Rainforest habitat: tropical forest facts, photos, and information

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Rainforest Habitat Diorama | Kids’ Crafts | Fun Craft Ideas

Supplies Needed

  • Shoebox or similar-sized box
  • Small box
  • A4 or Letter size cardstock
  • Brown construction paper
  • Green crepe paper
  • Green tempera, poster paint or acrylic paint
  • Crayons or colored pencils
  • Scissors
  • White glue
  • Paint brush
  • Pencil
  • Glue gun
  • Small rocks and twigs (optional)

STEPS

1Prepare a shoebox.

For optimum space, use a large shoebox and keep the lid attached. Positioning the box upright also provides the vertical space needed for tall rainforest trees.


Keep the box lid permanently fixed at a 90-degree angle by attaching a small box at the bottom portion of the hinge. Use a glue gun or tacky glue to keep the small box in place.


2Paint the box.

Use a water-based paint like tempera or poster paint to paint the inside of the box. Paint a background for your diorama with a single shade of green or go for several shades to create depth. Paint some trees and animals, if you like.

You can paint the outside of the box as well. If your box has a glossy finish, paint it with acrylic paint.


3Make half-trees.

These are trees to be placed at the corners of the box. Cut a long rectangle from brown construction paper. The rectangle’s height should be at least an inch taller than the box height. Draw a vertical line ½-inch from one long side to define the side tab and a horizontal line ½-inch from the bottom short side to create the bottom tab.

Draw half of a tree trunk starting from the vertical line and branching out towards the opposite edge of the paper. Cut out the tree.


4Crease the tabs.

Fold the side tab towards the back and unfold. Similarly fold and unfold the bottom tab. This should create creases on both tabs.

Next, cut out about an inch from the top and bottom of the side tab.


5Glue the half-trees.

Glue the half-trees onto the right and left corners of your box diorama. Glue the side tabs onto the sides of the box and the bottom tabs onto the bottom of the box.


Fold the tops of the branches and glue them to the ceiling of the box.


6Make a whole tree.

Make a whole tree for the middle section of the box. Cut a long rectangle from brown construction paper— its height must be an inch taller than the box height. Draw a tree trunk with branches on the entire rectangle. Cut out the tree.


7Create a bottom tab.

Create a bottom tab by folding ½-inch from the bottom of the tree. Unfold. Cut away half to two-thirds of the bottom tab.



8Glue the tree.

Position the tree in the middle of the box, right where the hinge is. Glue half of the tree trunk onto the box lid. Glue the bottom tab onto the bottom of the box. Fold the tops of the branches and glue them to the ceiling of the box.


9Make C-shaped tabs.

These paper tabs provide extra support for the branches and are only necessary when the leaves are too heavy for the branches.

Fold a small strip of construction paper on both ends to make a C-shaped tab. The tab must be long enough to span the gap between the branch and the box. Glue one end of the tab at the back of a branch and the other end onto the box.


10Add leaves.

Cut several strips of green crepe paper and crumple them slightly. Starting with the backmost tree, glue the crepe paper to the branches and to the edges of the box.


The more crepe paper leaves you add, the lusher the trees. Try placing them so they extend outside the top edge of the box. You can use different shades of green for contrast.


11Make ferns and plants.

Create some ferns, philodendrons, and other rainforest plants using plain paper or crepe paper. Detailed instructions and more ideas are outlined at our Diorama Plants craft page. Glue the plants to the box using a glue gun.


12Create rainforest animals.

Draw rainforest animals or cut them out from old magazines. You can also print out any of the rainforest animal sets below on A4 or Letter size card stock. Color and cut out the animals.

  • African Rainforest Animals
  • Amazon Rainforest Animals
  • Asian Rainforest Animals

13Position the animals.

Position the animals inside the diorama. You can glue them onto tree branches, behind the trees, amidst ferns and plants, or even on top of the canopy.



14Add more details.

Objects from nature — small rocks, twigs, dried leaves, and other materials from nature can be added to add texture to your diorama. Glue them in place with a glue gun.


Jungle vines — tightly twist strips of green crepe paper to make jungle vines. To make your vines coily, wrap them around a pencil. Glue one end of each vine onto a tree branch or to the box’s ceiling.



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Pokemon GO Fest 2022 Rainforest Habitat Collection Challenge

By
Dean James

Find out who you need to catch to complete the Rainforest Habitat challenge!

The Rainforest Habitat is the third of the rotating habitats that are part of Pokemon GO Fest 2022 and completing the Collection Challenge will provide you with a medal and rewards.

Collection Challenges seem to be Niantic’s bread and butter with their large-scale events and it was no surprise that they would play a part in GO Fest 2022.

The Rainforest Habitat features Pokemon that would be found in a Rainforest setting, which this guide will break down below.

  • MORE: Find out which Pokemon are spawning each hour.

When Is The Event?

As we have seen for the last few Pokemon GO Fest events, Pokemon GO Fest is split across two days, Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5. On each of these days, all the fun will begin at 10:00 am local time and will run for eight hours until 6:00 pm local time.

The Collection Challenge will become available when the event starts at 10:00 am local time on Saturday and will be available during the duration of the event. However, the times between Saturday and Sunday will not be too much help as the Pokemon involved will not be spawning more than likely.

  • MORE: Get details about the Plains Collection Challenge.

Following up on the City and Plains Collection Challenge is the Rainforest Collection Challenge for Pokemon GO Fest 2022. During the Rainforest hours of the event, you will have Pokemon spawning that are necessary to complete it.

Below are all of the Pokemon required to complete the Pokemon GO Fest 2022 Rainforest Collection Challenge to obtain the exclusive medal and rewards.

  • Chimchar
  • Karrablast
  • Mudkip
  • Rowlet
  • Seedot
  • Shroomish
  • Slakoth
  • Turtwig
  • Venipede

For completing the Rainforest Collection Challenge, you will receive 2,022 Stardust, 1x Incense, and a Pancham encounter as a reward.

While they will be spawning for the Rainforest hour, Binacle, Skrelp, Pancham, and Costumed Pikachu will not be required to complete the challenge.

Good luck completing the Rainforest Collection during Pokemon GO Fest 2022.

Related Topics

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About The Author

Dean (He/Him) has been a lifelong gamer ever since he got a SNES as his first game system and has continued to stay passionate about gaming ever since. He has always had a soft spot for most anything Nintendo, especially related to The Legend of Zelda and Mario series. Beyond that, he loves a variety of different games across all platforms, ranging from RPGs like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts to sports titles like MLB The Show.

Tropical forests — a brief description, types and examples of fauna — Nature of the World

  • Tropical forest classification
  • Rainforest animals
  • Tropical forests are forests that grow in tropical and subtropical regions. Tropical forests cover about six percent of the Earth’s land surface. There are two main types of rainforest: tropical rainforests (such as those in the Amazon or the Congo Basin) and dry rainforests (such as those in southern Mexico, the plains of Bolivia, and the western regions of Madagascar).

    Rainforests typically have four distinct layers that define the structure of the forest. The tiers include forest floor, undergrowth, top canopy (forest canopy) and top tier. Forest floor, the darkest place in the rainforest, where little sunlight penetrates. The undergrowth is the layer of forest between the ground and up to a height of about 20 meters. It includes shrubs, grasses, small trees and trunks of large trees. Forest canopy — is a canopy of tree crowns at a height of 20 to 40 meters. This tier is made up of tall tree tops that are home to a variety of rainforest animals. Most of the food resources in the rainforest are in the upper canopy. The upper tier of the rainforest includes the crowns of the tallest trees. This tier is located at an altitude of about 40-70 meters.

    Main characteristics of the rainforest

    The following are the main characteristics of tropical forests:

    • tropical forests are located in the tropical and subtropical regions of the planet;
    • rich in species diversity of flora and fauna;
    • there is a lot of rainfall;
    • Tropical forests are under threat due to clearing for timber, farming and grazing;
    • Rainforest structure consists of four layers (forest floor, undergrowth, canopy, topstory).

    Tropical forest classification

    • Tropical rain forests or tropical rain forests are forest habitats that receive abundant rainfall throughout the year (typically over 200 cm per year). Moist forests are located close to the equator and receive enough sunlight to keep the average annual air temperature high enough (between 20° and 35° C). Tropical rainforests are among the most species-rich habitats on earth. They grow in three main areas around the world: Central and South America, West and Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. Of all tropical rainforest regions, South America’s Amazon Basin is the largest in the world, covering about 6 million square kilometers.
    • Tropical dry forests are forests that receive less rainfall than tropical rainforests. Dry forests usually have a dry season and a rainy season. While rainfall is sufficient to support vegetation growth, the trees must be able to withstand long periods of drought. Many tree species that grow in tropical dry forests are deciduous and shed their leaves during the dry season. This allows the trees to reduce their water needs during the dry season.

    Rainforest Animals

    Examples of several animals that inhabit the rainforest:

    • The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large feline that lives in the rainforests of Central and South America. The jaguar is the only panther species found in the new world.
    • The capybara or capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a semi-aquatic mammal that inhabits the forests and savannas of South America. Capybaras are the largest rodents living today.
    • Howler monkeys (Aloautta) are a genus of monkeys that includes fifteen species inhabiting tropical forests throughout Central and South America.

    Learn more about the animals of the Amazon rainforest in the article “Amazon Animals – Mammals, Birds and Reptiles of the Rainforest“.

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    Rainforest

    All tropical rainforests share similar characteristics, including climate, rainfall, crown structure, complex symbiotic relationships, and an amazing variety of species. However, not every rainforest can claim precise characteristics when compared by region or area, and there are rarely clear boundaries. Many of these may merge with adjacent mangrove forests, moist forests, montane forests, or tropical hardwood forests.

    Rainforest on Koh Yao Noi, Thailand.

    Tropical forest locations

    Tropical forests are mainly found in the equatorial regions of the world. Tropical forests are limited to a small area between 22.5 ° north latitude and 22.5 ° south latitude from the equator — between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.

    The global distribution of rainforests can be broken down into four continental regions, kingdoms or biomes: Ethiopian or Afrotropical rainforests, Australian or Australasiatic rainforests, Eastern rainforests or Indomalayan/Asian rainforests, and Neotropical forests of Central and South America.

    Importance of rainforests

    Tropical forests are «cradles of diversity». They give rise to and support 50 percent of all living organisms on Earth, even if they cover less than 5% of the Earth’s surface. When it comes to species diversity, the importance of rainforests is truly incomprehensible.

    Loss of rainforest

    Just a few thousand years ago, tropical forests were estimated to cover up to 12% of the earth’s land surface. It was about 15.5 million square kilometers.

    Today it is believed that less than 5% of the Earth’s land area is covered by these forests (between 5.2 and 7.7 million square km). More importantly, two-thirds of the world’s rainforests exist as fragmented remnants.

    Largest rainforest

    The largest contiguous patch of rainforest is found in the Amazon Basin in South America. More than half of this forest is in Brazil, where about one third of the world’s remaining tropical forests are located. Another 20% of the world’s remaining tropical forests exist in Indonesia and the Congo Basin, while the rest of the world’s tropical forests are scattered around the world in tropical regions.

    Rainforests outside the tropics

    Rainforests are found not only in tropical regions, but also in temperate regions such as Canada, the United States and the former Soviet Union. These forests, like any tropical forest, receive abundant year-round rainfall, are characterized by a closed canopy and high species diversity, but lack year-round warmth and sunshine.

    Precipitation

    Humidity is an important characteristic of tropical forests. Rainforests are usually found in tropical areas where solar power causes frequent rainstorms. Tropical rainforests are subject to heavy rainfall of at least 200 cm and in some areas over 10 m per year. Heavy rainfall in the rainforest can cause local streams and streams to rise 3-6m within two hours.

    Canopy layer

    Most life in tropical rainforests exists vertically in trees, above the shaded forest floor in layers. Each layer of the rainforest canopy has its own unique plant and animal species that interact with the ecosystem around them. Primary rainforest is divided into at least five layers: topstory, true canopy, bottomstory, scrub, and forest floor.

    Protection

    Tropical forests are not that pleasant to visit. They are hot and humid, hard to reach, full of insects and hard-to-find wildlife. However, according to Butler in A Place Out of Time: Rainforests and the Dangers They Face, there are compelling reasons to protect rainforests:

    • Loss of local climate regulation — “With the loss of forest, the local community is losing a system that performed valuable but unnoticed services, such as providing a regular flow of clean water and protecting the community from floods and droughts. The forest acts like a kind of sponge, absorbing water, boosted by the huge amount of rainfall caused by tropical rainstorms, and releasing the water at regular intervals. This regulatory feature of tropical forests prevents the destructive cycles of floods and droughts.”
    • Erosion and Its Consequences — “The loss of the trees that hold the soil together with their roots causes widespread erosion throughout the tropics. Good soils exist only in a small part of the territories, which, after clearing, are quickly washed away by heavy rains.

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