Tropical rain forests are the most diverse biomes.?

Question

Tropical rain forests are the most diverse biomes. What physical and chemical factors contribute to this diversity?

Answer 1

heat and moisture are the physical factors there are no chemical factors specific to the rain forest ( which in South America is on poor soil and in other areas very rich soil ) the diversity of plant life contributes to the diversity of animal life ( year round variable food supply ) the heat/moisture combo is the key - note that we have a rain forest here ( Olympic Mountains ) but it is too cool for the bio-diversity of a tropical rain forest ( more than the surrounding less wet areas tho ) ALSO you could use the high decay rate as a factor to separate the two rain forest but this is temp related not chemical and the food supply is very important ( which is why colder waters are the most prolific yet not all that bio diverse - lacking coral reefs and the other tropical food sources )

Answer 2

Since most bioavailable energy in our biosphere ultimately comes from the sunlight (via photosynthesis) and since sunlight is most intense around the equator, simply stated, one would expect more life in the tropics.