Tropical Rainforest

Habitat description
Warm and wet characterises the tropical rainforests. Round-the-year warm weather with evenly distributed rainfall-between 60 to 160 inches-makes this a popular habitat for a variety of flora and fauna, and this habitat is extremely biodiverse, with over 15 million species.

Heat and humidity make the tropical rainforests ideal for micro-organisms. Decay and decomposition rates are high, but the population density and high precipitation levels result in minimal nutrients remaining in the soil. As a result, the land here is largely acidic and infertile. However, plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. They also provide a number of products that are important in other ways, such as those used in medicines.

Distribution
From the name, it is clear that tropical rainforests are found in the tropics, near the equator. They are located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The world's major tropical rainforests are in South America, Africa and South-East Asia.