An area located near the equator worldwide, covering seven percent of the earth's surface, characterized by high precipitation, absent or short dry season, high tree and vegetative growth rates, high humidity, high photosynthetic rates and extreme biodiversity. The equatorial rain forests produce much of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere and absorbs large quantities of carbon dioxide from the air. (See deforestation.) [The Quarterly Review of Biology; v68, 560; 1993.] [The Journal of Tropical Ecology; v9, 364; 1993.]