Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Rain in the rainforest

As a child I remember singing rain rain go away come again another day. Here in the rain forest, we have an appreciation for rain that only comes from understanding how important it is to the lifecycle for each plant and animal that exists in the jungle.

Obviously plants need water to grow. To grow as large and as fast as they grow here in the rainforest they need a lot of water. One of the wonderful things about living here is that you can just about stick any plant into the ground and it will grow as long as it gets protected from the various ants that want to eat it. When there is a lack of rainfall the plants feel it. Some of them get burned from the increased exposure to sunlight without water to hydrate them. Others seem to wilt on the vine.

The animals need the plants to be healthy and go through a complete lifecycle so that they produce the different fruits, etc. that the animals eat. They also need water to hydrate themselves.

Each plant and each animal has a different role to play in the healthy existence of the rainforest. As one plant grows taller, another one falls down and then makes room for the next one.