About this site
Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] |
|
|
Rainforest on the island of Borneo
|
|
Section 1:
TROPICAL RAINFORESTS OF THE WORLD
Tropical rainforests are a world
like none other; and their importance to the global ecosystem and human
existence is paramount. Unparalleled in terms of their biological diversity,
tropical rainforests are a natural reservoir of genetic diversity which
offers a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield foods,
and a myriad of other useful forest products. They are an important
habitat for migratory animals and sustain as much as 50 percent of the species on Earth, as well as a number of
diverse and unique indigenous cultures. Tropical rainforests play an
elemental role in regulating global weather in addition to maintaining
regular rainfall, while buffering against floods, droughts, and erosion.
They store vast quantities of carbon, while producing a significant
amount of the world's oxygen. �
�
�
Despite their monumental role, tropical forests are restricted to the
small land area between the latitudes 22.5° North and 22.5° South
of the equator, or in other words between the Tropic of Capricorn
and the Tropic of Cancer. Since the majority of Earth's land is located
north of the tropics, rainforests are naturally limited to a relatively
small area. �
�
�
Tropical rainforests, like so many other natural places, are a scarce
resource in the 21st century. The vast swaths of
forest, swamp, desert, and savanna that carpeted Earth's land surface
a mere five generations ago have been reduced to scattered fragments;
today, more than two-thirds of the world's tropical rainforests exist
as fragmented remnants. Just a few thousand years ago, tropical rainforests
covered as much as 12 percent of the Earth�s land surface, or about 6 million square miles (15.5 million square km),
but today less than 5 percent of Earth's land is covered with
these forests (about 2.41 million square miles or 625 million hectares).
The largest unbroken stretch of rainforest is found in the Amazon river
basin of South America. Over half of this forest lies in Brazil, which
holds about one-third of the world's remaining tropical rainforests.
Another 20 percent of the world's remaining rainforest exists
in Indonesia and Congo Basin, while the balance of the world's rainforests
are scattered around the globe in tropical regions. �
�
�
The global distribution of tropical rainforests can be broken up into
four biogeographical realms based roughly on four forested continental
regions: the Ethiopian or Afrotropical, the Australiasian or Australian,
the Oriental or Indomalayan/Asian, and the Neotropical.
Rainforest cover by biogeographical realm
| Realm | Percent share of
world rainforest cover | Million
square miles | Million
hectares |
| Ethiopian/Afrotropical | 30.0% | 0.72 | 187.5 |
| Australasian | 9.0% | 0.22 | 56.3 |
| Oriental or Indomalayan | 16.0% | 0.39 | 100.0 |
| Neotropical | 45.0% | 1.08 | 281.2 |
| Total | | 2.41 | 625.0 |
More on forest cover
charts & tables | primary forest | forest area
Review questions:
- Where are rainforests located?
- How much land area rainforests do cover?
- What percentage of Earth is covered by rainforests?
- How many rainforest biogeographical realms are there?
- What biogeographical realm has the most rainforest?
- True or false - less than 5% of Earth's land is covered with rainforests.
[print version | spanish | french | chinese | japanese]
Continued: Biogeographical Forest Realms
Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page]
Other pages in this section:
|
|
|
|
Recent news
Costa Rica protects green macaw by banning logging of mountain almond tree
(10/27/2008) Costa Rica's high court has prohibited the cutting of a certain species of tree, in part because a highly endangered type of parrot uses the tree almost exclusively for nesting.
Forest elephants learn to avoid roads, behavior may lead to population decline
(10/27/2008) Forest elephants in the Congo Basin have developed a new behavior: they are avoiding roads at all costs. A study published in PLoS One concludes that the behavior, which includes an unwillingness to cross roads, is further endangering the rare animals which are already threatened by poaching, development, and habitat loss. By avoiding roads, the elephants are increasingly confining themselves to smaller areas lacking enough habitat and resources.
Air travel may be powered by biofuels in 3-5 years
(10/27/2008) Boeing says biofuel-powered planes are only three-to-five years away from being a reality, reports The Guardian.
Shell, HSBC put $665,000 toward Borneo rainforest conservation project
(10/26/2008) Brunei Shell Petroleum (Shell Oil) and HSBC have donated 500,000 Brunei dollars ($333,000) each to conserve forests on the island of Borneo, reports the Borneo Bulletin.
Wal-mart mulling contribution to Brazil's Amazon rainforest fund
(10/26/2008) Wal-mart may contribute to Brazil's fund for conserving the Amazon rainforest, said Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc.
More rainforest news
|
|
|
