Soil Conditions

Soil in the tropical rainforests is very nutrient poor. The topsoil is only one to two inches deep. Plant life is so lush is because the plants store the nutrients in themselves rather than the soil. The soils are so infertile is because they are more than 100 million years old, and have taken a beating from the elements. Rain washes minerals out of the soil, leaving them more acidic and nutrient poor. Soil exposed to the heat and condensed sunlight turns soil into red clay. 

Animals

The average male jaguar weighs about 120 pounds, but some individuals can weigh as much as 300. Jaguars are most famous for their beautiful spotted coats. The spots are broken rather than true spots like a leopard. These allow the jaguar to hide amongst the grasses, bushes and trees.  They use their excellent vision and sharp teeth to ambush prey and crush their skulls, and use their padded paws to move through the forest. Jaguars are capable of climbing trees to hunt or to rest.They are even able to hunt monkeys and other tree-dwellers who occasionally wander to lower branches.

Green Tree Pythons are bright green in colour. They may have spots of blue, white or yellow scattered over their body and they reach lengths between 5.2 - 7.2 ftThey have a slender shape which enables them to move around between the branches of trees. They spend much of their time coiled over branches with their head resting in the middle of the coils. Their head is large and is much wider than their body. Green Tree Pythons are non-venomous meat eaters that feed on small mammals and occasionally reptiles. 

Plants

Lianas are a type of climbing vine found throughout tropical rainforests. They have thick, woody stems and come in various lengths that can grow up to 3000 feet. They also have varying shapes. They begin life on the forest floor but depend on trees for support as they climb upwards towards the sunlight which they need for survival. They do this by attaching themselves to trees with sucker roots or tendrils, or they climb by winding themselves round the tree's trunk.

When they reach the top of the canopy they often spread to other trees or wrap themselves around other lianas. This network of vines gives support against strong winds to the shallow-rooted, top-heavy trees.

Some very tall trees have developed ways of obtaining much needed additional support by forming buttressed roots, which grow out from the base of the trunk sometimes as high as 15 ft above the ground. These extended roots also increase the area over which nutrients can be absorbed from the soil.

Climate

The climate of the Tropical Rainforest is warm and wet. The average annual temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius. There is never a frost. Rainfall varies from as low as 250cm of rain per year, to about 450cm of rain per year. The range is from 8 feet to 14 feet of rain every year.

Geographical Location

 Tropical Rainforests are located near the equator. 57% of all Tropical Rainforests are found in Latin America. 1/3 of them are in Brazil. Other Tropical Rainforests are located in south-east Asia and the Pacific Islands(25%) and West Africa (18%)