Natural Regions of the World — Question 8

The Equatorial region has a dense forest cover known as Tropical Rainforest. These forests are thick and luxuriant. The trees have broad leaves and are evergreen.

Location of rainforests — Rainforests are usually found in the equatorial region which extends between 0-10° north and south of Equator. The rainforests occupy low altitude areas near the Equator in South America especially in the Amazon Lowlands, Central and West Africa, in the Indo-Malay peninsula, and the New Guinea region.

Types of trees — The vegetation found in the tropical rainforests shows four distinct layers-

1. Emergent layer — It is at the edge of the forest and has trees like the kapok and mahogany which reach up to the height of over 50 metres.
2. Canopy layer — It is the top layer, formed by the crowns of trees which grow close together. The canopy blocks out sunshine and wind.
3. Understorey layer — Since the light is blocked by canopy, the plants in this layer, have larger leaves to maximise the light to be absorbed.
4. Bottom layer — The forest floor has ferns and shrubs as well as climbers.

The main trees of rainforests include ebony, mahogany, cinchona, green heart, rosewood and rubber.