Geographers call this belt the tropics . Here, rainfall is very high, the heat is constant, and tropical rainforests dominate the landscape. Although they cover only about 6 percent of the earth's land surface, tropical rainforests contain more than half of the world's species of living things. A few acres of rainforest in the Amazon River Basin, which stretches across much of South America, hold more species of plants than all of Europe. Because of factors such as the warm, moist climate, rainforest plants grow very rapidly.
Rainforests play a major role in the earth's climate.
Travel the world and find out more about this important part of our planet. Find a map of the rainforest areas of the world. Identify three countries that contain a significant area of rainforest. Describe how the rainforest works as an ecosystem. Explain the climate of the rainforest area and it's effect on global weather.