Tropical Rainforests
Costa Rica is a Tropical Rain Forest biome. They're called Tropical Rain Forests because they receive so much rain throughout the year. It usually rains at least once a day, and they can receive metres of rain every year! The temperature and amount of rainfall in Tropical Rain Forests generally remain constant throughout the year with little to no seasonal variation. Plants are abundant in Tropical Rain Forests because most Rain Forests lie in a band close to the equator, so they get a lot of sun year round, which is good for constant plant growth.
Since there is so much rainfall, the rain ends up washing a lot of the soil away, leaving behind only a thin layer of nutrient-poor soil. The thin, nutrient-lacking soil is not only because of the rain, but also the temperature and humidity. The high temperatures and humidity make it easy for the fast decomposition and rapid intake of the nutrients in the soil to plants, and leaving behind very little nutrients.
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Almost all laterites are a rusty-red colour because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock.
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique that involves the cutting and burning of plants in forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology. Today the term slash-and-burn is mainly associated with tropical rain forests. Slash-and-burn is used by between 200 and 500 million people worldwide. In 2004 it was estimated that, in Brazil alone, 500,000 small farmers cleared an average of one hectare of forest per year each. The technique is not sustainable in large populations, because without the trees, the soil quality becomes too low to support crops. The farmers would have to move on to untouched forest and repeat the process.
Since there is so much rainfall, the rain ends up washing a lot of the soil away, leaving behind only a thin layer of nutrient-poor soil. The thin, nutrient-lacking soil is not only because of the rain, but also the temperature and humidity. The high temperatures and humidity make it easy for the fast decomposition and rapid intake of the nutrients in the soil to plants, and leaving behind very little nutrients.
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Almost all laterites are a rusty-red colour because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock.
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique that involves the cutting and burning of plants in forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology. Today the term slash-and-burn is mainly associated with tropical rain forests. Slash-and-burn is used by between 200 and 500 million people worldwide. In 2004 it was estimated that, in Brazil alone, 500,000 small farmers cleared an average of one hectare of forest per year each. The technique is not sustainable in large populations, because without the trees, the soil quality becomes too low to support crops. The farmers would have to move on to untouched forest and repeat the process.