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The Variety of Life
Tropical rainforests contain more species than any other ecosystem. They cover about 6% of Earth's land but hold MORE THAN HALF of all plant and animal species!
A single hectare can contain over 400 tree species. A typical temperate forest might have 10-20 in the same area.
Insect diversity is staggering. Scientists estimate millions of undiscovered species. When researchers fog a single tree canopy, thousands of insects fall out — many new to science.
The Amazon alone has over 1,300 bird species — all of North America has about 900.
**Wow Factor:** Scientists estimate there are 5-30 million insect species in tropical rainforests, and we have only named about 1 million so far!