Tropical Rainforest Plants Characteristics

The biotic or living components of the ecosystem.

Tropical rainforest plants characteristics. Tropical rainforests have a huge variety of all sorts of life, and that life varies according to which rainforest one is in. Trees and other plants less than 50 feet tall make up the understory of the forest. It covers about 7% of the earth’s surface and forms one of the most massive biomes.

Tropical rainforests belong to the tropical humid climate group. A related plant type, the hemiepiphyte, begins life in the canopy and grows long roots that eventually reach the forest floor. The leaves have some adaptation to shed water, usually glossy leaves that repel water.

Tropical rainforests are an important ecosystem with distinct characteristics and adaptations. The top layer or canopy contains giant trees that grow to heights of 75 m (about 250 ft) or more. In a tropical rainforest biome, there are several characteristics that have been identified.

The most common examples of biotic factors are plants and animals. It is common for them to get at least 100 inches per year. The rainforest is divided into 4 layers, which supports biodiversity and the water and nutrient cycles.

The bulk of the world's tropical rainforest occurs in the amazon basin in south america. It is known for its dense canopies of vegetation that form three different layers. In the tropical rainforest there are 4 distinct layers.

Plants although tropical rainforests receive 12 hours of sunlight daily, less than 2% of that sunlight ever reaches the ground. An additional plant type characteristic of the canopy system is the liana—a sort of woody vine that begins life as a shrub on the forest floor and makes its way up to the canopy by latching on to canopy trees. Tropical rainforests are described as those specific rainforests that tend to occur in the zones of tropical rainforest weather.