Often planted commercially for paper pulp, they harbour few plants and wildlife being dark with infertile needle-carpet floors. They produce acidic soil which makes poor farming land. Temperate forests are a mixture of conifers and hardwood deciduous trees like oaks, maples and hickories. They are lighter and more diverse than coniferous forests, supporting plants and wildlife. The rotting vegetation produces many nutrients and these generally stay in the soil, which makes good farming land.
Tropical forests are diverse and include hardwood trees like teak and mahogany.
Sometimes 180 million years old, they can shelter up to 100 species of animals and plants in less than two and a half acres. Tropical forest soil is fragile because it is so old and because most nutrients are absorbed by the plant life. It makes poor farming land. An area of tropical forest the size of Britain is deforested every year. That is one million acres a week, or 100 acres a minute.