EQUATORIAL or TROPICAL RAINFORESTS are found in the equitorial zone 10 degrees either side of the Equator. Although Tropical Rainforests only cover some 12% of the total land surface of the globe, they contain at least 50% of all the species on Earth. 90% of the world's non-human primates are found only in Tropical Rainforests, along with two-thirds of all known plants, 40% of birds of prey and 80% of the world's insects. There are more species of plants and animals in Tropical Rainforests than in all the rest of the world's ecosystems combined.

The largest Tropical Rainforests are located in the Amazon Basin in South America, in Southern Asia and in the Congo Basin in Africa. An estimated 50 million tribal people out of the world's total 300 million indigenous and tribal peoples live within the world's Tropical Rainforests.

SUBTROPICAL RAINFORESTS occupy windward coasts within a range of 10 degrees north and south of the Equator and sometimes further. They are found in Central America, the West Indies, the south-west coast of India, coastal Myanmar (Burma), South-east Asia, the coast of Brazil and the eastern coast of Madagascar. As distance from the Equator increases, so does the temperature range and there are less varieties of plants.

MONSOON RAINFORESTS are found at elevations below 1000 metres and occur where there are cycles of wet and dry seasons. These forests have well-drained soils, dense and rich undergrowth and after seasonal droughts, become flammable.

MONTANE RAINFORESTS are sometimes called CLOUD FORESTS and become established on tropical mountains (1000 - 3000 metres).

MANGROVE FORESTS often border Tropical and Sub-Tropical Rainforests and their plants are highly adapted to tidal flooding and boggy soils.

The word JUNGLE is derived from the Hindi "jangal", meaning a wild, rough or waterless place, but the English term has come to mean thick, impenetrable rainforest vegetation.