How old is the tropical rainforest

The majority of common houseplants come from the rainforest. Location Map. Tropical rainforests are found closer to the equator where it is warm. Temperate rainforests are found near the cooler coastal areas further north or south of the equator. The tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome where it rains all year long. It is known for its dense canopies of vegetation that form three different layers.

The top layer or canopy contains giant trees that grow to heights of 75 m about ft or more. This layer of vegetation prevents much of the sunlight from reaching the ground. All rights reserved. Why "rain" forests? Share Tweet Email.

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The Gondwanan rainforests were named after the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana — which existed between — million years ago — because the fossil shows that the present-day rainforests contain many of the same species as the rainforests covering Gondwana.

Like all of the rainforests on this list, the Tarkine Rainforest has been critically threatened by logging and other human activities. Fortunately, there is a strong conservation effort to save the remaining Tarkine Forest and in , the Tasmanian and Australian governments agreed to protect an additional 70, hectares of rainforest in the Tarkine from logging.

Red-bottomed macaques Yakushima macaque and a variety of sika deer yakushika are native to Yakushima Island and forest. According to some visitors, the macaques and deer have a symbiotic relationship and the monkeys sometimes ride on the backs of the deer. Yakushima Forest served as the inspiration for the landscape of the popular animated film, Princess Mononoke.

The rainforests of the Congo Basin are the second largest rainforests in the world, just after the Amazon. The Congo Basin covers an area of over 1. While there is strong evidence that there were forests all over the area as far back as 1.

There are approximately 10, species of tropical plants in the Congo Basin and 30 percent are unique to the region. Unfortunately, several animal species native to the Congo rainforests are endangered, including forest elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, and lowland and mountain gorillas.

The Congo Basin is the only place to shelter all three subspecies of gorilla: the lowland gorilla, the endemic eastern lowland gorilla, and the endangered mountain gorilla. Kakamega Forest is a few million years old and is the only rainforest in Kenya. As a tropical rainforest, Kakamenga Forest looks more like the rainforests of Central and West Africa than the other forests in East Africa. In Kakamega Forest, there are over 60 species of ferns, species of trees and shrubs, and species of flowering plants, including 60 species of orchids with nine species endemic to this forest.

Unlike some of the better known forests on this list, Kakamega Forest is a hidden gem and not typically a tourist hotspot.