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Tasmania, China, southern Japan, on the Pacific coast of North America, and in parts of the southeastern United States. These temperate rainforests differ in several important ways from the tropical forests. They have a wider range of soils, but fewer tree species. The decomposition of dead plant and animal material is slower in the cooler climate, so the forest floor is thick with leaf litter and humus . The tropical rainforests lie in a wide belt stretching around the Equator. They cover four major areas: the tropics of Central and South America; Central Africa; Southeast Asia, from India through Malaysia and Thailand to the Philippines and Indonesia; and northeastern Australia and the neighboring island of New Guinea. Types of Rainforest Scientists divide the world’s tropical rainforests into many dif- ferent varieties. Primary lowland forest—the cathedral type— is generally found at altitudes below 3,300 feet (1,000 meters). It has the widest range of different plant and animal species, and the tallest trees. Often the canopy may be more than 165 feet (50 m) above ground level. Some giant trees grow even higher; the tallest broadleaf tree ever recorded was a species found in lowland forest in Sarawak (part of Malaysia) that measured 272 feet (83 m). By comparison, the world’s tallest tree, a Californian redwood, is 368 feet (112 m) tall. Montane forest begins at altitudes of 3,300 to 4,900 feet (1,000 to 1,500 m). Because of the extra height above sea level, temperatures are cooler, and the moisture in the air frequently turns to mist, obscuring the sun’s rays. The trees are shorter,

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Rainforests