Different types of plants create layers within a tropical rain forest. The tallest layer, known as the emergent layer, features trees that reach between 100 and 230 feet in height and are spaced far apart. The second highest layer, the canopy layer, has plants that reach between 60 and 120 feet in height. The upper portion of the canopy layer often gets more sunlight and features a great diversity of animal life than the lower portion, according to Blueplanetbiomes.org.
The next layer, known as the understory layer, features little sunlight and trees that reach between 12 and 60 feet in height. Palm trees, seedlings and saplings exist in the understory layer. The last layer, the forest floor gets the least sunlight of all of the layers and has almost no plants. Decomposing organisms, such as fungi, live in this layer.
Over 50 percent of the Earth's plants and animals live in tropical rain forests, according to an article by Elizabeth Losos, president for the Organization for Tropical Studies, Environmental Sciences and Policy, for the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Many of the animals, including tropical birds, butterflies, frogs, bats and chimpanzees, which can survive in the tropical rain forest biome live in or near trees. Other mammals, reptiles and amphibians that can survive in the rain forest, including leopards, jaguars, some frogs, snakes, elephants, tigers and rhinoceros, live in the understory and forest floor layers.
Rain forests usually get between 60 and 160 inches of rain a year. Some rain forests get as much as 300 inches of rain a year. Temperatures in rain forests usually range from 64 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, although they can get as high as 93 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Blueplanetbiomes.org.
Many rain forests have become deforested because logging companies have cut down their trees, including mahogany and rosewood trees. A great deal of land has also disappeared in rain forests because farmers have used it for cattle-grazing purposes. Doctors have put plants and herbs from the rain forests in drugs that include birth control pills, aspirin and pain relievers. Some food spices, such as vanilla, black pepper, ginger and nutmeg, come from rain forests, according to the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The world's largest rain forest exists in South America, in the Amazon River Basin. The Amazon Rain forest, which is found in countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Peru and Columbia, spreads out over 1.4 million square miles, according to Losos. The rain forest features about one third of the world's bird species, including harpy eagles, according to Blueplanetbiomes.org. The Congo Rain forest, found in the Congo River Basin, serves as the second largest tropical rain forest in the world. The rain forest has a diverse collection of mammal species, as it features chimpanzees, bonobo and okapi. Other major rain forests can be found in Queensland, Australia; Borneo; Sumatra; the Philippines; New Guinea and Madagascar.
