Describe any five features of tropical evergreen forest? 5 mark question
Answers
Found in the Tropics (23.5° N - 23.5° S) hence called Tropical.
Evergreen, means that they do not shed leaves seasonally like Deciduous trees that they are always green. They occupy about seven per cent of the earth's land surface and habours more than half of the world’s plants and animals. They are also Called as “Selvas”
1. Stratification: See, they are found in the region where the factors accelerating growth in a forest are in abundance, Moisture and Sunshine. So they grow dense, but then the rays of the Sun can not penetrate the canopy, so they grow tall, that is why the tress are tall and dense, and stratified(since there is competition)
2.Rainfall and Temperature:
Rainfall is high and so is the temperature.Take a look at this graph. It is due to the geographical location. It receives max Isolation that results into high rate of evapo-transpiration resulting into condensation and eventually precipitation.Biodiversity:
3.The tropical rain forest are very Bio diverse due to the factors discussed above, they have some great diversity of Orchids, Birds, mammals and plants. They have high Species richness.
4.Nutrient Cycling and Soil:
The rain forest nutrient cycling is rapid. The hot, damp conditions on the forest floor allow for the rapid decomposition of dead plant material. This provides plentiful nutrients that are easily absorbed by plant roots. However, as these nutrients are in high demand from the rain forest's many fast-growing plants, they do not remain in the soil for long and stay close to the surface of the soil. If vegetation is removed, the soils quickly become infertile and vulnerable to erosion. If the rain forest is cleared for agriculture it will not make very good farmland, as the soil will not be rich in nutrients.
5.Misc.
Around 40% to 75% of all biotic species are indigenous to the rainforests. It has been estimated that there may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms still undiscovered in tropical rainforests. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there. Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world's oxygen turnover, sometimes misnamed oxygen production,processing it through photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and consuming it through respiration.