Modern Climate

 Rainforest Eco-systems and their importance   Tropical rainforests are thought to contain over half of the worlds plant and animal species (Cotgreave et al 2002), and have the “greatest richness and diversity of species” (Adam 1998) of all terrestrial biomes.    Over 900 bird species, 33% of the threatened lowland mammal species and 22% of highland mammal species are all from tropical biomes (Dudley et al 2007).  A significant percentage of the worlds threatened species are from tropical forest regions (Dudley et al 2007). The importance of forests and its relationship with soil and water processes have been known for hundreds of years (Dudley et al 2007). Soil erosion and flooding instigated attempts at reforestation in the Alps and within Scandinavia in the 19 th century (Dudley et al).  Dudley et al (2007) report the importance of forests on ecological support systems, and their direct effect on human populations both on a global and