- The temperate rainforest is a dense carbon store - but it could be more endangered than the tropical rainforest.
- As well as helping with the development of medicines, rainforest fauna and flora have inspired products from tape to shoe soles.
- Rapid nutrient cycling means rainforest soils are often very poor and not suitable for agriculture.
They are the world’s oldest and most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems. They are home to some of the world’s oldest and largest trees. The world’s longest river and largest drainage basin flows right through them.
But if those often-repeated nuggets aren’t enough to convince you of their importance, here’s five more rainforest facts you may not have heard.
5 things you didn’t know about rainforests