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Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

 
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests

 
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Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
 
 
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Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
 biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
.

Tropical and subtropical forest regions with lower rainfall are home to tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests

Thetropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes....
 and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests

Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a forest biome. They are located in regions of semi-humid climate at tropical and subtropical latitudes....
. Temperate rain forest
Temperate rain forest

Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall....
s also occur in certain humid temperate coastal regions.

The biome includes several types of forests:

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are common in several terrestrial ecozone
Ecozone

An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeography division of the earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals....
s, including parts of the Afrotropic
Afrotropic

The Afrotropic is one of the earth's eight ecozones. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the southern and eastern fringes of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean....
 (equatorial Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
), Indomalaya
Indomalaya

The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight ecozones that cover the planet's land surface. It extends across most of South Asia and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia....
 (parts of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
), the Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
 (northern South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
 and Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
), Australasia
Australasia ecozone

The Australasian zone is an ecozone that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geography region of Australasia. The ecozone includes Australia, the island of New Guinea , and the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, including the island of Sulawesi, the Moluccan islands and islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timo...
 (eastern Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, northern and eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
), and Oceania
Oceania ecozone

Oceania is the smallest of the world's terrestrial ecozones, and unique in not including any continental land mass. The ecozone includes the Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, the Fiji, and most of Polynesia ....
 (the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
).






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Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
 biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
.

Tropical and subtropical forest regions with lower rainfall are home to tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests

Thetropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes....
 and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests

Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a forest biome. They are located in regions of semi-humid climate at tropical and subtropical latitudes....
. Temperate rain forest
Temperate rain forest

Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall....
s also occur in certain humid temperate coastal regions.

The biome includes several types of forests:
  • Lowland equatorial evergreen rain forests, commonly known as tropical rainforest
    Tropical rainforest

    Tropical rainforests are usually found around the equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Southern Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands....
    s    , are forests which receive high rainfall (more than 2000 mm, or 80 inches, annually) throughout the year. These forests occur in a belt around the equator, with the largest areas in the Amazon basin
    Amazon Basin

    The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The basin is located mainly in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and several other countries....
     of South America, the Congo basin of central Africa
    Africa

    Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
    , Indonesia
    Indonesia

    The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
    , and New Guinea
    New Guinea

    New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
    .
  • Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen seasonal forests, receive high overall rainfall with a warm summer wet season and a cooler winter dry season. Some trees in these forests drop some or all of their leaves during the winter dry season. These forests are found in parts of South America, in Central America
    Central America

    Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
     and around the Caribbean
    Caribbean

    The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
    , in coastal West Africa
    West Africa

    West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:...
    , parts of the Indian subcontinent
    Indian subcontinent

    The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
    , and across much of Indochina
    Indochina

    Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
    .
  • Montane rain forests, some of which are known as cloud forest
    Cloud forest

    A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level....
    s, are found in cooler-climate mountainous areas.
  • Flooded forests, including freshwater swamp forest
    Freshwater swamp forest

    Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes....
    s and peat swamp forest
    Peat swamp forest

    Peat swamp forests are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests where waterlogged soils prevent dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing, which over time creates thick layer of acidic peat....
    s.


Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are common in several terrestrial ecozone
Ecozone

An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeography division of the earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals....
s, including parts of the Afrotropic
Afrotropic

The Afrotropic is one of the earth's eight ecozones. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the southern and eastern fringes of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean....
 (equatorial Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
), Indomalaya
Indomalaya

The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight ecozones that cover the planet's land surface. It extends across most of South Asia and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia....
 (parts of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
), the Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
 (northern South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
 and Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
), Australasia
Australasia ecozone

The Australasian zone is an ecozone that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geography region of Australasia. The ecozone includes Australia, the island of New Guinea , and the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, including the island of Sulawesi, the Moluccan islands and islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timo...
 (eastern Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, northern and eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
), and Oceania
Oceania ecozone

Oceania is the smallest of the world's terrestrial ecozones, and unique in not including any continental land mass. The ecozone includes the Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, the Fiji, and most of Polynesia ....
 (the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
). About half of the world's tropical rainforests are in the South American countries of Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
 and Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Rain forests 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 rain forests.

See also

  • Center for Tropical Forest Science
    Center for Tropical Forest Science

    The Center for Tropical Forest Science, or CTFS, is a consortium of forest researchers who pursue long-term research on tree populations using comparable census method....
     (CTFS)
  • List of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions
    List of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions

    This is a list of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregions , arranged by ecozone...
  • Trees of the world
    Trees of the world

    * Trees of The Americas** Trees of Canada** Trees of North America** Trees of the Caribbean Basin* Trees of Australasia** List of trees native to New Zealand...


External links

  • from The Nature Conservancy
    The Nature Conservancy

    The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....