Here are some quite astonishing statistics relating to tropical rain forests:

1. It is known that the world's rain forests are home to at least fifty per cent of all species, and it is further speculated that they could house up to ninety per cent
2. A square metre of rain forest can support between 45 and 80 kg of living material or biomass, far more than any other biome
3. A square metre of rain forest can produce up to 3.5 kg of biomass per year
4. A square metre of rain forest can produce up to 15 billion tonnes of carbon, one of the most important ingredients of all known life, per year, as opposed to deserts, which produce only around 0.6 billion tonnes
5. One hectare of rain forest may contain 200 species of tree, and over 40,000 species of insect
6. Over 600 new species of beetle have been discovered in studies of a single species of tree
7. Despite the fact that rain forests cover less than ten per cent of the earth, they support a third of its plant matter
8. Although not as rich in species as their Asian or Amazonian counterparts, African rain forests contain more than half of that continent's animal and plant species, even though they cover less than seven per cent of its total land area
9. Trees in tropical rain forests can grow to enormous heights, sometimes reaching up to 60 m (200 ft)