Tropical Rainforest FeaturesTropical rainforests are very wet places, receiving heavy rainfall either seasonally or throughout the year. They are close to the equator and get lots of sunlight and warmth. Temperatures are uniformly high - between 20 and 35°C. They usually receive more than 200 cm rainfall per year.

Rainforests have four layers. The forest floor is at the bottom and is dark and full of rotting leaves and fallen logs. The understory has trunks of trees, vines and smaller plants. The canopy is the roof of the rainforest. Lots of birds and animals live in the canopy where they can find food and shelter in the many leafy branches. The emergent layer has the tallest trees that poke out above the canopy.

Where Rainforests are Found

Rainforests are found in tropical climates. They grow near the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In this tropical area it is warm and there is lots of rainfall.

There are 3 main areas where of tropical rainforests grow. They grow in Central and South America, in West and Central Africa, and in Southeast Asia. The Amazon Basin forest is the largest, covering 6 million sq km.

Rainforest PlantsRainforest trees are quite different from trees in other forests. In the rainforest, trees grow to a gigantic size, supported by strong, strut-like buttresses at the base of the trunk. These roots help them to not fall over shallow forest soils. Huge vines twine themselves around the trunks of trees. Some vines are parasites, but others merely use the trees for support.

Many rainforest trees have dark green, often leathery, leaves which taper sharply so that water drains quickly from the surface.

Flowers like orchids and bromeliads (members of the pineapple family) grow directly on trunks and larger branches - they are called epiphytes. Epiphytes are also called air plants.

Strangler Fig

Animal Life in RainforestsRainforests are home to many animal species. Rainforests are full of insects and an incredibly large number of birds and frogs like the green tree frog. Tree-living lizards, chameleons and snakes in turn feed on the smaller animals. Hummingbirds and sunbirds sip nectar from flowers.

Large, colourful forest birds with huge bills for cracking and eating tough forest fruits include the toucans (in the Americas) and hornbills (in Africa and Asia). In the canopy, mammals like flying squirrels, monkeys, fruit bats and sloths also live there. Some rainforests around the world are home to the jaguar and leopard.

The forest floor is covered with a thin layer of fallen leaves, twigs and humus. This layer also teems with life: termites and ants, spiders, mites, snails, and beetles make their home here. The mammals include small deer, antelopes like duikers, pigs, tapirs, and tigers and other members of the cat family.

The Importance of Rainforests

Rainforests are very important. Trees make oxygen for us to breathe. There are also many plants that can be used as medicine. Some rainforests produce nuts, fruit, rubber and valuable timber.

Rainforests are home to many plants and animals. Without rainforests, these animals and plants could become extinct because they have no home.

Some indigenous people still live in rainforests around the world. They live in harmony with the land by not destroying it. It is their home.

We should protect our rainforestsAlthough rainforests are full of so many plants and animals, they cover only about 6% of the Earth's land surface, less than half the area they covered not so very long ago.

Rainforests are perhaps the most endangered habitat on earth. Each year, some 140,000 sq km of rainforests are destroyed. Rainforests are being cut down for timber by logging companies and cleared by people for farming.

We can protect our rainforests by not cutting downs trees. We can buy rainforest friendly products by looking for the green frog on the label. If it has a green frog it means that no rainforest was cut down to make the product.

We can also protect what we have by staying on walking paths and not littering.

Follow the frog!