(http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm)

Tropical rainforests are forests with a warm and moist climate.  These ecosystems occur around the equator in Africa, Asia, Central America, Australia, and South America.  All of the different rainforests are special because of the high levels of diversity.  Each rainforest has a high level of endemic species that raises the biodiversity in the area.  It rains almost every day with some seasons having more rain than others.  On average, it rains between 200-450 cm annually and has an average temperature of 25.4C (Malhi and Wright).  There are three distinct levels in a rainforest.  The top, the emergent layer, consists of the crowns of the trees and i receives the most sunlight.  The middle layer, the canopy, is the layer of leaves that contains the most of the rainforest’s diversity.  The bottom layer is the understory that consists of smaller plants.  The soil of the rainforest is poor in nutrients because of the constant rainfall.  Living among the trees is a wide variety of plants, many epiphytes that live on the trees, and animals, like sloths and amphibians, that have adapted to the wet and warm climate.  Humans use these forests for timber, space for human population growth, and for industrial expansion. (Berg. et al)  

What is the Daintree Rainforest?

It runs right up to the shore! (http://www.thenewport.com.au/daintree-rainforest.html)

The Daintree River!

(http://www.destination360.com/australia-south-pacific/australia/daintree-rainforest)

The Daintree Rainforest is the tropical rainforest located in North-East Queensland in Australia.  It is also referred to as the Wet Tropics of Queensland. It forms the tropical rainforest region between Townsville and Cooktown and is the largest area of continuous rainforest in Australia.  The average temperature is 32 C in the summer and 25 C in the winter and gets on about 4.2 meters of rain each year.  It contains the Daintree National Park, the Daintree River, state forest, and privately owned land.  The unique aspect of this rainforest is that it grows right up to the coast and has a nice juxtaposition with fringing reefs that are a part of the Great Barrier Reef system.  It also has the clearest evidence of biological evolution.  Since it is 135 million years old, it gives scientists a clear image of the evolutionary processes of plants. (Aiken and Leigh) 

Here is a map of where the Daintree Rainforest is located!

(http://www.destination360.com/australia-south-pacific/australia/map)

The Southern cassowary

This rainforest is very diverse and contains many different types of animals.  It contains 30% of the frog, marsupial and reptile species, 20% of the bird species and 65% of the bat and butterfly species in Australia.  This forest is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia. In the rainforest, there are over 3,000 vascular plant species with 576 being endemic.  Also, there are 107 mammal species with 11 endemic species.  For birds, there are 368 different species with 24 being endemic.  For reptiles, there are 113 species with 24 endemic species.  Lastly, for amphibians there are 51 species with 22 being endemic. The Daintree is considered to be the oldest rainforest and shows the major stages of evolution of land plants starting over 135 million years ago.  Also, the relatives of primitive animals can still be found in the rainforest today! ("Wet Tropics" UNESCO and Aiken and Leigh) 

The Flying Fox 

Hanging Upside Down!

The Green Tree Frog

These pictures and more can be found here http://www.daintreerainforestinformation.com/Daintree_Animals.html#0 :)

Historical State of the Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree Rainforest in 1936
(http://www.douglas-shire-historical-society.org/the_daintree.htm)

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in Australia, almost 135 million years old.  It has lost about 25% of the original cover that was present before the European settlement.  It was first inhabited by about 20 Aboriginal tribes that came from Southeast Asia about 40,000-60,000 years ago.  When they arrived,they used the rainforest in various social rituals.  There is no clear image of what the rainforest used to look like.  However, with 25% of the original rainforest lost, it is imagined that there was a higher level of biodiversity.  (Stork and Turton pg 10)
European expeditions in the rainforest began in the late 1800s with the goal of finding suitable land to grow sugarcane and other tropical crops.  The rainforest was viewed as a place for agriculture and a plentiful supply of timber.  Later, in the 1890s the dairy industry began to take off in the region.  This led further cutting down of the rainforest for pastures.  This continued until the 1950s when the Department of Forestry was created to manage national parks.  After the 1960s, there was a change in how the rainforest was viewed and the government stepped in and made an effort to conserve and preserve the biodiversity of the area.  One thing the government did was stop all logging in 1987.  This allowed the ecosystem to regrow and recover.  (Stork and Turton pg 9-14)    

The biggest controversy that surrounded the Daintree rainforest was the building of the road that runs from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield.  This road runs through the rainforest near the coast.  Not only did it involve cutting down trees, it meant opening up the rainforest to heavy machinery, invasive species, and more opportunities to be affected by humans.  Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1984.  Many conservation groups spoke up to prevent the road from being built in order to preserve the ecosystem.  However, it was still built and is in use today. (Aiken and Leigh, 1987)

This shows the effect the road had on the environment. Poor environment!

(Aiken and Leigh, pg 138)

A picture of the road. Not as pretty as the trees that were there before!

(Aiken and Leigh, pg 138)

Human Impacts!

Effects of Humans.... 
(http://depositphotos.com/3697757/stock-photo-Cassowary-Sign---Queensland-Australia.html)

Humans have had a huge impact on the Daintree Rainforest. About 25% of the original Daintree canopy has been removed and much of the biodiversity has been destroyed.  The main reasons for this removal include logging, road building, clearing vegetation for various agricultural, residential, and tourism areas, previous mining sites, and fires.  The clearing of trees for building of roads and other various purposes leads to fragmentation.  Fragmentation makes it difficult for certain animals to move from one area to another because they live in the canopy of the trees and rarely go to the ground.  It confines the animals to a smaller area which leads to sub-divisions of certain species and the extinction of others.  The removal of the trees and the canopy exposes the sediment on the rainforest floor to the sun.  Sunlight warms the sediment and when the sediment goes into the streams because of runoff, the higher temperature of the sediment raises the temperature of the stream, which harms the ecosystem.  Another inevitable process that harms the rainforest is global warming.  The animals have adapted to a certain temperature.  If the temperature changes even slightly it throws off the balance and the animals are in trouble.  This causes many of the animals to go on the endangered species list and eventually go extinct.  (Stork and Turton, pg 16) 

This chart shows the effects of human settlement on the size of rainforests in Australia. 

(Stork and Turton, pg 6)

These two charts from Living in a Dynamic Tropical Forest Landscape show the level of impact that different human activities have on the rainforest.

This pie chart gives a picture of the causes of deforestation 
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0803.htm

Certain non-human factors have also greatly affected the ecosystem.  Invasive species have played a huge part in the destruction of the biodiversity in the Daintree.  When the Europeans came over, they introduced pigs, rabbits, cattle, cats, deer, foxes, and various bird species.  These species pose a huge threat to the existing animals and out compete them.  Along with the animals, invasive species are also wiping out indigenous plants.  When fragmentation occurs, creates an open ecosystem and allows non-native plants to take root and grow.  They outcompete the native plants and take over the ecosystem.  With nonnative plants and animals come nonnative diseases.  One disease that is causing a problem is called Phytophthora cinnamomi.  This disease is known to cause forest dieback, which is when a tree or shrub dies from the tip of the leaf inward.  These issues are hard to manage and pose a huge threat to the biodiversity and biological integrity of the rainforest. (Stork and Turton, pg 16)

Future Prospects!

Isn't it pretty??? (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486/gallery/)

The future of the Daintree Rainforest looks good.  The Daintree Rainforest was placed on the World Heritage List in 1988.  This recognizes the importance of the evolutionary history that can be found within the rainforest as well as the unique juxtaposition of the rainforest with the Great Barrier Reef.  Since it is placed on the list, there are certain conservation and management requirements that the government has to follow.  To help conserve the area, the government created various acts and plans in order to better manage and regulate potential harmful activities.  One of these plans is called the "Wet Tropics Management Plan 1998".  This plan allows the government to regulate any potentially damaging activity done in the rainforest.  There are other ways the Daintree is being conserved as well.  Part of the Daintree Rainforest is a part of the Daintree National Park.  This area is protected against various harmful practices, like logging.  Also, there is private land that can be bought for conservation.  Lastly, there has been an increase in scientific research in the rainforest which provides more information to give a stronger the foundation for understanding what can be done to preserve the area.  (Wet Tropics, UNESCO)
In order to further protect the area, tourists to the area must be educated on the environment around them and learn what they can do to enjoy the ecosystem without making a huge impact.  Both the Australian and Queensland governments have made efforts to work with partners and conservation groups to help preserve the valuable ecosystem.  If people who live in the area and those that visit the Daintree make efforts to reduce their impact, than the diversity and history will remain intact for future generations to enjoy!

This chart shows the increase in forest reserves and national parks in the Wet Tropics area

(Stork and Turton, pg 6)

If you want your own piece of the beautiful Daintree, go HERE!
http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-daintree.html   

Keep the King's Creek flowing! 

http://www.ccwild.com/blog/?p=3684

Information Sources

Aiken, S. Robert and Colin H. Leigh.  “Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest at Risk”. 

            Ambio. 16 (1987): 131-141. Print

Berg, Linda R., Mary Catherine. Hager, and David M. Hassenzahl. Visualizing

            Environmental Science. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley in Collaboration with the

            National Geographic Society, 2007. Print. pg. 136

Stork, N. E., and Stephen M. Turton. Living in a Dynamic Tropical Forest Landscape.

            Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2008. Print. Pg. 1-18

"Wet Tropics of Queensland." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 20

            Nov. 2012. <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486/>.

Picture Sources

http://www.douglas-shire-historical-society.org/the_daintree.htm

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm

http://www.destination360.com/australia-south-pacific/australia/daintree-rainforest

http://www.daintreerainforestinformation.com/Daintree_Animals.html#0

http://www.douglas-shire-historical-society.org/the_daintree.htm

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486/gallery

http://depositphotos.com/3697757/stock-photo-Cassowary-Sign---Queensland-Australia.html
http://www.ccwild.com/blog/?p=3684
http://www.firstpr.com.au/show-and-tell/green-ants/
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0803.htm