One ecosystem has been called the lungs of the Earth.
Look at these pictures.
This is a tropical rainforest.
There are tropical rainforests in many parts of the world.
They are called the lungs of the Earth because rainforest trees make most of the oxygen that we breathe.
The rainforests of South America contain the most number of plants and animal types on Earth.
Nowhere else can you find so many different plants and animals in one place!
The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is the world’s biggest rainforest.
There are about 390 billion trees in the Amazon rainforest.
There are also about 1,300 types of birds, 2,200 types of fish and 2.5 million types of insects!
Sadly, the number of trees and animals in the Amazon rainforest and other rainforests is getting smaller very quickly.
We are cutting down trees in rainforests all around the world.
Without rainforests, we would lose not only all the plants and animals inside, but also all the oxygen the trees make.
We need rainforests.
Exercise
Please open the exercise to continue.