These forests have been largely cleared for agriculture, timber or grazing, and many of the dry evergreen forests have been degraded to thorn scrub, savanna, or thickets. Several preserves have been established to protect some of Sri Lanka's remaining natural areas. The island has three biosphere reserves, Hurulu (established 1977), Sinharaja (established 1978), and Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya (KDN) (established 2004).
වර්ෂා වනාන්තර Rain Forests
A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall due to the Intertropical convergence zone. Some cite a minimum normal annual rainfall of 2500 mm (about 100 inches or 250 centimetres), with normal rainfall at least 60 mm during each of the twelve months of the year. Others set the minimum annual rainfall barrier as low as 1700 mm (about 67 inches). The soil can be poor because high rainfall tends to leach out soluble nutrients. This type of biome is found in both temperate and tropical climates. As well as prodigious rainfall, many rainforests are characterised by a high number of resident species and tremendous biodiversity.
Rain forests are home to two-thirds of all the living animal and plant species on the planet. It has been estimated that many hundreds of millions of new species of plants, insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered and have no names yet. Tropical rain forests are called the "jewel of the earth", the "Earth's lungs", and the "world's largest pharmacy" because the large amount of natural medicines discovered there.