Biomes ‒ Tropical Rainforest

**Tropical rainforest (forest) is a biome** located in the equatorial regions of the Earth and is **characterized by its very warm and humid climate**, which allows a huge **diversity of plant and animal species**. Scientists estimate that more than half of the world's species live there.

**The plants there grow on three floors** (we are talking about the so-called vertical division of the tropical rainforest). The lowest, **forest floor (undergrowth) **, reaches the height of about 10 meters and is divided into **herbaceous and shrub floor**. The amount of vegetation of this floor is limited by insufficient light, which penetrates there only to a limited extent due to the shading of the higher floors. **The middle floor** of tropical rainforest ranges from 10 to 36 meters, and in its upper part is formed by a continuous layer of treetops, which are exposed to most of the sunlight. This floor is also inhabited by a large number of local species. **The top floor**, representing solitary isolated trees, is located at the height of 36 to 50 meters above the earth's surface. These mature trees overgrow the rest of the forest and are usually shaped like an umbrella, have tall trunks without branches and widespread root systems.

The tropical rainforest is found mainly in three areas: the Amazon Basin – **the Amazon Tropical Rainforest**, Central Africa – **the Congo Tropical Rainforest** and South and Southeast Asia – **the tropical rainforest forests on the peninsulas of India**.

In recent decades, the area of ​​tropical rainforests has been declining very rapidly. **The main causes of deforestation** are **logging** and **expansion of agricultural land**. This extensive destruction of the natural environment has its consequences: the species diversity of plant and animal species (biodiversity) is being reduced; deforested areas increase soil erosion and prevent its long-term agricultural use; the landscape without vegetation cover is not able to hold water, and last but not least, it threatens indigenous communities.