TSMF is generally found in large, discontinuous patches centered on the equatorial belt and between theTropic of Cancer andTropic of Capricorn. TSMF are characterized by low variability in annual temperature and high levels of rainfall of more than 2,000 mm (79 in) annually. Forest composition is dominated byevergreen andsemi-deciduous tree species.[1]
These forests are home tomore species than any other terrestrialecosystem on Earth: Half of the world's species may live in these forests, where a square kilometer may be home to more than 1,000 tree species. These forests are found around the world, particularly in theIndo-Malayan Archipelago, theAmazon Basin, and the AfricanCongo Basin.[1]
The perpetually warm, wet climate makes these environments more productive than any other terrestrial environment on Earth and promotes explosive plant growth.[2] A tree here may grow over 23 m (75 ft) in height in just 5 years. From above, the forest appears as an unending sea of green, broken only by occasional, taller "emergent" trees. These towering emergents are the realm ofhornbills,toucans, and theharpy eagle.[1]
Generally,biodiversity is highest in the forest canopy. The canopy can be divided into five layers:overstory canopy with emergentcrowns, a medium layer of canopy, lower canopy, shrub level, and finally understory.[1][3][4]
The canopy is home to many of the forest's animals, includingapes andmonkeys. Below the canopy, a lower understory hostssnakes andbig cats. The forest floor, relatively clear of undergrowth due to the thick canopy above, is stalked by other animals such asgorillas anddeer.[1]
Many forests are beingcleared forfarmland, while others are subject to large-scale commerciallogging. An area the size of Ireland is destroyed every few years.[1]
Tropical and subtropical moist forests (TSMF) as shown within theHoldridge Life Zones classification scheme, and includes moist forests, wet forests, and rainforests.[improper synthesis?]
The biome includes several types of forests:
Lowland equatorial evergreen rain forests, commonly known astropical rainforests, are forests which receive high rainfall (tropical rainforest climate with more than 2000 mm, or 80 inches, annually) throughout the year.[5] These forests occur in a belt around the equator, with the largest areas in theAmazon basin of South America, theCongo Basin of centralAfrica, theWet Tropics of Queensland in Australia and parts of theMalay Archipelago. About half of the world's tropical rainforests are in the South American countries ofBrazil andPeru.Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. Scientists estimate that more than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rainforests.
Montane rain forests are found in cooler-climate mountainous areas. Those with elevations high enough to regularly encounter low-level cloud cover are known ascloud forests.[10]
Manigua a low, often impenetrable dense forest of tangled tropical shrub and small trees. It is usually found in marshy areas but also on dry land in certain places. The term is used inCuba, theDominican Republic,Puerto Rico andColombia.[12][13][14]
^Beard, J.S.; Keneally, K.F. (1987),'Rainforests of Western Australia'. In 'The rainforest legacy: Australian national rainforests study'. Special Australian heritage publication series 7(1), pp. 289–304
^Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Dunlop, Clyde (1987),The status of monsoon vine forests in the Northern Territory: a perspective. In 'The rainforest legacy: Australian national rainforests study. Special Australian heritage publication series 7(1)
^Pichardo, Esteban.Diccionario provincial casi-razonado de vozes cubanas 3d ed. Havana 1861 p. 172
^ Cámara Artigas, Rafael; Martínez Batlle, José Ramón; Díaz del Olmo, Fernando.Desarrollo sostenible y medio ambiente en República Dominicana: Medios naturales, manejo histórico, conservación y protección. Sevilla 2012. ISBN 84-00-08392-X, p. 169.
^Hernández Aquino, Luis (1993).Diccionario de voces indígenas de Puerto Rico. p. 330.
^Whitmore, TC; Prance, GT, eds. (1987).Biogeography and Quaternary history in tropical America. Oxford Monographs on Biogeography. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
^Borhidi, A (1991).Phytogeography and vegetation ecology of Cuba. Budapest, Hungary: Akadémiai Kiadó.
This article incorporates text available under theCC BY-SA 3.0 license.World Wide Fund for Nature."Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forest Ecoregions". Archived fromthe original on 2011-04-01. Retrieved2019-05-29.
