Tropical Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are warm, wet forests near the Equator that hold half of the world's species and help regulate climate.
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Tropical rainforests are warm, wet forests near the Equator that hold half of the world's species and help regulate climate.
- Four layers of vegetation
- Rapid nutrient cycling
- Deforestation reduces rainfall and biodiversity
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Tropical Rainforests?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Tropical Rainforests. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Tropical Rainforests in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Tropical Rainforests helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Tropical Rainforests in detail
Tropical rainforests grow near the equator with high temperatures (about 25–28 °C) and heavy rainfall all year (over 2,000 mm). They cover about 6% of land but contain more than half of the world's species. The forest has layers: emergent, canopy, understorey and forest floor.
Nutrients are held in the vegetation, since the heavy rain washes them from the soil, and decomposition is fast. Rainforests store large amounts of carbon, regulate climate and rainfall, and provide medicines, food and homes for indigenous peoples. They are threatened by logging, cattle ranching, palm oil and soya farming, mining and roads, and loss leads to erosion and climate effects.
How the interactive helps you understand Tropical Rainforests
Watch the population model in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the population model responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Tropical Rainforests.
Real-life uses and examples
- Explain how Tropical Rainforests affects the landscape or climate near you.
- Link Tropical Rainforests to a real environmental problem and a possible solution.
- Use a diagram of Tropical Rainforests to describe the steps of a process in order.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Tropical Rainforests
What is Tropical Rainforests?
Tropical rainforests are warm, wet forests near the Equator that hold half of the world's species and help regulate climate.
What are the most important points about Tropical Rainforests?
The main points are: Four layers of vegetation; Rapid nutrient cycling; Deforestation reduces rainfall and biodiversity.
Why is Tropical Rainforests useful?
Understanding Tropical Rainforests helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Tropical Rainforests?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Tropical Rainforests?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Polar Regions and Ice, Natural Resources, Solar Power.