Chapter 3:
RAINFOREST DIVERSITY - ORIGINS AND IMPLICATIONS


Tropical rainforests support the greatest diversity of living organisms on Earth. Although they cover less than 2% of Earth's surface, they house 50 percent of all life on the planet. The immense numbers of creatures that inhabit the tropical rainforests are so great -- an estimated 5-50 million species -- they are almost incomprehensible. The sheer range of numbers alone suggests the limited extent of our knowledge. For example, whereas temperate forests are often dominated by a half dozen tree species or less that make up 90% of the trees in the forest, a tropical rainforest may have more than 480 tree species in a single hectare (2.5 acres). A single bush in the Amazon may have more species of ants than the entire British Isles. This diversity of rainforests is not a haphazard event, but is the result of a series of unique circumstances.

Portraits of Diversity

Countries with the High Biodiversity