tropical rainforests
Hot, wet wilderness
Tropical rainforests are dense, warm, wet forests found near the equator, characterized by year-round rainfall, towering canopy layers, and extraordinary biodiversity.
They contain more species of plants and animals than any other ecosystem on Earth.
The Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asian rainforests are the largest remaining examples.
Often called the "lungs of the Earth," they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, though this characterization oversimplifies their ecological role.
- lianasWoody climbing plants
- epiphytesPlants growing on others
- jungle canopyForest's uppermost foliage layer
- equatorMidpoint circle of rotation
- indigenous tribesOriginal inhabitants of regions
strangler figs · biodiversity hotspots · deforestation · slash and burn · cloud forests · ethnobotany · keystone species · medicinal plants · emergent layer · Amazon basin · pitcher plants · tree frog · poison dart · carbon sequestration · canopy · leaf litter · humid · endangered species
- Asian ecologytigers, pandas, elephants, orangutans, bamboo forests
- NeotropicsAmazon basin, Andes Mountains, Galapagos, cloud forests, jaguars
- African GeographySouth Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana
- Eurasian GeographyHimalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Gobi Desert, Ganges River, Yangtze River
- Oceania Wildlifekangaroo, koala, platypus, echidna, emu
- Indian WildlifeBengal tiger, Indian elephant, peacock, elephants, cobra
tropical rainforestsdeserts
Abandons or barren lands
Sahara Desert · steppes · scrublands · chaparral · arid regions
tropical rainforestspolar regions
Earth's coldest latitudes
polar ice caps · Antarctic · Arctic · tundra · Antarctica
forest, tropical, tropics, rainforest, tropic, subtropical, rainforests, tropism, troposphere