Where are the tropical rainforests found?
Most rainforests lie in a belt around the Equator between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (22°N and S), covering a total area of 2,000 million hectares; Latin America holds 58 per cent, Asia 23 per cent and Africa 19 per cent. The largest areas of rainforest are concentrated in lowland Amazonia, the Congo basin of Africa and South-east Asia with small pockets located in other areas including Australia and India. In these areas around the Equator, the climate is more or less constant throughout the year with very little seasonal variation. Temperatures (average 27°C), rainfall (not less than 2,000 mm per year) and humidity remain high throughout the year, providing hot steamy conditions which are ideal for plant growth. Most tropical soils are based on ancient rocks, and although they are deep they have been weathered over many millions of years so that they are now very poor in nutrients. The natural vegetation of the humid tropics is rainforest, a system which cycles the available
