About Rainforests

Rainforests are defined as dense forests with high amounts of annual rainfall, often positioned in tropical regions. There are two types of rainforest: tropical and temperate. 

Tropical Rainforests are frequently located between your Tropic of Capricorn and also the Tropic of Cancer.  Regions that have Tropical Rainforest growth include
Brazil and northern South America, West Central Africa, India and Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Northeast Australia. 

Temperate Rainforests can be found in several regions across the world such as the Pacific Coast of america and Canada, and various regions of Europe, Russia and Eastern Asia. Temperate Rainforest may often have more coniferous trees for example pines, firs and redwoods; whereas Tropical Rainforest contains more broad-leafed trees. 

Tropical and temperate rainforests host an estimate of 30 to 50 million species of plants and animals. The exact number is difficult to determine as new species are constantly being discovered or dying out. The rainforest gets between 65-100 inches of rain per year.

Did you know?

50% of the earth's animal species live in the rainforest, even though rainforests only cover 6% of the earth's surface.

The rainforest consists of five layers; The emergent, the canopy , the understory, the shrub (part of understory), and the forest floor.  

First there is the forest floor which is on the bottom. It is the first layer of soil that houses the beginning of plants. It only receives about 2% of sunlight and plants have to adjust to the less sunlight. Thousands of species of ants, beetles, frogs and bugs can be found on the rainforest forest floor.  

The Understory and Shrub are the second and third layers. They are generally considered one layer. It is from 0 feet to 60 feet above the ground. Lizards, jaguars and tigers live at this level. 

The canopy is the fourth layer.  Many species of birds live in the canopy layer of the rainforest such as the Gray Parrot and the Macaw. The canopy is from 60 to 130 feet. 50 percent of all plant species are found here. That’s half of all the plant life in the world!  

The last and tallest layer is the emergent. It is from 130 to 160 feet, and the tallest trees reach to here. It is home to bats, monkeys, and the Harpy Eagle.