The Rainforest as an Ecosystem

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a review and discussion to determine the biogeography of the rainforest ecosystem, some of the tools needed to study the environment, an examination of the flora and fauna to be found there, and how the food web works. An analysis of the impact of humans on the rainforest ecosystem is followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

From the Paper:

"In fact, not all rainforests are by definition jungles. Generally speaking, an ecosystem is any community together with its nonliving surroundings (Audesirk 3). The principles underlying the study of ecosystems are based on the concept that all of the elements of a life-supporting environment of any size, whether natural or man-made, are parts of an interrelated network in which each element interacts directly or indirectly with all others and serves to affect the function of the whole as well. All of the ecosystems on Earth are contained within the largest of them, the ecosphere, which encompasses the entire physical Earth (geosphere) and all of its biological components (biosphere) (Ecosystems 5). According to Teresa and Gerald Audesirk, large areas of South America and Africa lie along the equator. "Here the temperature averages between 77 degrees and 86 degrees F with little variation, and rainfall ranges from 100 to 160 inches each year" (921). Rainforests usually occur in regions where there is a high annual rainfall of generally more than 70 inches and a hot and steamy climate. The trees found in these regions are evergreen."

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