Final answer:
Tropical rainforests thrive in regions with the most direct sunlight due to ideal climate conditions; they are vibrant ecosystems with year-round plant growth, immense biodiversity, and distinct habitat layers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The regions of the world that receive the most direct sunlight are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This area is favorable to plant and animal life due to the ideal amounts of sunlight and precipitation, leading to the formation of tropical rainforests.
These forests experience high net primary productivity, with temperatures ranging from 20°C to 34°C and consistent rainfall, which can be as much as 22,500 mm during monsoon seasons. The biodiversity in these rainforests is immense, containing 50 percent of the Earth's biodiversity and encompassing species across distinct habitat layers, from the forest floor to the upper canopy.
The plant growth is continuous year-round thanks to the lack of temperature variability and consistent daily sunlight, promoting the development of diverse plant, fungi, and animal species.
However, these forests face threats from human activities such as logging, cattle production, and agriculture, which result in deforestation. The soils in tropical rainforests are typically low in nutrients due to the high rainfall that quickly leaches them away.
This has led to unique adaptations among the plant species, like the epiphytes which grow high in the canopy to maximize sunlight capture and include the ability to store water efficiently.