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The biodiversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with one 2001 study finding a quarter square kilometer (62 acres) of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree species. [55] A study in 1999 found one square kilometer (247 acres) of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,790 tonnes of living plants.
Amazon River rain forest in Peru. Tropical rainforests are hot and wet. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year. [4] Average annual rainfall is no less than 1,680 mm (66 in) and can exceed 10 m (390 in) although it typically lies between 1,750 mm (69 in) and 3,000 mm (120 in). [5]
Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there. [2] Rainforests as well as endemic rainforest species are rapidly disappearing due to deforestation, the resulting habitat loss and pollution of the atmosphere. [3]
Ecotourism can contribute to the conservation and sustainability of biodiversity in rainforests. Many of the tropical field stations are visited by tourists and the general public, by students and volunteers and of 142 field stations surveyed received a total of ~11,055–18,950 visitors per year [ 5 ]
A portion of the temperate rain forest region of North America, the largest area of temperate zone rainforests on the planet, is the Pacific temperate rain forests ecoregion, which occur on west-facing coastal mountains along the Pacific coast of North America, from Kodiak Island in Alaska to northern California, and are part of the Nearctic realm.
The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. [1] It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species.
The Congolian rainforests are home to over 10,000 species of plants of which 30% are endemic. [2] The Congolian rainforests are less biodiverse than the Amazon and Southeast Asian rainforests. However, its plant and animal life is still more rich and varied than most other places on Earth. The Congolian Forests are a global 200 ecoregion.
Deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon rainforest have resulted in significant risks of irreversible changes. Modeling studies have suggested that deforestation may be approaching a critical " tipping point " where large-scale " savannization " or desertification could occur, [ 74 ] leading to catastrophic consequences for the global ...