Why Is The Amazon Rainforest Important

Located in South America, the Amazon rainforest covers a span of about 3.5 million square miles in several different countries, making it the world's largest rainforest. Rainforests are characterized by the heavy rainfall they receive which is a minimum of six and a half feet a year. Also, they can either be tropical or temperate, and they are found on nearly every continent, not including Antarctica. They are also composed of several vertical layers. The canopy, the uppermost layer, is the “tops of the mature trees” about 200 feet up, and these trees block out much of the sunlight from the layers beneath the canopy. The understory, the space beneath the canopy, is made up of the younger trees and the plants and animals that thrive here. Also, due to the lack of sunlight, there are very few plants that can survive here which leaves the floor to be “quite open”. Now, that you have a better understanding on the Amazon rainforest, it's time to understand why this rainforest is so important.
To begin off, the Amazon is the most biodiverse area on the planet. The species that thrive here include “30 million species of insects, 500 different mammals and almost that many reptiles, and one-fifth of all the world's bird species”. However, let's not forget about the plant life. In a two-and-a-half-acre plot, researches discovered more than 500 species of trees. Plus, there are still more species to be discovered since research has only just begun. Secondly, due to the large amount of vegetation, it has been estimated that 20% of earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rain forest. This has given the Amazon rainforest it's nickname as the “lungs of our planet”. Third, some plants may contain a substance which can be used to cure a disease. Despite what the Amazon has to offer, they're being destroyed every