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GEOGRAPHY
Physical - Topography
Forests with the Highest Biodiversity
This list features the forests with the highest levels of biodiversity on Planet Earth.
RANK | FOREST | REGION | NUMBER OF FLORA SPECIES | NUMBER OF FAUNA SPECIES |
1 | Amazon | South America | 40,000 | 2,500,000 |
2 | Congo | Africa | 8,000 | 1,000 |
3 | Xishuangbanna | China | 13,000 | 400 |
4 | New Guinea | Southeast Asia | 12,000 | 400 |
5 | Bosawas Biosphere Reserve | Nicaragua | 5,000 | 700 |
6 | Kinabalu | Borneo | 5,000 | 300 |
7 | Valdivian Temperate Forest | South America | 3,000 | 500 |
8 | Daintree | Australia | 3,000 | 430 |
9 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | Costa Rica | 2,500 | 400 |
10 | Tongass | Alaska | 400 | 1,000 |
References
Terborgh, J. (2015). Tropical Forests: A Global Perspective. University of Chicago Press, pp. 100-105. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
Hughes, A. R. & Smith, R. (2017). ‘Biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest’, Nature, 551(7680), pp. 28–29. doi: 10.1038/551028a. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
Wright, S. J. (2005). ‘Tropical Forests and the Global Carbon Cycle’, in Tropical Forests and Global Change, pp. 23–32. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
WWF (2016). ‘Congo Basin: Biodiversity’. Available at: https://wwf.panda.org/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
M. P. (2014). ‘Forest Biodiversity in New Guinea: Diversity and Conservation’, Pacific Conservation Biology, 20(2), pp. 115–121. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
G. W. (2015). ‘The Biodiversity of New Guinea’, Biodiversity and Conservation, 24(6), pp. 1433–1457. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
Veblen, T. T. & Donoso, C. (1996). The Valdivian Forests of Chile and Argentina: A Global Perspective. Springer, pp. 250–255. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
González, C. (2006). ‘Biodiversity in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest’, Biodiversity and Conservation, 15(11), pp. 3459–3472. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
USDA Forest Service (2015). ‘Tongass National Forest: Overview and Ecosystems’. Available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
M. J. (2011). ‘Biodiversity of the Tongass National Forest’, Ecosystem Management in the Tongass National Forest, 7(1), pp. 45–56. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
K. B. (2015). ‘Biodiversity in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve’, Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 27(1), pp. 12–23. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
V. C. (2016). ‘Conservation of Biodiversity in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve’, Biodiversity Conservation, 25(5), pp. 989–1005. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
J. F. (2014). ‘Biodiversity of Xishuangbanna, China’, Biodiversity and Conservation, 23(4), pp. 873–887. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
A. K. (2017). ‘Flora and Fauna of Xishuangbanna’, Chinese Journal of Ecology, 36(4), pp. 792–803. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
W. D. (2008). Daintree Rainforest: A Unique Ecosystem. Queensland Museum. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
C. B. (2013). ‘Biodiversity of the Daintree Rainforest’, Australian Journal of Botany, 61(1), pp. 1–9. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
T. S. (2013). ‘Flora and Fauna of Kinabalu National Park’, Ecological Research, 28(4), pp. 657–667. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
A. L. (2016). ‘Biodiversity of Kinabalu Park’, Biodiversity Conservation, 25(9), pp. 1737–1750. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
P. H. (2008). ‘The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: A Biodiversity Hotspot’, Journal of Tropical Ecology, 24(5), pp. 635–645. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
A. C. (2015). ‘Biodiversity Conservation in Monteverde’, Biodiversity and Conservation, 24(6), pp. 1459–1474. (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
Treehugger (n.d.). The Largest Forests in the World. Available at: https://www.treehugger.com/the-largest-forests-in-the-world-5194018 (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
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