Welcome to the jungle, a huge sea of green alive with
the sounds of animals. This is the Amazon rainforest. As the largest rainforest
in the world, it plays a significant role in maintaining the fine balance of
the Earth's ecosystem.
The Amazon rainforest crosses into eight countries,
including Brazil and Peru, and one
overseas region of France, all on the South American continent. With an area of
around 6 million square kilometers, the Amazon rainforest is more than half the
size of China.
The Amazon River, from which the rainforest gets its name, is close to 6,400
kilometers in length — roughly 100 kilometers longer than the Yangtze
River. On its journey from the mountains to the ocean, the river
supports many different ecosystems. They give this area the richest
biodiversity on the Earth: one in ten known species in the world can be found
here.
Of the 390,000 plant species known to us, more than
40,000 can be found in the Amazon. This tall and ancient Brazil nut tree
produces nuts that we can eat; these water lilies are big enough to lie down
on. The forest's different levels support an unbelievable variety of wildlife.
At the bottom, there is a system of roots beneath the ground. Above that is the
mass of leaf litter on the dark forest floor. The next level is made up of
shorter plants with large leaves. Then there are the towering ancient
hardwoods, and finally the tops of the tallest trees many meters above the
ground. Each level of the forest forms its own little world, home to different
kinds of living things.
More than 1,300 species of birds and over 400 species
of mammals hide among the jungle's plant life. This jaguar is one example. It
has a yellowish-brown coat with black spots. While a significant number of
jaguars survive here, they are only one element of this forest's food chain.
They feed on at least 87 species, including frogs. These frogs, in turn, feed
on insects which eat leaves and fruit. When a jaguar dies, a tiny army of
microorganisms helps break down its body and return the nutrients to the earth.
The Amazon rainforest breathes life into the planet
by fixing carbon and producing over 20 per cent of all the Earth's oxygen.
Thus, it is often known as the “lungs of the planet”. Moreover, the Amazon
rainforest is a treasure house of species that can be used for food or
medicine. Yet there is one major danger to these irreplaceable plants and
animals: us. Over the past 50 years, about 17 per cent of the rainforest has
disappeared due to human activities such as agriculture and cattle farming. As
the impact of human activities continues to grow and the list of species in
danger of extinction becomes longer, we are left with a question: can we afford
to damage the “lungs of the planet”?