If standing water determines the type of soil, as well as the kind of animals and plant species that live a given area, then the result is a wetland. The lower forty-eight states of the US have lost more than half their wetland ecosystems to human activity. Many have been drained and converted to farmland.
The tropical rainforest ecosystems are one of the most important ecosystems on earth. There are literally thousands of different species of plants and animals that inhabit the tropical rain forests.
Unfortunately, what you know about rain forests may be limited to movies that you have seen, with hundred foot snakes and large tropical plants devouring people in one fell swoop. While there can be dangers in a rain forest environment, what you see in a movie theater is not always what is real.
When drinking mountain water, or while eating wild blueberries, you probably do not think about how these things came about. Actually, a natural ecosystem is usually responsible for the water you drink or food you eat. Ecosystems provide “ecosystem services” that are the main cause of agricultural growth and many other processes that benefit humans.
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