6 Largest Forests You Must Know About In The World

Forests are known as the ‘lungs’ of the planet. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the environment for photosynthesis and emit oxygen—making them planet-saving heroes. Not to mention an integral factor for human survival. Besides providing oxygen, forests all around the world are also important to help maintain the earth’s ecosystem. They mitigate climate change, encourage the growth of flora and fauna while serving as timeless reminders of how beautiful our planet can be.

According to the UN report ‘The State Of World’s Forests 2020’, forests cover 31 per cent of the global land area. The report also highlights that while the total forest area is 4.06 billion hectares, forests are not equally distributed around the globe. In recent years, with the spread of human civilization, several square miles of forest have fallen to deforestation. Forest degradation continues at an alarming rate, which further contributes significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity and climate change. Here’s a list of the largest forests in the world, standing strong as some of the last slices of true wilderness left in our modern world. Come and explore how each of them is impressively diverse.

# Amazon Rainforest, South America

The undisputed leader amongst the largest forests in the world, the Amazon rainforest spreads across much of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. With its incredible 55,00,000 square kilometres (21,23,561 square miles), it is not only the biggest forest in terms of area, it is also home to one in ten species existing on the planet. The Amazon rainforest is the most biodiverse and largest rainforest in the world, and has the largest range of wildlife and plants. Sadly it is smaller than it used to be, and has already lost 20 percent of its original population of flora and fauna. In recent years, these forests have suffered and is still suffering from ongoing deforestation, mismanagement and degradation. The world’s largest rainforest is an impressive one, millions of years old and is a treasure trove of plants and wildlife, home many species such as the monkey brush vine, piranhas, and dart poison frog, amongst others.

# Kinabalu National Park, Asia

Encompassing roughly 754 square kilometres (291 square miles), Kinabalu National Park is located on the northern part of the island of Borneo. Kinabalu National Park was Malaysia’s first national park and surrounds its namesake mountain (Mount Kinabalu), which is the world’s youngest non-volcanic mountain. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park’s habitats vary from lowlands in the tropics and hill rainforest to subalpine forest. The Kinabalu National Park boasts an extremely diverse and distinctive collection of plants, trees and animals. Home to over 1,000 species of orchids, the Kinabalu National Park is considered one of the most important biological sites in the world.

# Daintree Forest, Australia

The Daintree Rainforest covers about 1,200 square kilometres (463 square miles), making it one of the largest forests in the world. Located in North Queensland Australia, it is the biggest continuous forest in Australia. Continuous Forests are sustainable ways to manage a forest region; such forests are created through selection and harvesting of individual trees. The irregular structure of these forests makes them hardy and ensures they are maintained sustainably. The Daintree forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is believed to have survived for over 100 million years. Also Australia’s oldest forest, these forests blanket the northeast corner of Australia and shades the coastline of the Daintree river. As far as wildlife goes, around 90 per cent of the world’s butterfly and bat species can be found here, along with a large percentage of Australia’s unique indigenous reptiles and birds. The forest is named after the famous geologist and photographer Richard Daintree, and it also borders another UNESCO site, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

# Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, South America

With an area of 248,100 square kilometres (95,792 square miles), the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest is a temperate rainforest in the southern part of South America. This forest is situated between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific coast, extending over two countries—Chile and Argentina. Also known as one of the youngest and largest forests in the world, the Valdivian Temperate Rain Forest takes its name from the city Valdivia. The forest is considered a bio-geographic island and features unbroken swathes of conifer and deciduous trees with dense underbrush of lush ferns and thickets of bamboo. Only formed 17,000 years ago, the landscape of this forest is very diverse—full of national parks, beaches, rivers, lakes, islands, and hiking trails—all of which provide much-needed cover for a multitude of wildlife including delicate animals such as the smallest deer species Pudu, the smallest wild cat Kodkod, and many ecosystems.

# Congo Rainforest, Africa

Covering a gigantic 2,023,428 square kilometres (7,81,250 square miles), the Congo rainforest is part of the Congo Basin in Africa. The Basin itself covers 500 million acres, and it is larger than the state of Alaska. The Congo rainforest spans six countries—Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Known as the world’s second-biggest tropical rainforest (after the Amazon), the Congo Rainforest is home to a diverse array of wildlife species, including elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, rhinos, and more species that are beloved around the world, but increasingly endangered. Widely considered to be the planet’s “second lung” (after the Amazon), this tropical forest is considered to be one of the most important ecological balancers.

# Rainforest Of Xishuangbanna, Asia

Situated in the Yunnan province in Southern China, Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest roughly covers about 2,402 square kilometres (927 square miles). This high altitude tropical rainforest has a rare forest ecosystem that includes plenty of virgin forest and wildlife. It was recognised as a UNESCO International Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Its vast expanse is so diverse that it is divided into many subtypes and contains no less than eight distinct types of biological areas. More than 3,500 types of flora have been scientifically documented in the forest region here, and it has more than 50 rare plant species along with wildlife including many endangered animal species such as Asian elephants, Indo-Chinese tigers, and gibbons.