NEETBotanyBiodiversity and its Conservation
How many species of vascular plants are found in a tropical region forest compared to a temperate region forest of equal area?
Options
- A5 times as many
- B10 times as many
- CEqual number of species
- DLess number of species
Correct answer
B. 10 times as many
Step-by-step solution
A forest in a tropical region like Equador has up to 10 times as many species of vascular plants as a forest of equal area in a temperate region like the Midwest of the USA. The largely tropical Amazonian rain forest in South America has the greatest biodiversity on earth- it is home to more than 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 of fishes, 1,300 of birds, 427 of mammals, 427 of amphibians, 378 of reptiles and of more than 1,25,000 invertebrates. Scientists estimate that in these rain forests there might be at least