Typical rainforest elements include tall, dense trees covered with profuse green shrubbery at the base. The rainforest garden can include palm trees, elegant tree ferns and other plants that are heavy with foliage. By adding these, we’ll not only attract birds into the garden, but also provide flower beds with shelter and shading during the hot weather months.
Providing valuable shade and extensive privacy, canopy trees are an excellent addition to the rainforest garden regardless of the size. The term “canopy tree” refers to a tree that is grown to create a canopy over its surrounding environment. Also known as “shade trees,” the outer layer of the leaves (canopy) creates a dense growth that blocks incoming light.
Some of the most common canopy trees include oaks, maples, elms, poplars, beeches, ashes, and lindens. Other trees that fall under the canopy category are waratah, tilias, tulipwoods, golden robinia, crepe myrtle, ornamental pear, Japanese crab apple, flowering plumb and birches.
Rainforests are important for many reasons. They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen that we depend on for our survival. The absorption of this CO2 also helps to stabilize the Earth’s climate. Rainforests also help to maintain the world’s water cycle by adding water to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration which creates clouds. Water generated in rainforests travel around the world; scientists think that moisture generated in the forests of Africa ends up falling as rain in the Americas!
Tropical rainforests contain over 30 million species of plants and animals. That’s half of the Earth’s wildlife and at least two-thirds of its plant species! Rainforests are also a source of medicine. More than 25% of our modern medicines originate from tropical forest plants. Even so, we have only learned how to use 1% of these amazing plants, so imagine the possibilities if we could experiment with the other 99%!
Rainforests also play a practical role in keeping our planet healthy by preventing soil erosion. Tree roots bind the soil together, while the canopy protects the soil from heavy rains. When a tree dies and its trunk falls to the forest floor, it decays and the nutrients it contains are recycled. However, if trees are removed from the forest, the nutrients are removed with it. The unprotected soil is then simply washed away in heavy rains, causing blockages and floods in lowland rivers, while leaving upland rivers dry.