Moving further south, we come upon an area which scientists call the Tropical Rainforest Biome. This name comes from the fact that these forests receive a very large amount of rain each year. All of this water, along with a constant year round supply of warmth and sunlight, have helped the rainforests grow into beautiful rich gardens covered with plants, flowers, insects, fruit, and animals.
Rainforests can be found throughout the world. The largest, known as the Amazon Rainforest, is found in South America. Other rainforests are found in Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, and even in Australia.
Rainforests contain a wide variety of diverse lifeforms. Almost half of all living things on Earth can be found living inside these amazing habitats. The plants and animals here have become highly specialized, depending on each other to survive. Certain species of insects have evolved specifically to care for and pollinate a specific species of plant. This type of specialization is common in the rainforests.
With so much rain and plant life, you would think that the rainforest soil would be very rich. Actually, almost all the nutrients of the rainforests are found in the plant and animal life. Very little is actually in the soil. What do you think will happen if we cut down and remove all the plant life in the rainforests?
