| An enormous variety of creatures inhabit the forest. Some are spectacular, others are hidden somewhere beneath the canopy of countless billions of leaves. The web of interactions between individuals and species is intricate and complex; nothing about a forest is simple, and humans are only just beginning to understand any part of these ecosystems. |
Tropical rainforest, Maui. Photo by Maya Walters. |
Forests are some of the most diverse habitats on
the planet. Biodiversity* is not simply something that's "nice" to have. All species, including humans, are dependent on all other species
for survival. The extinction of even one organism--a monkey, a flowering plant, a water flea--will have unpredictable and often disastrous
consequences.
Tropical rainforests are the richest ecosystems in the world. Because of the great diversity of plants and animals, there are actually relatively few individuals of most species. This makes them especially susceptible to habitat loss and other stresses. |
| Some conservative estimates put the number of extinctions at no less than one a day; others say several species disappear forever with each passing hour. |
forest life -- page 2 of 5
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sub-topics
[plants] [fungi] [mammals] [birds] [insects] [reptiles] [amphibians] [fish]
[camouflage & chemical defenses] [arboreal adaptation]
related topics
[biodiversity] [loss of biodiversity] [tropical forests] [threats to forests]
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