of large mammals and birds of prey
Temperate rainforests in the Americas are mostly composed of conifers and broad leaved deciduous (leaf shedding) trees
The monkey puzzle tree is native to South America and is endangered
South American temperate rainforests have large amounts of endemic reptiles, birds and mammals including Darwin's frog, Vanzolini's spiny-chest frog, and the southern river otter
Temperate rainforests in Oceania are dominated by mountain beech trees but also include eucalyptuses, crabapple and corkwood
Ecosystem services
Timber
Carbon
Water regulation
Litter decomposition
Tropical Rainforests
Location
Tropical rainforests are found in low latitudes and near the equator. This is because of the amount of heat it receives.
Rainforests cover between 6% and 8% of terrestrial earth.
We find tropical rainforests in: Central and South America, Western and Central Africa, Western India, Southeast Asia, Northeastern Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Climate
The mean annual temperatures are between 21
C and 30
C
Annual precipitation is between 200cm to 1,000cm
Tropical Rainforests have the highest productivity compared to any other biome. This is because of its
1:1 ratio
of evaporation to precipitation. The
Net Productivity
of tropical rainforest ranges form 2-3 kg m-2 y-1
Examples of tropical rainforests: Amazon rainforest (South America), Congo rainforest (Africa), Kinabalu national forest (Malaysia)
The reason why tropical rainforests have such high productivity is because have high temperatures all year round because of its location near the equator. They also have humid conditions which are good for plant absorption. Rainforests also have an efficient nutrient cycle and with all these conditions photosynthesis is able to happen efficiently
Ecosystem services: Wood, Medicine, Recreational use, Tourism, Regulations (water, species), cultural services,
Similarities
Both rainforests are characterized with high biodiversity. On average a rainforest contains about 3 million different species.
Both rainforests are at threats because of anthropogenic causes. These include deforestation, habitat loss, and climate change that impact these biomes
Both rainforest play a crucial part in providing a habitat for many species. These rainforest also give humans many ecosystem services they we benefit from
Both rainforests have very high productivity because of there high temperatures but also humid conditions
Differences
Tropical Rainforests are characterized with high temperatures but temperate rainforests have milder temperatures
Tropical rainforests are high biodiversity and even though temperate rainforests are highly diverse they are not as much
There is a geographical difference between the rainforests.
Tropicals are found near the equator but Temperate are not generally located near the equator
