Everything about Cloud Forests totally explained
A
cloud forest, also called a
fog forest, is a generally
tropical or
subtropical evergreen
montane moist forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level
cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of
mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they're also referred to as
mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained.
Characteristics
Typically, there's a relatively small band of altitude in which the atmospheric environment is suitable for cloud forest development. This is characterized by persistent mist or clouds at the vegetation level, resulting in the reduction of direct sunlight and thus of
evapotranspiration. Trees in these regions are generally shorter and more heavily stemmed than in lower altitude forests in the same regions, and the moisture promotes the development of an abundance of vascular
epiphytes. This results in abundant moss and
fern covering, and frequently flowers such as
orchids may be found. Soils are rich but boggy, with a preponderance of peats and humus. Within cloud forests, much of the
precipitation is in the form of
fog drip, where fog
condenses on tree leaves and then drips onto the ground below.
The definition of cloud forest can be ambiguous, with many countries not using the term (preferring such terms as
Afromontane forest and upper montane rain forest, or more localised terms such as the Peruvian
yungas, and the
laurisilva of the Atlantic Islands), and occasionally subtropical and even temperate forests in which similar meteorological conditions occur are considered to be cloud forests.
Distribution of cloud forests
Tropical and subtropical cloud forests exist in the following countries:
Temperate cloud forests
Although far from being universally accepted as true cloud forests, several forests in temperate regions have strong similarities with tropical cloud forests. The term is further confused by occasional reference to cloud forests in tropical countries as "temperate" due to the cooler climate associated with these misty forests.
Distribution of temperate cloud forests
Argentina
Australia - Lamington National Park (Queensland)
People's Republic of China - Yunnan Plateau, mountains of southern and eastern China
Colombia - Serranía de Macuira mountain range, in the middle of La Guajira Desert.
Dominican Republic - Western provinces such as Barahona
Haiti
Japan - parts of Yakushima Island
New Zealand - parts of Fiordland, Mt Taranaki and Mount Cargill, near Dunedin.
Portugal - Azores and Madeira
South Africa
Spain - Canary Islands
TaiwanFurther Information
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