Biodiversity of Tropical Rainforests
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.2.5
Biodiversity of Rainforests
The biodiversity of an ecosystem is how many different species of plant and animal life there are in an ecosystem. Rainforests are very biodiverse places.
Are tropical rainforests biodiverse?
- Tropical rainforests are very biodiverse.
- Rainforests cover 6% of the Earth's surface area, but they are home to about 50% of the world's animal and plant species.
- Scientists estimate that there are between 3 million and 50 million different species living in the Earth's rainforests.
Stable, productive environments
- Rainforests have a similar climate all year.
- This consistent climate makes rainforests a stable ecosystem - it does not have to deal with extreme weather like snow in winter and heatwaves in summer.
- The rich biodiversity, rainfall, and warm temperatures mean that rainforests are productive ecosystems (where there is always enough food).
What are the threats to the biodiversity of rainforests?
- Deforestation, construction and economic development threaten biodiversity.
- Reducing the rainforest land area threatens species with extinction.
- The Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. In Brazil, 110 of the 700 species of mammals living there are endangered.
- The Black Spider Monkey has become an endangered species because of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Test yourself on Biodiversity of Tropical Rainforests
What percentage of the world's land area is covered by rainforests?
What percentage of the world's animal, plant and insect species can be found in tropical rainforests?
What is the term used to describe the sum of the variety of all the organisms living in an ecosystem?
What are the main threats to biodiversity in rainforest ecosystems?