The world of tropical forest flora is extremely diverse. Tropical forest plants: list, types, names, descriptions and photos. The main characteristics of the rainforest
About half of all forests on our planet are tropical forests (hylaea) that grow in Africa, Southeast Asia, South and Central America. Tropical forests are located between 25°N and 30°S, where heavy rainfall is frequent. The rainforest ecosystem covers less than two percent of the Earth's surface, but 50 to 70 percent of all life forms on our planet are found here.
The largest rainforests are found in Brazil (South America), Zaire (Africa) and Indonesia (Southeast Asia). Rainforest is also found in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.
Rainforest climate
The climate in the rainforest is very warm, characterized and humid. From 400 to 1000 cm of precipitation falls here annually. The tropics are characterized by a uniform annual distribution of precipitation. There is practically no change of seasons, and the average air temperature is 28 degrees Celsius. All these conditions have significantly influenced the formation of the richest ecosystem on our planet.
Soil in the rainforest
The soil of the tropics is poor in minerals and nutrients - there is a lack of potassium, nitrogen and other trace elements. Usually it has a red and red-yellow color. Due to frequent precipitation, nutrients are absorbed by the roots of plants or go deep into the soil. That is why the natives of the rainforests used a slash-and-burn agricultural system: in small areas, all vegetation was cut down, it was subsequently burned, then the soil was cultivated. The ash acts as a nutrient. When the soil begins to turn infertile, usually after 3-5 years, the inhabitants of the tropical settlements moved to new areas for farming. It is a sustainable farming method that ensures that the forest is constantly regenerated.
rainforest plants
The warm, humid climate of the rainforest provides the perfect environment for a vast abundance of amazing plant life. The rainforest is divided into several tiers, which are characterized by their own flora and fauna. The tallest trees in the tropics receive the most sunlight as they reach heights of over 50 meters. Here, for example, include the cotton tree.
The second tier is the dome. It is home to half of the rainforest's wildlife - birds, snakes and monkeys. This includes trees with a height of less than 50 m with wide leaves, hiding sunlight from the lower floors. These are philodendron, poisonous strychnos and rattan palms. Lianas usually stretch along them towards the sun.
The third tier is inhabited by shrubs, ferns and other shade-tolerant species.
The last tier, the lower one, is usually dark and damp, since the sun's rays hardly penetrate here. It consists of overripe foliage, fungi and lichens, as well as young shoots of plants of higher tiers.
In each of the regions where tropical forests grow, there are different types of trees.
Tropical trees of Central and South America:
- Mahogany (Sweitinia spp.)
- Spanish cedar (Cedrella spp.)
- Rosewood and Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)
- Purple tree (Peltogyne purpurea)
- Kingwood
- Cedro Espina (Pochote spinosa)
- Tulipwood
- Gaiacan (Tabebuia chrysantha)
- Pink tabebuya (Tabebuia rosea)
- Bokote
- Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril)
- Guapinol (Prioria copaifera)
Tropical trees of Africa:
- Bubinga
- Ebony
- Zebrano
- Pink tree
Tropical trees of Asia:
- Malaysian maple
In the rainforest, they are widespread, which feed on caught insects and small animals. Among them, it should be noted nepentes (Pitcher Plants), sundew, oilwort, pemphigus. By the way, plants of the lower level, with their bright flowering, attract insects for pollination, since there is practically no wind in these layers.
Valuable crops are grown in the places of clearing of tropical forests:
- mango;
- bananas;
- papaya;
- coffee;
- cocoa;
- vanilla;
- sesame;
- sugarcane;
- avocado;
- cardamom;
- cinnamon;
- turmeric;
- nutmeg.
These cultures play an important role in cooking and cosmetology. Some tropical plants serve as raw materials for medicines, in particular, anti-cancer drugs.
Adaptation of tropical plants for survival
Any flora needs moisture. There is no lack of water in the rainforest, but often there is too much of it. Rainforest plants must survive in areas where there is constant rainfall and flooding. The leaves of tropical plants help to beat off raindrops, and some species are armed with a drip tip designed to quickly drain rain.
Plants in the tropics need light to live. The dense vegetation of the upper tiers of the forest transmits little sunlight to the lower tiers. Therefore, rainforest plants must either adapt to life in constant twilight or grow rapidly upwards in order to "see" the sun.
It is worth noting that in the tropics trees grow with thin and smooth bark, which is able to accumulate moisture. Some types of plants in the lower part of the crown have leaves wider than at the top. This helps to let more sunlight through to the soil.
As for the epiphytes themselves, or air plants that grow in the rainforest, they get their nutrients from plant debris and bird droppings that land on their roots and do not depend on the poor soil of the forest. In tropical forests, there are such air plants as orchids, bromeliads, ferns, large-flowered selenicereus and others.
As mentioned, the soil in most rainforests is very poor and lacks nutrients. To capture nutrients at the top of the soil, most rainforest trees have shallow roots. Others are wide and powerful, as they must hold a massive tree.
rainforest animals
Animals of the rainforest amaze the eye with their diversity. It is in this natural area that you can meet the largest number of representatives of the fauna of our planet. Most of them are in the Amazon rainforest. For example, there are 1800 species of butterflies alone.
In general, the tropical forest is the habitat of most amphibians (lizards, snakes, crocodiles, salamanders), predators (jaguars, tigers, leopards, cougars). All animals of the tropics are brightly colored, as the spots and stripes are the best camouflage in the dense thicket of the jungle. The sounds of the rainforest are provided by the polyphony of songbirds. In the forests of the tropics, the world's largest population of parrots, among other interesting birds, there are South American harpies, which belong to one of the fifty species of eagles and are on the verge of extinction. No less bright birds are peacocks, the beauty of which has long been legendary.
More monkeys also live in the tropics: arachnids, orangutans, chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons, gibbons, red-bearded jumpers, gorillas. In addition, there are sloths, lemurs, Malay and sun bears, rhinos, hippos, tarantulas, ants, piranhas and other animals.
Tropical forest loss
Tropical timber has long been synonymous with exploitation and plunder. Giant trees are the target of entrepreneurs who use them for commercial purposes. How are forests exploited? The most obvious use of rainforest trees is in the furniture industry.
According to the European Commission, about one-fifth of EU wood imports come from illegal sources. Every day, thousands of products from the international wood mafia pass through store shelves. Tropical wood products are often labeled as "luxury wood", "hardwood", "natural wood" and "solid wood". Usually these terms are used to disguise tropical wood from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The main tropical tree exporting countries are Cameroon, Brazil, Indonesia and Cambodia. The most popular and expensive types of tropical wood that goes on sale are mahogany, teak and rosewood.
Inexpensive species of tropical wood include meranti, ramin, gabun.
The consequences of deforestation in the rainforest
In most tropical rainforest countries, illegal logging is common and a serious problem. Economic losses reach billions of dollars, and environmental and social damage is incalculable.
Deforestation results in deforestation and profound ecological changes. Tropical forests contain the largest in the world. As a result of poaching, millions of species of animals and plants are losing their habitat and, as a result, disappear.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List, over 41,000 plant and animal species are threatened, including great apes such as gorillas and orangutans. Scientific estimates of lost species vary widely, ranging from 50 to 500 species per day.
In addition, logging equipment used to remove timber destroys sensitive topsoil and damages the roots and bark of other trees.
Mining of iron ore, bauxite, gold, oil and other minerals also destroys large areas of tropical forests, such as in the Amazon.
Importance of the rainforest
Tropical rainforests play an important role in the ecosystem of our planet. Cutting down this particular natural zone leads to the formation of a greenhouse effect and, subsequently, to global warming. The largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon forest, plays the most important role in this process. 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation. The Amazon rainforest alone stores 120 billion tons of carbon.
Tropical forests also contain vast amounts of water. Therefore, another consequence of deforestation is a disturbed water cycle. This, in turn, could lead to regional droughts and changes in global weather patterns, with potentially devastating consequences.
The rainforest is home to unique flora and fauna.
How to protect tropical forests?
To prevent the negative consequences of deforestation, it is necessary to expand forest areas, strengthen control over forests at the state and international levels. It is also important to raise people's awareness of the role forests play on this planet. It is also worth encouraging the reduction, recycling and reuse of forest products, environmentalists say. Switching to alternative energy sources such as fossil gas can in turn reduce the need to exploit forests for heating.
Deforestation, including tropical deforestation, can be carried out without harming this ecosystem. In Central and South America and Africa, trees are cut down selectively. Only trees that have reached a certain age and thickness of the trunk are cut down, and the young ones remain untouched. This method causes minimal damage to the forest, because it allows it to recover quickly.
Rainforests located in the tropical, equatorial and subequatorial belts between 25 ° N.L. and 30 ° S, as if "surrounding" the surface of the Earth along the equator. Tropical forests are only torn apart by oceans and mountains.
The general circulation of the atmosphere occurs from a zone of high atmospheric pressure in the region of the tropics to a zone of low pressure in the region of the equator, and evaporated moisture is transported in the same direction. This leads to the existence of a humid equatorial belt and a dry tropical one. Between them is the subequatorial belt, in which moisture depends on the direction of the monsoons, depending on the time of year.
The vegetation of tropical forests is very diverse, depending mainly on the amount of precipitation and its distribution over the seasons. With abundant (more than 2000 mm), and relatively uniform distribution develop humid tropical evergreen forests.
Further from the equator, the rainy period is replaced by a dry one, and the forests are replaced with leaves falling during the drought, and then these forests are replaced by savannah forests. At the same time, in Africa and South America, there is a pattern: from west to east, monsoon and equatorial forests are replaced by savannah forests.
Tropical forest classification
tropical rainforest, tropical rain forest these are forests with specific biomes located in equatorial (moist equatorial forest), subequatorial and humid tropical areas with a very humid climate (2000-7000 mm of precipitation per year).
Tropical rainforests are rich in biodiversity. This is the most conducive to life natural area. It is home to a large number of its own, including endemic species of animals and plants, as well as migratory animals. Tropical rainforests are home to two-thirds of all animal and plant species on the planet. It is assumed that millions of species of animals and plants have not yet been described.
These forests are sometimes referred to as " jewels of the earth" And " the largest pharmacy in the world”, as a large number of natural medicinal remedies have been found here. They are also called " lungs of the earth”, however, this statement is debatable because it has no scientific justification, since these forests either do not produce oxygen at all, or produce very little of it.
But it should be borne in mind that a humid climate contributes to effective air filtration, due to the condensation of moisture on the microparticles of pollution, which has a generally beneficial effect on the atmosphere.
Understorey formation in tropical forests is severely limited in many places due to lack of sunlight in the lower layer. This allows man and animals to move through the forest. If for any reason the leafy canopy is missing or weakened, the lower tier is quickly covered with a dense thicket of vines, shrubs and small trees - this formation is called the jungle.
The largest areas of tropical rainforests are found in the Amazon basin (“Amazonian rainforests”), in Nicaragua, in the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula (Guatemala, Belize), in most of Central America (where they are called “selva”), in equatorial Africa from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in many parts of Southeast Asia from Myanmar to Indonesia and New Guinea, in the Australian state of Queensland.
For tropical rainforests characteristic:
- variety of flora
- the presence of 4-5 tree tiers, the absence of shrubs, a large number of vines
- the predominance of evergreen trees with large evergreen leaves, poorly developed bark, buds, not protected kidney scales, deciduous trees in monsoon forests;
- the formation of flowers and then fruits directly on the trunks and thick branches
Trees in tropical rainforests share several characteristics that are not seen in plants in less humid climates.
The base of the trunk in many species has wide, woody ledges. Previously it was assumed that these ledges help the tree to maintain balance, but now it is believed that water with dissolved nutrients flows down these ledges to the roots of the tree. Wide leaves of trees, shrubs and grasses of the lower tiers of the forest are characteristic. The wide leaves help the plants absorb sunlight better under the tree edges of the forest, and they are protected from the wind from above.
Tall young trees that have not yet reached the topstory also have broader foliage, which then decreases with height. The leaves of the upper tier, which form the canopy, are usually smaller and heavily cut to reduce wind pressure. On the lower floors, the leaves are often tapered at the ends so that this allows the water to drain quickly and prevents microbes and moss from growing on them that destroy the leaves.
The tops of the trees are often very well interconnected with creepers or epiphytic plants attached to them.
The trees of the humid tropical forest are characterized by unusually thin (1-2 mm) tree bark, sometimes covered with sharp thorns or thorns, the presence of flowers and fruits growing directly on tree trunks, a wide variety of juicy fruits that attract birds and mammals.
Insects are very abundant in tropical rainforests, especially butterflies (one of the richest fauna in the world) and beetles, and fish are abundant in rivers (about 2000 species, approximately one third of the world's freshwater fauna).
Despite the stormy vegetation, the soil in tropical rainforests is thin and with a small humus horizon.
Rapid decay caused by bacteria prevents the accumulation of the humus layer. The concentration of iron and aluminum oxides due to laterization soil (the process of reducing the silica content of the soil with a simultaneous increase in iron and aluminum oxides) turns the soil bright red and sometimes forms deposits of minerals (for example, bauxite). But on rocks of volcanic origin, tropical soils can be quite fertile.
Tropical rainforest levels (tiers)
The rainforest is divided into four main levels, each of which has its own characteristics, has a different flora and fauna.
The topmost level
This layer consists of a small number of very tall trees rising above the forest canopy, reaching a height of 45-55 meters (rare species reach 60-70 meters). Most often the trees are evergreen, but some shed their foliage during the dry season. Such trees must withstand harsh temperatures and strong winds. This level is inhabited by eagles, bats, some species of monkeys and butterflies.
Crown level (forest canopy)
The crown level is formed by the majority of tall trees, usually 30-45 meters high. This is the densest layer known in all terrestrial biodiversity, with neighboring trees forming a more or less continuous layer of foliage.
According to some estimates, the plants of this tier make up about 40 percent of the species of all plants on the planet - perhaps half of the entire flora of the Earth can be found here. The fauna is similar to the upper level, but more varied. It is believed that a quarter of all insect species live here.
Scientists have long suspected the diversity of life at this level, but only recently have developed practical research methods. It wasn't until 1917 that the American naturalist William Bead stated that "another continent of life remains unexplored, not on Earth, but 200 feet above its surface, spreading over thousands of square miles."
True exploration of this layer only began in the 1980s, when scientists developed methods to reach the forest canopy, such as shooting ropes at the treetops with crossbows. The study of the forest canopy is still at an early stage. Other research methods include balloon or aircraft travel. The science of access to the tops of trees is called dendronautics.
Average level
Between the forest canopy and the forest floor there is another level called the undergrowth. It is home to a number of birds, snakes and lizards. Insect life at this level is also very extensive. The leaves in this tier are much wider than at crown level.
forest floor
In Central Africa, in the tropical primary forest of Mount Virunga, the illumination at ground level is 0.5%; in the forests of southern Nigeria and in the area of Santarem (Brazil) 0.5-1%. In the north of the island of Sumatra, in the dipterocarp forest, the illumination is about 0.1%.
Away from river banks, swamps, and open spaces where dense, low-growing vegetation grows, the forest floor is relatively free of plants. On this level, rotting plants and animal remains can be seen, which quickly disappear due to the warm, humid climate that promotes rapid decomposition.
Selva(Spanish " selva" from lat. " silva"- forest) is humid equatorial forests in South America. It is located on the territory of countries such as Brazil, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Guyana, Paraguay, Colombia, etc.
Selva is formed on vast lowland areas of land under conditions of constant freshwater moisture, as a result of which the soil of the selva is extremely poor in minerals washed out by tropical rains. The selva is often swampy.
The flora and fauna of the selva is a riot of colors and a variety of species of plants, birds and mammals.
The largest selva in terms of area is located in the Amazon basin in Brazil).
In the Atlantic Selva, the level of precipitation reaches two thousand millimeters per year, and the humidity fluctuates at the level of 75-90 percent.
The selva is divided into three levels. The soil is covered with leaves, branches, fallen tree trunks, lichens, fungus and moss. The soil itself has a reddish color. The first level of the forest consists of low plants, ferns and grass. The second level is represented by shrubs, reeds and young trees. On the third level there are trees from twelve to forty meters high.
Mangroves - evergreen deciduous forests, common in the tidal strip of sea coasts in tropical and equatorial latitudes, as well as in temperate zones, where warm currents favor this. They occupy the strip between the lowest water level at low tide and the highest at high tide. These are trees or shrubs that grow in mangroves, or mangrove swamps.
Mangrove plants live in coastal sedimentary environments where fine sediments, often with a high organic content, accumulate in places protected from wave energy.
Mangroves have an exceptional ability to exist and develop in a salty environment on soils deprived of oxygen.
Once established, the roots of mangrove plants create a habitat for oysters and help slow down the flow of water, thereby increasing sediment deposition in areas where it is already occurring.
As a rule, fine, oxygen-poor sediments under mangroves play the role of reservoirs for a wide variety of heavy metals (traces of metals) that are captured from sea water by colloidal particles in sediments. In areas of the world where mangroves have been destroyed during development, the disruption of these sedimentary rocks creates the problem of heavy metal contamination of seawater and local flora and fauna.
It is often claimed that mangroves are of significant value in the coastal zone, acting as a buffer against erosion, the onslaught of storms and tsunamis. While there is some reduction in wave height and energy as seawater passes through mangroves, it must be recognized that mangroves usually grow in those areas of the coastline where low wave energy is the norm. Therefore, their ability to withstand the powerful onslaught of storms and tsunamis is limited. Their long-term impact on erosion rates is also likely to be limited.
The many river channels meandering through the mangroves actively erode the mangroves on the outside of all the bends in the river, just as new mangroves appear on the inside of the same bends where the deposition takes place.
Mangroves are a habitat for wildlife, including a number of commercial fish and crustaceans, and in at least some cases the export of mangrove carbon is important in the coastal food web.
In Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and India, mangroves are grown in coastal areas for coastal fisheries.
Despite ongoing mangrove breeding programs, More than half of the world's mangroves have already been lost.
The floristic composition of mangrove forests is relatively uniform. The most complex, high and multi-species mangrove forests of the eastern formation (the shores of the Malay Peninsula, etc.) are considered.
Foggy forest (moss forest, nephelogilea) – humid tropical montane evergreen forest. It is located in the tropics on the slopes of mountains in the fog condensation zone.
The foggy forest is located in the tropics on the slopes of mountains in the fog condensation zone, usually starts from an altitude of 500-600 m and reaches a height of up to 3500 meters above sea level. It is much cooler here than in the jungle, located in low-lying places, at night the temperature can drop to almost 0 degrees. But it is even more humid here, up to six cubic meters of water falls per square meter per year. And if it doesn't rain, then the moss-covered trees stand shrouded in fog caused by intense evaporation.
Foggy forest formed by trees with abundant vines, with a dense cover of epiphytic mosses.
Tree-like ferns, magnolias, camellias are characteristic, the forest may also include non-tropical vegetation: evergreen oaks, podocarpus, which distinguishes this type of forest from flat hyla
Variable rainforests- forests common in tropical and equatorial zones, in a climate with a short dry season. They are located south and north of the humid equatorial forests. Variably humid forests are found in Africa (CAR, DR Congo, Cameroon, northern Angola, extreme south of Sudan), South America, India, Sri Lanka, and Indochina.
Variable rainforests are partially deciduous dense rainforests. They differ from tropical rainforests in lower species diversity, a decrease in the number of epiphytes and lianas.
Dry tropical evergreen forest. They are located in areas with an arid climate, while remaining dense and evergreen, becoming stunted and xeromorphic.
HUMAN IMPACT ON TROPICAL FORESTS
Contrary to popular belief, tropical rainforests are not major consumers of carbon dioxide and, like other established forests, are neutral to carbon dioxide.
Recent studies show that most rainforests, on the contrary, are intensively produce carbon dioxide, and swamps produce methane.
However, these forests play a significant role in the turnover of carbon dioxide, since they are its established basins, and the cutting down of such forests leads to an increase in the carbon dioxide content in the Earth's atmosphere. Tropical rainforests also play a role in cooling the air that passes through them. That's why tropical rainforests - one of the most important ecosystems of the planet, the destruction of forests leads to soil erosion, the reduction of species of flora and fauna, shifts in the ecological balance in large areas and on the planet as a whole.
Tropical rainforests often reduced to plantations of cinchona and coffee trees, coconut palms, and rubber plants. In South America, tropical rainforests are also seriously threatened by unsustainable mining.
A.A. Kazdym
List of used literature
- M. B. Gornung. Constantly humid tropics. M.:, "Thought", 1984.
- Hogarth, P. J. The Biology of Mangroves. Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Thanikaimoni, G., Mangrove Palynology, 1986
- Tomlinson, P. B. The Botany of Mangroves, Cambridge University Press. 1986:
- Jayatissa, L. P., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. & Koedam, N. A review of the floral composition and distribution of mangroves in Sri Lanka. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 138, 2002, 29-43.
- http://www.glossary.ru/cgi-bin/gl_sch2.cgi?RSwuvo,lxqol!rlxg
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Have you adapted to its bathing conditions?
How have the leaves adapted?
Throughout life, the leaves of some tropical plants change shape. In young trees, while they are still covered by the crowns of the trees of the upper tier, the leaves are wide and soft. They are adapted to capture the slightest rays of light breaking through the upper canopy. They are yellowish or reddish in color. So they try to save themselves from being devoured by animals. Red or yellow color may seem inedible to them.
When the tree grows to the first tier, then its leaves decrease in size and seem to be covered with wax. Now there is a lot of light and the leaves have a different task. Water should drain completely from them, without attracting small animals.
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The leaves of some plants can regulate the flow of sunlight. In order not to overheat in bright light, they stand parallel to the sun's rays. When the sun is shading the cloud, the leaves turn horizontally to take more of the sun's energy for photosynthesis.
Pollination of flowers
For pollination, flowers must attract insects, birds, or bats. They attract with their bright color, smell and delicious nectar. To attract their pollinators, even the plants of the upper tier decorate themselves with beautiful flowers. Moreover, at the time of flowering, they even shed some of their leaves so that their flowers stand out more noticeably.
Orchids produce nectar to attract insects, from which the bees get drunk. They are forced to crawl over the flower, pollinating it. Other types of orchids simply slam shut, dusting the insect with pollen.
But it is not enough, to pollinate the flowers, it is also necessary to spread the seeds. Seeds are dispersed by animals. To attract them, plants offer them delicious fruits with seeds hidden inside. The animal eats the fruit, and the seed comes out of it with excrement, quite capable of germinating.
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Sometimes plants reproduce with the help of only one kind of animal. So the American walnut breeds only with the help of a large agouti rodent. Although agoutis eat nuts completely, they bury some of them in the ground. Our proteins also make such a reserve. Forgotten seeds germinate.
Animal food in the tropics
Animals in the midst of an abundance of food food is not enough. Plants have learned to defend themselves with thorns, poisons, bitter substances. Animals over the years of evolution have found their own way of adapting to living in tropical forests. They live in a certain place and lead the life that ensures its survival.
It happens that a predator eats beetles of a certain species. He learned to catch bugs quickly, spending a minimum of time and effort on hunting. The predator and its prey adapted to each other. If there is no beetle, then the predator that eats them will die out.
Adaptation of animals to living in the subtropics
In the tropics, food grows and flutters all year round, but it's not enough. All conditions are created for invertebrates in the forest, and they grow to large sizes. These are centipedes, snails and stick insects. Mammals are small. There are few herbivores in the forest. There is not enough food for them. It means that there are few predators feeding them. There are no animals here that have long horns. They are difficult to navigate in the tropics. Mammals move quietly. Thus, they are saved from overheating.
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Lives well in the tropics dexterous monkeys. They quickly move through the forest, looking for places where a lot of fruit has grown. The tail of the monkey replaces their fifth limb. The anteater also has a grasping tail, and the porcupine has a needle-haired. Animals that couldn't climb well learned to fly well. They plan easily. They have a leathery membrane that connects the front and hind legs.
Union of a tree with ants
Trees grow in the tropics with hollow branches. Ants live in the cavity of the branches. They protect their tree from herbivores. The ants give the tree enough light. They eat the leaves of vines in nearby trees that block the light for their host tree. Ants eat all the leaves that do not look like the leaves of their native tree. They even remove all organic matter from its crown. The tree is well-groomed, like a gardener. For this, insects have dry housing and safety.
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How have frogs adapted?
High air humidity allows toads and frogs to live far from the river. They live well, living in the upper tiers of the forest. For the pond, the frogs chose hollow trees. They cover it with resin from the inside and wait for it to fill with rainwater. The frog then lays eggs there. Drevolozov, arranges for his offspring pits in the damp earth.
The male remains to guard the clutch. Then it transfers the tadpoles to the formed reservoir, formed between the leaves of the bromeliad. Some frogs lay their eggs in a foam nest. They build their nest on branches hanging over the river. Hatched tadpoles immediately fall into the river. Other frogs lay their eggs in moist soil. They emerge from there as young adults.
Animal disguise
Animals in the forest try to become invisible to their predators. Under the canopy of the forest there is a constant play of light and shadow. Such spotty skins in okapi, antelopes, bongos. Spotting blurs the contours of their body and makes them hard to see. Very well you can disguise yourself as leaves. If the animal looks like a leaf and does not move, then it is difficult to see it. Therefore, many insects and frogs are green or brown. Plus, they don't move much. And stick insects disguise themselves as a twig.
