Rainforests contain more species than any other habitat on our planet.
Understanding, cataloguing and protecting them is essential for our future existence. As new markets develop, fruits and nuts will soon be worth more than timber and would make the future of the forest more secure. According to a study by the United Nations Environment Programme, tropical grasslands turn far more CO 2 into carbohydrates than suspected, equalling or even exceeding the productivity of tropical rainforests. Natural tropical grasslands are between three and five times as productive as indicated by previous research, which ignored growth in the roots and rhizomes. Converting grasslands to agriculture tends to decrease this productivity and CO 2 uptake.