By that broad definition, the United Nations estimated that forests covered 1.77 billion hectares or 6.8 million square miles of land in tropical countries in 2015. Examples include the emergent, More than half of the world's species of plants and animals are found in the rainforest.The great diversity in rainforest species is in large part the result of diverse and numerous physical A natural rainforest emits and absorbs vast quantities of About half of Sarawak's 1.5 million people are Dayaks. The Amazon basin contains the world's largest rainforest, which is nearly the roughly of the continental United States and covers about 40 percent of South America. As such, they are increasingly being viewed as partners, not adversaries in conservation. The same is true for Below are 10 quick up-to-date facts about tropical rainforests to explain what these ecosystems are, why they are important, and how they can be saved. While tropical rainforests are the most famous, rainforests are also found in sub-tropical and temperate zones. For example, governments and companies are finally starting to recognize the value of goods and services afforded by healthy forests, including carbon storage, buffering against flood and drought cycles, and safeguarding water supplies. The clearing and burning of tropical forests and peatlands accounts for about ten percent of greenhouse gases from human activities. Accordingly these values are being used as another justification for protecting forests. For example, companies respond to consumer dollars. Nearly two-thirds of

Much of this is concentrated in From Borneo to the Amazon, many of the world's key rainforests – and endemic species – are currently under threat. Bold new ideas are being proposed to save rainforests. When plants grow they sequester atmospheric carbon in their tissues via the process of photosynthesis. Another recent development has been the acknowledgement that local and indigenous communities are often some of the best stewards of forests. Their mythologies support this

From the Amazon to the Congo, every rainforest has a unique assemblage of plants, animals, and people. "Breathing easy: Et tu, O For that reason, a rainforest in Indonesia may look very different from a rainforest in Brazil. As much as we're part of the problem, we're also part of the solution to saving rainforests. We're certainly not out of the woods yet, but progress is being made.

Therefore rainforest protection and restoration are critical to slowing climate change. Rainforests are forests characterized by high and continuous rainfall, with annual rainfall in the case of tropical rainforests between 2.5 and 4.5 metres (98 and 177 in) and definitions varying by region for temperate rainforests. Between "eyes in the sky" in the form of satellites and eyes on the ground in the form of camera traps and sensors, citizen journalists and scientists, and an ever-expanding network of scientists, conservationists, and environmentalists, forests are being monitored far more effectively than just a few years ago. For example, while temperate forests may be dominated by a half dozen tree species, a tropical rainforest may have more than 480 tree species in a single hectare (2.5 acres). Tropical rainforests are among the world's most important ecosystems for they role they play in sustaining life on the planet. Average annual rainfall is between 80-135 inches (200-350 cm), and average temperatures are always above zero, around 39-540 F (4-120C). While tropical rainforests cover less than ten percent of Earth's land mass, they are thought to house more than half the world's terrestrial species. Rainforests as well as endemic rainforest species are rapidly disappearing due to Many of the world's tropical forests are associated with the location of the Tropical forests cover a large part of the globe, but A tropical rainforest typically has a number of layers, each with different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular area.

But when they are burned or chopped down, much of that carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide, methane, and other nitrogen oxides).