NASA: Earth Observatory

BBC Nature - Rainforest videos, news and facts Rainforest Concern Facts For a downloadable booklet of rainforest facts and other materials for use in the classroom, please go to Resources for Schools Tropical rainforests - where and what are they? Tropical rainforests are found across the world between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, 22.5° North and 22.5° South of the Equator. Almost half of the remaining tropical rainforest is found in tropical America, a bit more than a third in Asia and Oceania, and fifteen percent in Africa. Tropical rainforests cover approximately 8% of the world’s land surface - an area of approximately 1.2 billion hectares - and yet contain over half of the earth’s species of animals and plants. The largest rainforest, the Amazon, is found in South America and spans nine nations (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, as well as French Guiana), covering a total area of approximately 600 million hectares. The LAYERS OF THE RAINFOREST

Rain Forest Facts and Information Found in the tropical climate near the equator, rain forests make up six percent of the earth's land surface, but produce 40 percent of its oxygen. The rain forest is made up of four layers: emergent, upper canopy, understory, and forest floor. Emergent trees grow far apart and tall, their branches reaching above the canopy. The upper canopy houses most of the rain forest's animal species, and forms a roof that blocks most light from reaching below it. Deforestation Recently, deforestation has reduced the amount of rain forest present around the globe. In Brazil, which houses about a third of the remaining tropical rain forests on Earth, more than 19 percent of the Amazonian rain forests were lost to deforestation since 1970, when only 2.4 percent of the rain forests there had been cleared. Biologists worry about the long-term consequences. Why "Rain" Forests? The rain forest is nearly self-watering. Benefits of Rain Forest Plants