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What ?

Tropical rainforests are types of woodland that grow in warm, wet regions. In these forests temperatures never fall below 24C and annual rainfall is above 200cms. This means that plants can grow all year round and are not subjected to the seasonal changes that occur in temperate regions.

Where ?

Rainforests are found in South and Central America, Central Africa, South East Asia, Indonesia and Northern Australia. They form a green band around the earth between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.

Rainforests occupy between 6-8% of the land area on earth and are thought to contain about 50% of all plant species, 80% of all insects and 90% of all primates. An area of rainforest measuring 4 square miles may hold 750 tree species, more than 1000 types of smaller flowering plants, 400 bird species, 125 mammal species and 150 species of moths and butterflies.