Much of the life in the rainforest

Compared to temperate forests, an unusually high percentage of life in the rainforest is found in the trees. Much of this is concentrated in the layers created well above the forest floor by the overlapping branches and leaves of rainforest trees. The conditions of the canopy are strikingly different from those on the forest floor, meaning there are orders of magnitude more ecological niches for species to inhabit. For example, many animals typically thought of as ground-dwelling are arboreal in the rainforest, including salamanders, anteaters, and even crabs.

When plants grow they sequester atmospheric carbon in their tissues via the process of photosynthesis. Because rainforests are full of large trees and other plants, they store massive amounts of carbon. But when they are burned or chopped down, much of that carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide, methane, and other nitrogen oxides). The clearing and burning of tropical forests and peatlandsaccounts for about ten percent of greenhouse gases from human activities.

Virtually all deforestation is The biggest drivers of deforestation are agriculture — both industrial and subsistence — and cattle ranching. Much of this production is not consumed locally — instead it is sent to cities or overseas. That means consumers who may live far away from rainforests are usually at least partly responsible for the destruction of these beautiful and important landscapes.