Ever wondered where the biggest forests on Earth are? – By Dylan Minikula
Source : Dylan Minikula LinkedIn
I recently looked into it out of pure curiosity. The size, the species, the scale—it’s crazy. Here’s a quick breakdown of the top 3:
1. Amazon Rainforest – South America
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Covers about 5.5 million km² across 9 countries. It’s wild.
40,000+ plant species
Over 2.5 million insect species
1,300+ birds, 400+ mammals, 800+ reptiles and amphibians
Common names: jaguars, macaws, sloths, caimans, giant river otters
But here’s the reality:
A big chunk is being cleared—mainly for cattle ranching and soy plantations. Illegal logging is still a huge issue. Forest loss is changing rainfall patterns and putting pressure on species that depend on dense, connected forest.
2. Congo Basin – Central Africa
Second largest rainforest on Earth. Seriously underrated.
10,000+ plant species — 30% found nowhere else
400+ mammals: gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants
1,000+ bird species, 700+ fish, plus many reptiles & amphibians
Also home to the okapi—half giraffe, half zebra vibes.
What’s happening here:
Logging (often illegal) is breaking up forest areas. Roads built for logging open up space for poaching and land grabs. Mining’s another growing issue. The forest is still absorbing CO₂—but not as much as before.
3. Taiga (Boreal Forest) – Russia, Canada, Scandinavia
Largest continuous forest on the planet.
Dominated by conifers: spruce, fir, pine
Home to moose, reindeer, wolves, brown bears, lynx
Covered in mosses, fungi, lichens, and cold-weather plants
Current threats:
Clear-cutting, oil and gas development, and wildfires (which are now worse due to climate change). Warming temperatures are shifting species ranges and increasing pest outbreaks, especially bark beetles.
Each forest is home to a ridiculous amount of life. But all of them are under some kind of stress—whether from human activity or climate shifts.
These aren’t just “big forests far away.” They regulate rainfall, store carbon, support food and water systems—and when they suffer, we feel it.
