Tropical forests are warm, moist tropical lowlands found within 23.5° latitude of the equator, having both a high temperature and rainfall. The average temperature and length of daylight vary little during the year, being about 23°C and around 12 hours respectively. The rainfall is always over 60 inches per year, and can be up to 160 inches. There is a predictable daily cycle of cloud buildup and rain.  The soils are highly weathered, reddish in colour, and contain large amounts of Aluminum and Iron. Rapid decomposition occurs, and nutrients are cycled quickly, stored mostly in the plant biomass. 

The tropical rain forest has the greatest diversity of species of all communities, perhaps as many as all other terrestrial biomes combined. The vegetation in tropical rain forests is divided into five general layers: the trees that emerge above the canopy, the high upper canopy or topmost continuous layer of foilage, the low-tree stratum, the shrub understory, and a ground layer of herbaveous plants and ferns. This great plant diversity also allows a great animal diversity. These include monkeys, sloths, parrots, toucans, bats, tapirs, frogs, and a wide variety of insects.

Terrestrial Biomes:

Tropical forests are threatened by logging, and clearing for grazing and agriculture.  Millions of hectares of tropical forests are being destroyed at an alarming

rate - more than one half of earth’s tropical rain forest is already gone, and it is likely these communities may disappear entirely by the end of the decade.  This loss means the loss of the biological diversity of the forests. 

Typical Tropical Forest

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