Top 10 Largest Natural Forests in the World- Hit List

The only way to incorporate all the basic elements for life back into the ecosystem are trees forming thick forests. These forests are valuable assets of the earth’s biosphere. They help in maintaining the weather patterns, rainfalls, floods control and keep the fertility of soil intact.

Forests are in fact pivotal to life on this planet. It serves as a home to millions of living species and provides them shelter in various different ways. Forests play another significant role in minimizing the effects of pollution and refreshing the air with pure oxygen.

Unfortunately, though they are one of the great blessings that Mother Nature has bestowed us yet Mankind is seen exploiting and destructing a sizeable proportion of these forests.

There was a time when vast stretches of land were covered forests, but now most of them have become the victim of excessive deforestation carried out by man. There are fewer countries left that still have preserved some of them while others are losing them for good at a rapid rate.

In other words, existing natural forests bear great significance in this age ultra-tech age and they should keep preserved for the wellbeing of our planet. We will discuss the top 10 largest natural forests in the world.

LIST OF POPULAR TOP 10 LARGEST NATURAL FORESTS IN THE WORLD

Following are the largest natural forests existing on the face of the earth, these forests are located in several different regions and serve as the major source of many natural resources for us. Let’s discuss the list of the top 10 largest natural forests in the world.

10. SINHA RAJA FORESTS, SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is an island situated in the Indian Ocean, South of India. Owing to its geographical position, it has significant numbers of rainforests most of them are located in lowland wet zone. Sinha raja rainforest of Srilanka is the largest rainforest in the country.

It covers an area of 88.64 square kilometers. The name comes from two words, “Sinha” meaning lion and “raja” meaning King, which means Lion, king. In 1978 was declared to be a biosphere reserve by UNESCO as it is a shelter for many species of plants, insects, birds, and animals that are rarely found on the planet.

9. VALDIVIAN TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST

Valdivian is in the ninth position in the list of top 10 largest natural forests. It is another rainforest located in the temperate zone of America. It is so immense in size that it starts from the southern region of America then extends through Chile and reaches some regions of Argentina.

The total area covered by this is approximated to be 248,100 square kilometers. A diversity of life forms exists in this forest, from ferns to bamboos, conifers, and a variety of angiosperms. This forest also shares narrow coastal strips.

The existence of species living in is threatened by endemism. The cultivation of exotic plants into the forest is destabilizing the natural ecosystem of the forest.

8. EMAS NATIONAL PARK AND CHAPADA DOS VEADEIROS, BRAZIL

Brazil is a country blessed with sheer natural beauty and a variety of landscapes. It is also home to one of the largest tropical forests in the world, Emas National Park. It was previously named Chapada Dos Veadeiros named after an ancient plateau.

The forest was later turned into a UNESCO World Heritage site to preserve the diverse range of flora, fauna, and wildlife. Many rare species of maned wolves, jaguar, armadillos, anteater, and pampas deer are inhabiting the forest. The park covers an area of 1320 square kilometers.

7. THE MONTEVERADE FOREST, COSTA RICA

The next biggest forest is located in Costa Rica. It is located in the beautiful city of Monteverde. This forest is also popularly known as the Cloud forest of an area and attracts many tourists to this site.

Many biologists and naturalists take a certain interest in studying the diverse species of animals living in the forest these, in particular, include, 100 different species of mammals, 30 species of hummingbird, and above 403 species of other birds. Plants of this forest also bear great importance for the extreme diversities.

6. KINABALU NATIONAL PARK

Kinabalu National park is located in Malaysia and it was the first-ever national part in the history of Malaysia. It is the sixth biggest in the list of top 10 largest natural forests in the world. It was established in 1964 and in 2000 was later declared as the UNESCO world heritage site.

The park covers an area of 754 square kilometers and it surrounds the Mount of Kinabalu, hence named after it. The park is blessed with more than 4000 species of plants and animals. A major amount of the species living in the forest is all endemic.

5. ECUADOR CLOUD FOREST:

Ecuador is famous for its cloud forest. The forest is so thick and dense that it is always covered with fog and clouds that keep hovering over the canopy of the trees of the forest. It is one of the largest rainforests of the region and is home to 17% of the total plant species of the world.

20 percent of the total bird species also inhabit the same place. In terms of diversity in the aviary, it is therefore ranked fourth on the list. The forest is now, however, being subjected to increasing deforestation, which is threatening not only those birds but also to many species of bear, Jaguar, Howler monkeys, sloth, and puma living in it.

4. DAINTREE, AUSTRALIA

Australia also shows the diversity of landforms and is a ground of many forests. The largest of them all is located in the northeast of Queensland. It is the oldest rainforest in the country which has a history of 135 million years. The area covered by the forest is estimated to be 2600 square kilometers.

It is at 4th number in the list of top 10 largest natural forests in the world. The forest is named after the great Australian geologist and photographer called Richard Daintree.

In 1988 it was also declared as the World Heritage site. It has been providing a home to many rare species of animals like Bennett’s tree kangaroos and Southern Cassowary. Other than these there are exotic species of Australian reptiles and frogs.

3. CONGO RAIN FOREST

You must have heard about this forest, many times before. Or even witnessed seeing it in some Hollywood movies. Congo is the largest forest located near the longest river was known, the Congo River. It is placed at 3rd number in the list of top 10 largest natural forests.

This forest is covering 70% of the entire area of Africa. But it has recently started shrinking because of the deforestation being carried out. Many of the species living in the forest are now endangered because of the excessive hunting and poaching by the natives and foreigners. Rare species of pygmy chimpanzee are only found in this forest.

2. TAIGA

Taiga is 2nd in the list of the top 10 largest natural forests in the world. Taiga is the largest known coniferous forest located throughout the Northern latitudes. It is also known as the Boreal Forests.

35% of the total trees in the world are present in the taiga forest. Think about the possible diversity of flora and fauna inhabiting the land. As the forest is located under the tundra biome hence it receives sunlight for a month only, a seed takes 50years to grow into the sapling.

Still, the forest has increased in such a size that it covers the 29% of the total forest area of the world.

1. THE AMAZON FORESTS

The great Amazon is the king of all the forests in the world, it is the largest ever rainforest. Even if we combine all the rainforests in the world it would still not parallel the size of the Amazon. The forest is covering the area of eight different countries which amounts to a total of 5.5 million square kilometers.

Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Guyana, Peru, and Surinam are the countries sharing the stretches of amazon. Amazon alone is responsible for producing 80% oxygen of the world. Within the forest there flows one of the largest rivers of the world, the Amazon River.