Oo Guoxuan (differences between rainforest and tundra )

 Differences between rainforest and tundra

CLIMATE

Rainforest

• Warm and wet climate
• In most tropical rainforests, it rains everyday.
• Tropical rainforests grow in a narrow zone near the equator
• In an average year in a tropical rain forest, the climate is very humid because of all the rainfall, which amounts to about 250 cm per year.
•  The rain forest has lots of rain because it is very hot and wet.
• A lot of the rain that falls on the rain forest never reaches the ground. It stays on the trees because the leaves act as a shield, and some rain never gets past the trees to the smaller plants and grounds below.

Tundra

• Low temperature
• The climate in a tundra biome consists of freezing cold and dryness in the winter and cold summers.
• The tundra ground is a barren place, often covered with rocks.
• Most water on the tundra is frozen within the soil. (The permanent frozen soil is called permafrost.)
• Summers last for a very short time.
• Winters are very cold.

PLANTS

Rainforest

• Tropical rainforests are home to a huge number of different flora and fauna.
• The main plants in this biome are trees.
• Trees in this climate reach a height of more than 164 feet. They form a canopy. The forest floor is called understory. The canopy also keeps sunlight from reaching the plants in the understory.
• The plants that make up the understory of a rainforest have adapted to the small amount of sunlight that they receive.
• Ferns and mosses do well, along with epiphytes. These are plants that grow on other plants. They can be found growing on branches of tall trees where they can get sunlight.

Tundra

• Trees do not grow there.
• 
  Plants in the tundra are low-growing
• Plants group together to withstand the strong winds and cold temperatures
• They have adapted so that photosynthesis (getting food from sunlight) can occur in the low light and cold temperatures.

ANIMALS

Rainforest

• Rainforests has a rich diversity of animal species.
• Insects make up the largest single group of animals that live in tropical forests.
• Tropical rainforests support the greatest diversity of living organisms on Earth. Although they cover less than 2% of Earth's surface, rainforests house more than 50% of plants and animals on Earth.

Tundra

• Animals that lives in the tundra have special adaptations that allow them to survive the
  extreme temperatures and conditions that are present in a tundra
• Some animals have grown thick fur which turns white in the winter. Others find a place to hibernate during the winter months.