Earth Floor: Rainforest Biome Tropical Rainforest The tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome found near Earth's equator. The world's largest tropical rainforests are in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Tropical rainforests receive from 60 to 160 inches of precipitation that is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The combination of constant warmth and abundant moisture makes the tropical rainforest a suitable environment for many plants and animals. Tropical rainforests contain the greatest biodiversity in the world. Over 15 million species of plants and animals live within this biome. The hot and humid conditions make tropical rainforests an ideal environment for bacteria and other microorganisms. Back | Next
Rainforest Biomes The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly. Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%; rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world. About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants. All tropical rain forests resemble one another in some ways. Despite these differences, each of the three largest rainforests--the American, the African, and the Asian--has a different group of animal and plant species. Layers of the Rainforest There are four very distinct layers of trees in a tropical rain forest. Plant Life The air beneath the lower canopy is almost always humid. Animal Life
Zoom Rainforest Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.Click here to learn more. (Already a member? Click here.) What is a Rainforest? Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests. Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. Strata of the Rainforest Different animals and plants live in different parts of the rainforest. EMERGENTS: Giant trees that are much higher than the average canopy height. An incredible number of animals live in rainforests. In temperate rainforests, most of the animals are ground dwellers and there are fewer animals living in the forest canopy. Where are Rainforests? Tropical rainforests are found in a belt around the equator of the Earth. Temperate rainforests are found along the Pacific coast of the USA and Canada (from northern California to Alaska), in New Zealand, Tasmania, Chile, Ireland, Scotland and Norway. Rainfall Temperature
Rainforest Video & Map GREEN Click on a biome on the above graph for more information, informative videos, and links to scientist profiles, travel information, lesson plans and species profiles for each region. We'd like to know where you're coming from. If you've used this site for a class project or browsing for fun, add yourself to our map and communicate with other "ecogeeks"