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Definition: rainforest from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 dense forest found in tropical areas of heavy rainfall. The trees are broad-leaved and evergreen, and the vegetation tends to grow in three layers (undergrowth, intermediate trees and shrubs, and very tall trees, which form a canopy) Also called: selva


rainforest

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Dense forest usually found on or near the Equator where the climate is hot and wet. There are two types of rainforest, tropical and temperate, although the former are much more common. Moist air brought by the converging trade winds rises because of the heat and produces heavy rainfall. More than half the tropical rainforests are in Central and South America, primarily the lower Amazon and the coasts of Ecuador and Columbia. The rest are in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, and New Guinea) and in West Africa and the Congo. Temperate rainforests are found in temperate regions such as western North America, southern Chile, Norway, and New Zealand. It is estimated that around 50% of the plants and animals on Earth live in rainforests. Tropical rainforests once covered 10% of the Earth's land surface, but are now being destroyed at an increasing rate as their valuable timber is harvested and the land cleared for agriculture, causing problems of deforestation and climate change . By…
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Full text Article rainforest

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Dense forest of tall trees that grows in hot, wet regions near the Equator. The main rainforests are in Africa, central and S America, and SE Asia. They comprise 50% of the timber growing on Earth, and house 40% of the world's animal and plant species. There are many species of broad-leaved…
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Full text Article rainforest

From The Macquarie Dictionary
moist, closed, evergreen forest with a high annual rainfall found in tropical and temperate areas and characterised by soft-leaved trees and multiple crown layers supporting a wide variety of plant and animal life. Plural: rainforests such a forest. Plural: rainforests Three main types of rainforest…
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Full text Article rainforest

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Dense forest usually found on or near the Equator where the climate is hot and wet. There are two types of rainforest, tropical and temperate, although the former are much more common. Moist air brought by the converging trade winds rises because of the heat and produces heavy rainfall. More than…
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Full text Article rainforest

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Lush forest , generally composed of tall, broad-leaved trees and usually found in wet tropical regions around the Equator. Despite increased awareness of the rainforests’ importance during the late 20th century, they continue to be cleared. Rainforests grow mainly in South and Central America, West…
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Full text Article temperate rainforest

From The Macquarie Dictionary
a coniferous or broadleaf forest occurring in coastal mountains with high rainfall, as in the south-east of the Australian mainland and Tasmania. See Also: cool temperate rainforest warm temperate rainforest Compare: tropical rainforest Temperate rainforest in Australia is found chiefly in NSW, …
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Temperate rainforest temperature versus...
Abstract Temperate rainforests occur in just ten regions of the world that collectively make up ~ 2.5% of the world's forests. Disjunctly distributed in middle and high latitudes, these rainforests are characterized by cool to mild maritime climates, wet summers, and mild winters. All of them are…
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Full text Article Ecosystems: Tropical Rainforests

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Introduction Tropical rainforests are among the world's most luxuriant ecosystems. However, they are also one of the world's most threatened environments. Tropical rainforests are found in hot wet tropical areas, close to the Equator. Hence, they are sometimes called equatorial rainforests . …
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a number of rainforest areas on the eastern coast of Australia, from the Central Coast of NSW to southern Qld, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986; comprises many national parks, including: Barrington Tops, Dorrigo, Lamington, Border Ranges, Nightcap, Gibraltar Range, and Werrikimbe. …
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Full text Article Rainforest Alliance Certification

From The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility
→ Labelling www.rainforest-alliance.org Rainforest Alliance Certification is a → conservation tool based on independent → auditing and → labelling , whereby a third party awards a mark of approval showing consumers that the manufacture of products conforms to a specific set of criteria balancing…
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Few places on Earth contain so many plants and...
Australia Criteria - Major stages of Earth’s history; Significant ecological and biological processes; Significant natural habitat for biodiversity This site, comprising approximately forty separate reserves, is situated predominantly along the Great Escarpment on Australia’s east coast. The…
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