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Name: ______________________________
Class: _______________
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Some of the things hidden in the picture above are also hidden in the wordsearch
below…you have been given the first letter of each word to help you:

B________________
F________
H____________________
L__________
M__________
P__________
S________
S__________
S__________
T________
T______
T__________
 Page
2 Jungle Wordsearch
4 Ecosystems
5 How Do Plants Adapt The Their Environments?
6 Andes Ecosystems
7 Food Webs
8 Rainforest Structure
9 The Rainforest Cycle
10 Rainforest Food Web
11 Human Uses Of The Rainforest
12 Sustainable Management Of The Forest

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 Use the words below to complete the sentences

HINT: Cross through the word when you have used it

Woodland Weather Sustainable Species Soil

Savannah Rainforest Producer Plants
Herbivore Forest Foodweb Extinct
Environment Ecosystem Desert Decomposer
Deciduous Coniferous Carnivore

1. A ____________________ is a diagram that shows how animals and plants are

linked by eating.
2. When a species dies out it is ____________________.
3. A ____________________ is an animal which eats other animals.
4. Trees which lose their leaves in winter are ____________________.
5. In England there is a famous National Park called The New ____________________,
where wild ponies are part of the ecosystem.
6. The scientific name for a type of plant or animals is ____________________.
7. Most plants grow in ____________________.
8. ____________________ includes sunshine, rain and wind.
4 9. In a ____________________ there are lots of trees growing.
10. A plant makes its own food, so it is called a ____________________.
11. An ____________________ can be any size. It could be as small as a pond or as big
as a rainforest.
12. Fir trees are ____________________.
13. A really dry place is called a ____________________.
14. Something that breaks down dead materials is called a ____________________.
15. In the Amazon Basin there is ____________________.
16. Everything around us is our ___________________.
17. Things which grow in the soil and make their own food are called
____________________.
18. A ____________________ is an animals which only eats plants.
19. If people use an ecosystem without damaging it then what they are doing is
____________________.
 Plants grow in places where the climate suits them. Many develop special features to help
them cope with the conditions they live in. They adapt to their environment.

Leaves have become Many plants have tall

thin spikes so that they It needs a lot of sun. trunks to reach
won’t lose much water. It doesn’t grow well in sunlight. Their leaves
Photosynthesis takes shade. But it can have waxy coats, and
place in the swollen survive a dry season points called drip tips,
green stem, which can because its roots grow to let rain flow off
5 store water. deep to find water. easily

Draw a line to match the plant pictures, descriptions and climate graphs.

Which plants grow in the wettest area? __________________________________________

What helps them cope with the rain? ____________________________________________

Which area is the driest? ______________________________________________________

How have plants adapted so they can grow here? _________________________________

 Ecosystems are made up of living and non-living parts. The living parts are the plants,
animals and bacteria. While the non-living parts are the climate, rocks, soil and water.

The Andes are a mountain range running down the west coast of
South America. They are very high, so it is very cold and often very
windy. Temperatures can fall to -20oC. Some snow on the
mountains melts during the day, providing water for plants and
animals lower down the slopes. Andean plants include lichen which
grows on rock, breaking it up to make soil. Dead lichens and other
dead plants provide nutrients for the soil. Plants like mosses,
saxifrages and gentians grow behind boulders to shelter from the
wind. They have very long roots to anchor themselves in the soil.
Animals which feed on these plants include chinchillas and vicuna.
Both species have very thick fur for warmth. The chinchilla is quite
round in shape, to lose as little heat as possible. There are also
carnivores in the Andes. The puma is one example – it hunts the
chinchilla and vicuna. The Andean puma is similar to the pumas
from the lowlands, but it larger because a
bigger volume means less heat

To survive plants and animals need to adapt to their environments. Complete the table
below to explain why some adaptations are made:

Plants Adaptations Why Is This Animal Adaptations Why Is This

Needed? Needed?
Growing behind Chinchillas are
boulders round
Long Vicuna have
roots thick fur
Lichen use the Andean pumas are
nutrients in rocks bigger than normal

What is the climate like?

Where does the water some from?

Create a food chain from the Andes:

 In the pampas (grasslands) of South America the climate it just right for grass. Never hot
enough to dry all the grass up, or cold enough to stop it growing, and there’s rain all year
round.

The diagram shows part of a food web in the pampas, which depends on grass for its
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Hawk Pampas Fox Maned Wolf

Woodpecker Lizard Ant-Eater

Ant Mara (A Rodent) Cavie (A Rodent)

KEY
Producer Grass And Grass Seeds
Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
 Read through the further facts on the right:

1. Plants make their own food using sunlight. These are called
producers. Colour in green the box showing the producer.
2. Using the ‘further facts’; add two more arrows from the
producer box.
Further Facts!
3. Animals which eat only plants are called herbivores. Colour of
the herbivores in yellow. ◊ Woodpeckers eat grass seeds as well
4. Animas which eat both plants and animals are called as insects
omnivores. Colour the omnivores in blue. ◊ Maned wolves like fruit as well as
5. Animas which eat only other animals are called carnivores. flesh!
Colour these boxes in red.
6. Colour in the key ◊ The pampas fox eats grass seeds and
7. Use your food web to complete the food chain: berries too.

◊ Ants also eat flies and other insects.

◊ Maras and cavies are strictly

vegetarians!

◊ Hawks, ant-eaters and lizards don’t

eat plants.

Rainforests are found the near the equator in Central and South America, parts of Africa and
Asia. They are hot and humid environments containing the most diverse range and highest
volume of plant and animal life found anywhere on earth.
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In general it rains virtually every day with the level of rainfall depending on the time of year.
The temperature varies throughout the year, but much less than the rainfall.

The graph shows the average rainfall and temperatures in

the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The rainy season is from
December to May. Note how the rainfall varies from
300mm 50 just 50mm while the temperature only varies by
2oC.
 Match the keywords to the descriptions

Lianas To support the large trees

Buttress Roots Vine-like planes which clime up large trees
Forest Floor Grow taller than other trees
Tree Trunks Dark and damp with little sunlight
Canopy A ‘sea of leaves’ 30 meters above the floor
Emergent Grow straight up to reach the light

The rainforests ecosystem is characterised by heavy rainfall, high humidity, an abundance of

lush vegetation and rich nutritious soil. These factors give rise to a unique water and
nutrient cycle.

Rainforest Water Cycle:

The roots take the water up from the soil

and the rain is intercepted as it falls – Much
of it at the canopy level. As the temperature
heats
up, the
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evaporates and forms clouds for the next day’s rain

Rainforest Nutrient Cycle:

The rainforests nutrients cycle is quick. The hot, damp conditions on the ground allow the
dead plant material to rapidly decompose. This provides rich nutrients which are absorbed
by the plants, however these are in high demand they don’t stay in the soil for long and stay
close to the surface. If the vegetation is removed, the soil quickly loses it rich nutrients and
can erode away.
 Rainforest Soils:

Due to high iron and aluminium content the soil is red in colour. On the surface there is a
thick layer of leaf litter and decomposing organic matter.

So little water reaches the ground because _______________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

The water under the forests floor doesn’t wash away because ________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

It rains so much here because __________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

The plant material on the ground decomposes quickly because ________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

The soil is a red colour because _________________________________________________.

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Seeds; nuts Leaves Flowers Fruit Wood

Hummingbirds – Long, cured beak

Sloth – Hangs from branches by its probes inside flowers for nectar. Wings
long, curved claws. Feeds on leaves.
Tiger – One of the largest members of make a humming noise during flight.
the cat family. Hunts for prey both in Hovers in mid-air while feeding on
the canopy and on the forest floor nectar

Parrots – Strong beak can crack Termites – Feed on dead wood and
open seeds and nuts. Claws are also other plant matter
Monkey – Feeds on fruit, sap from
used to covey food in to the mouth
trees and other small animals

Ant-Eater – Long tongue licks up

termites and other insects

Eagle – A bird of prey. Hooked beak Butterflies – Feed on nectar. Have

rips the prey apart. Strong claws patterns on the wings may camouflage
grab and carry food e.g. monkeys, the butterfly, or warn that it may taste
sloths, bats and parrots unpleasant
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Use the pictures and descriptions to complete the food web.

Create your own key to highlight which are producers, herbivores, carnivores and carnivores. (You can
check these meanings on page seven)

It’s been estimated rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s surface but this has reduced
to 6% and they may disappear altogether within 40 years. Humans intervene with
rainforests to bring real or imagined benefits to themselves or the local population. Valuable
minerals lie under the rainforest and land is often cleared for farming, minerals and logging.
This is called deforestation. Not only wildlife destroyed but erosion and flooding occur too.

Read through the statements below. Complete the key to show which you think are positive
impacts and which are negative:

Transportation
Better transportation means Infrastructure Roads
easier access to raw Hospitals and education These divide up parts of the
materials like minerals and can be improved from the forest and can cut off
timber. Forest resources can
 be transported away and money gained from selling connections between
sold natural resources different systems.
Land Clearance Fertile Soils
Profits Farming, transportation That make farming possible
Selling resources can be and mining can lead to are quickly washed away
used to improve a country's deforestation. Hardwood when the forest is cleared. If
infrastructure tree take many years to soil ends up in rivers it can
grow so can be difficult to lead to flooding
replace
Loss Of Animals Habitat
Raw Materials This occurs when trees are Mineral Deposits
Tropical hardwoods such as cut down. Deforestation The Amazon includes
ebony and mahogany, can can result in endangering bauxite, iron ore, manages,
be sold for a good price animals and plant life, or gold, silver and diamonds
abroad even lead to them
becoming extinct
Large-Scale Farming Profits
Brings money into the From large-scale farming Small-Scale Farming
country and provides food and selling resources often Provides food for rainforest
and jobs for the country’s go back to rich country’s or communities and the
growing population large companies and don’t landless poor of Brazil
benefit the rainforest
Amazonian Indians
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an estimated ten million
tribesmen living in the
rainforest, today there is
estimated only 200,000

Design your own key to show which of the above is

Social
Political
Economical

Brazil needs to use the Amazon's resources to develop, so leaving it untouched is not a
realistic option.
Uncontrolled and unchecked exploitation can cause irreversible damage such as soil
erosion, flooding and climate change. So, sustainable use of the forest is essential.
Sustainable development will meet the needs of Brazil's population without compromising
the needs of future generations.
Possible strategies include:
 ◊ Agro-forestry - growing trees and crops at the same time. This lets farmers take advantage
of shelter from the canopy of trees. It prevents soil erosion and the crops benefit from the
nutrients from the dead organic matter.
◊ Selective logging - trees are only felled when they reach a particular height. This allows
young trees a guaranteed life span and the forest will regain full maturity after around 30-50
years.
◊ Education - ensuring those involved in exploitation and management of the forest
understand the consequences behind their actions.
◊ Afforestation - the opposite of deforestation. If trees are cut down, they are replaced to
maintain the canopy.
◊ Forest reserves - areas protected from exploitation.
◊ Monitoring - use of satellite technology and photography to check that any activities
taking place are legal and follow guidelines for sustainability.

Write a report on which of these strategies will work best to protect the rainforest and why.
Which of these do you think will not work?

Think about the time it would take for these strategies to be put in place, the outside help
needed and resources
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