![the forest wiki biome the forest wiki biome](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/biomesoplenty/images/6/60/Deciduous-Forest.png)
The fauna is similar to that found in the emergent layer, but more diverse. These epiphytic plants attach to trunks and branches and obtain water and minerals from rain and debris that collects on the supporting plants. The densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, as it often supports a rich flora of epiphytes, including orchids, bromeliads, mosses and lichens.
![the forest wiki biome the forest wiki biome](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/theforest_gamepedia/images/6/6e/Theforestmap.png)
Tall, broad-leaved evergreen trees are the dominant plants.
![the forest wiki biome the forest wiki biome](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/oh-the-biomes-youll-go/images/0/0c/The_Black_Forest.png)
It contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 30–45 m in height. The canopy is the primary layer of the forest, forming a roof over the two remaining layers. Only the emergent layer is unique to tropical rainforests, while the others are also found in temperate rainforests. Each layer is a unique biotic community containing different plants and animals adapted for life in that particular strata. Rainforests are divided into different strata, or layers, with vegetation organized into a vertical pattern from the top of the soil to the canopy. Tropical freshwater swamp forests, or "flooded forests", are found in Amazon basin (the Várzea) and elsewhere. Depending on latitude, the lower limit of montane rainforests on large mountains is generally between 15 m while the upper limit is usually from 2400 to 3300 m. These are found in cooler-climate mountainous areas, becoming known as cloud forests at higher elevations. They are found in parts of South America, in Central America and around the Caribbean, in coastal West Africa, parts of the Indian subcontinent, and across much of Indochina. Some trees in these forests drop some or all of their leaves during the winter dry season, thus they are sometimes called "tropical mixed forest".
![the forest wiki biome the forest wiki biome](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/theforest_gamepedia/images/4/44/Mountainarea.jpg)
Moist seasonal tropical forests receive high overall rainfall with a warm summer wet season and a cooler winter dry season. However, the specifics of the origin of rainforests remain uncertain due to an incomplete fossil record.ĭaintree "rainforest" in Queensland is actually a seasonal tropical forest. The division left tropical rainforests located in five major regions of the world: tropical America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and New Guinea, with smaller outliers in Australia. The separation of the landmass resulted in a great loss of amphibian diversity while at the same time the drier climate spurred the diversification of reptiles. Most tropical rainforests today are on fragments of the Mesozoic era supercontinent of Gondwana. Tropical rainforests have existed on earth for hundreds of millions of years. Tropical rain forests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance throughout the 20th century, and the area covered by rainforests around the world is rapidly shrinking. However, fast human driven habitat destruction is suspected to be one of the major causes of species extinction.
#The forest wiki biome drivers#
Habitat fragmentation caused by geological processes such as volcanism and climate change occurred in the past, and have been identified as important drivers of speciation. Tropical rainforests are among the most threatened ecosystems globally due to large-scale fragmentation as a result of human activity. It is likely that there may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms still undiscovered in tropical rainforests. Tropical rainforests have been called the " world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered within them. A single hectare of rainforest may contain 42,000 different species of insect, up to 807 trees of 313 species and 1,500 species of higher plants. Two-thirds of all flowering plants can be found in rainforests. Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet. Around 40% to 75% of all biotic species are indigenous to the rainforests. Tropical rainforests exhibit high levels of biodiversity. This high level of precipitation often results in poor soils due to leaching of soluble nutrients in the ground. Average annual rainfall is no less than 1,680 mm (66 in) and can exceed 10 m (390 in) although it typically lies between 1,750 mm (69 in) and 3,000 mm (120 in). Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 ☌ (64 ☏) during all months of the year. Tropical rainforests can be characterized in two words: hot and wet.