Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3.1 Comparison of Major Rainforest Regions
N
EW
G
UINEA
AND
A
USTRALIA
N
EOTROPICS
A
FRICA
M
ADAGASCAR
A
SIA
Geographic
area
Central
America,
Amazon
River
Basin
West Africa,
Congo
River
Basin
Eastern
Coastal
forest
Malay
Peninsula
and islands
Large
continental
island
Annual rainfall
in (mm)
80-120 in
(2,000-
3,000 mm)
60-100 in
(1,500-
2,500 mm)
80-120 in
(2,000-
3,000 mm)
>80-120 in
(2,000-
3,000 mm)
>80-120 in
(2,000-
3,000 mm)
Largest country
Brazil
Democratic
Republic
of Congo
Malagasy
Republic
Indonesia
Papua New
Guinea
Distinctive plant
characteristics
Bromeliads,
large tree
diversity
Monodomi-
nant
stands, less
tree
diversity
Low fruit
abundance
Dipterocarps
dominate,
multiyear
interval
mass
fruiting
Primitive
conifers,
dipterocarps
Canopy height
100-165 ft
(30-50 m)
80-150 ft
(24-45 m)
80-100 ft
(24-30 m)
100-165 ft
(30-50 m)
with 230 ft
(70 m)
emergents
80-150 ft
(24-45 m)
Distinctive
animals
Small
primates,
large bird
diversity
Ground-
dwelling
mammals,
large
primates
Lemurs,
tenrecs,
fossa
Orangutans,
gliding ani-
mals, fly-
ing
squirrels
Marsupials,
mono-
tremes, birds
with elabo-
rate mating
displays,
cassowaries
1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than 1,000 mi (1,610 km), and two (the
Negro and the Madeira) are larger than the Congo River in Africa in terms of vol-
ume. The Orinoco River is the second longest tropical river in South America and
flows through Colombia and Venezuela and into the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical rain-
forests occur throughout its basin.
The Neotropical rainforest includes 45 percent of the total Tropical Rainforest
Biome of the world. An estimated 1.08 million mi
2
(281.2 million ha) of these trop-
ical forests remain. Underlying a large part of this area is one of the oldest rock for-
mations in the world, the Precambrian shield. In the Neotropics, it is represented
