Jungle vs Rainforest: Difference and Comparison

Earth is covered with approximately 30% of the landmass that can be distinguished into forests, landmasses, Greenland, jungles, etc.

Such places are present and located based on the different climates. And the presence of different vegetation, flora, and fauna is all based on the climatic conditions of these places.

Some are located near the equator, some in plains, and some in mountain regions. 

Key Takeaways

1. Jungles are dense, tangled forests with limited sunlight penetration, while rainforests have a layered structure with diverse plant and animal life.
2. Rainforests receive more annual rainfall than jungles, resulting in a wetter climate.
3. Both ecosystems are vital to Earth’s biodiversity and climate regulation, but rainforests are more extensive and ecologically complex.

Jungle vs Rainforest

A jungle is a dense forest with tangled vegetation that is commonly seen in tropical areas, they can be found in a wide range of climate zones. A rainforest is a form of jungle with substantial rain, high humidity, and a wide variety of plants and wildlife.

A jungle is commonly referred to as a place with lots of trees of large size and with, thick bark and huge foliage. Such places are rich in vegetation, flora, and fauna.

The canopy system is absent in the jungle. The common climate experienced is hot and humid with a certain amount of rainfall. 

Rainforest is expected to be experiencing a high amount of rainfall, causing dampness on the ground.

This is also because of the darkness experienced as due to the high canopies, sunlight is not possible to cross the path and reach the ground. Such areas are mainly found near the equator and are also said to be tropical or temperate.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Jungle	Rainforest
Definition	A place with tropical forest and thickly grown trees having to part between them	A place with densely covered trees large in size, heavy rainfall, dark and no wildfires
Climate	Rainfall and tropical	Temperate with high rainfall, humid, dark, damp
Size	Small	High
Vegetation	Moss, shrubs, thick and impenetrable trees, undergrowth plants, predatory plants	Thick and large trees
Canopy	Absent they are parted	High canopies even the sunlight is unable to reach to the ground floor
Appearance	Covered around rainforest	Densely located high trees surrounded by jungle
Animals location	On ground	On trees mainly
Flora and Fauna	Insects, wild animals, vines, shrubs, rodents	Mostly half the type of varieties are found in it

What is Jungle?

A jungle is defined as a place that is covered with tropical forest, with grown trees having parted ways to walk through sometimes. Such places are sometimes said to be a part of damaged or cleared large rainforests.

These places can be located near the area lying on the equator.

The climate of any jungle is tropical, and less amount of rainfall is observed. The temperature range of such areas lies in between from 20°-25° to 5°-10° and during the night, the fluctuation may reach up to 20° C.

One feature that is absent in a jungle is the presence of canopies.

The animals living in the jungle are mainly found on the ground floor. And the different flora and fauna expected in such places are – Insects, wild animals, vines, shrubs, and rodents.

The vegetation found includes – Moss, shrubs, thick and impenetrable trees, undergrowth plants, and predatory plants.

What is Rainforest?

Rainforest is defined as a place that is covered with temperate forest, dark area, high amount of rainfall causing dampness, high levels of humidity, and is densely located.

These are said to be surrounded by any jungles. The rainforests are found near the area located on the equator.

The climate of these places is hot and humid and has continuous deviation in temperature from approximately 20°-30° in the day, and at night it falls up to 5° to 10° C.

In such places, one could find different levels of canopies that do not enable the sunlight to cross the path from the sky to the ground floor, causing complete darkness.

The size of trees is very huge and tall, and even though they are densely located, having no spaces in between. The canopies present are the homes of many animals in the forest.

Scientists have found that such types of forests may have almost half the type of varieties of flora and fauna found on the Earth.

Main Differences Between Jungle and Rainforest

1. A jungle is defined as a place covered with tropical forest, thickly grown trees not much in height and has parted way through it while comparatively, on the other hand, a rainforest is defined as a place filled with large size thick trees, heavy rainfall, dark, humidity, and damp area. 
2. The climate found in a jungle is tropical with less amount of rainfall while comparatively, on the other hand, the climate found in a rainforest is likely to be temperate with a huge amount of rainfall, dampness, humidity, and darkness.
3. The size of the trees present in a jungle is small, while comparatively, on the other hand, the size of the trees in a rainforest is very large and dense.
4. The vegetation expected to be present in a jungle includes – Moss, shrubs, thick and impenetrable trees, undergrowth plants, and predatory plants, while comparatively, on the other hand, the vegetation is expected to be present in a rainforest includes – thick and large trees.
5. In a jungle, the canopy system is absent, while comparatively, on the other hand, in a rainforest, the canopies of the trees are very high, and due to this, even the sunlight is unable to cross the path. 
6. The appearance of a jungle is more likely to be surrounded by a forest while comparatively, on the other hand, the appearance of a rainforest seems to be surrounded by the jungle. 
7. The flora and fauna to be found in a jungle are as follows – Insects, wild animals, vines, shrubs, and rodents comparatively, on the other hand, the flora and fauna found in a rainforest mostly include half of the type of varieties found in the world.

References

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-6055.1994.tb00942.x
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1191/14744744004eu299oa
3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04755-y
4. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154876

Last Updated : 25 June, 2023