The tropical rainforest. A vast expanse of vegetation that gives shelter to a great variety of an immense number of insects, birds, and other types of animals, such as monkeys or rodents. Thinking about it is almost like dreaming, because nowhere else on the globe can you breathe clean air while enjoying such a pleasant climate. But, Did you know that if it weren't for it, life as we know it would have many difficulties to exist?
It is so important, that it is said that the rainforest regulates the world's climate. Let's find out why.
Where are rainforests found?
Image - Wikipedia
While they once covered the entire planet, currently we can only see them in the region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In this area the sun's rays arrive much more directly and with much more intensity than in the rest of the world, since it is closer to it. For this same reason, the number of hours of daily light hardly changes throughout the year, so that the climate remains warm and stable, without a large thermal amplitude.
To see them, we can go to Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central and South America, or more specifically to Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Peru, and Colombia, among others. Although they only occupy 7% of the Earth's surface, they regulate the entire planet's climate. If you want to learn more about how these areas affect local wildlife, I invite you to read about Tropical birds threatened by climate change and its relationship with the climate. In addition, the following are also very relevant: lowland forests, which although they are different, perform vital functions for the ecosystem.
Why are they said to regulate the climate?
For a drop to form, it needs a nucleus on which to take shape, be it dust from the atmosphere, a particle of sulfur from the ocean, or even an aerobacterium. Tropical rainforests release, mainly through broadleaf trees, billions of these aerobacteria into the atmosphere. They sow the clouds, thus generating much of the world's rain. The question is, how?
These types of bacteria are known to have a protein that causes water to freeze at temperatures higher than usual. Being able to rise with air currents, they stimulate the precipitation of clouds at much higher temperatures than would be normal. Interesting, isn't it? But there's more.
The enormous amount of water vapor that transpires leaves creates clouds, which are what provide shade to some of the warmest parts of the Earth. This cloud cover reflects much of the heat that reaches us from the Sun into space, thus maintaining a more stable temperature. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that the maintenance of these areas is crucial not only for the climate, but also for global biodiversity, as mentioned in the forests with the greatest biodiversity and its influence on the climate. You can also explore how the vegetation affects rainfall and, consequently, the climate.
Therefore, it is very important that we protect them, because it is one of the best ways we will have to protect ourselves.
