Rainforests of Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests are one of its most famous ecosystems. As the name suggests, a rainforest is composed of tall and evergreen trees that see frequent rainfall (in Costa Rica, that’s generally 80-260 inches per year). These fascinating ecosystems have the highest biodiversity rate in the world, housing more than half the planet’s flora and fauna but covering only 6% of its surface.

Rainforests are also the oldest living ecosystem on the planet. Some of them have been the same for at least 70 million years! Always humid, rainforests produce about 75% of their own rain through evaporation and condensation. The way rainforests work is that they are stratified into four distinct layers from bottom to top. You’ve got the forest floor, the understory, the canopy, and the emergent layers. Each has unique characteristics, receiving different levels of sunlight, water, and even fresh air.