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Geography part I
Thursday, September 10, 2009 || 5:56 PM Tropical Rainforest: Found in 0 degrees North to 10 degrees North, 0 degrees South to 10 degrees South.There is high rainfall and high temperate all year round in the tropical rainforest.Examples of tropical rainforest: Amazon basin, Congo basin The five layers of the tropical rainforest: (a) emergent - Very tall trees { 30-50m in height } - have very thick, straight trunks -above the canopy layer (b) canopy -Trees are 15-30m in height -wide umbrella shape crowns which interlock one another, - in the Tropical rainforest, there is a continuous canopy layer -Prevent sunlight from reaching lowers layers such as undergrowth (c) understorey -Trees are usually 5-15m in height -They are oval-shaped crowns that grows in between gaps of the canopy layer -Very often, they are the young trees of the canopy or emergent. (d) shrubs -Trees are often 6m in height -They are mostly woody plants and sapling trees (e) undergrowth -due to the lack of sunlight reaching the floor of the tropical rainforest, there is a sparse undergrowth. Characteristic of the Tropical Rainforest: (i) leaves -the leaves in the tropical rainforest are large and board to absorb maximum sunlight. -the leaves have waxy surface and they have waxy drip tips to allow water to 'run off' and to prevent water to collect on the surface of the leaves, it also prevents bacteria growth. -the leaves in the tropical rainforest are evergreen due to the high rainfall and high temperate throughout the year. there is not need to shed their leaves. (ii)Branches and Trunks/Barks -the barks of the trees in the tropical rainforest are thin and smooth. -there is no need for any protection from the heat or dryness as there is high rainfall throughout the year -the branches are found in the top 1/3 of the trees as not a lot of sunlight is able to reach to the lower layers of the forest. (iii)Flower and fruits -flowers and fruits in the tropical rainforest bear all year round as there is high rainfall all year around -As the air under the canopy layer is still, it is hard for wind pollination to occur. -Therefore, Flowers or fruits have to be colorful or sweet scented to attract insects for insect pollination. (iv) Roots -Trees in the tropical rainforest have buttress roots{ especially for trees in the emergent layer} -Buttress roots support the great weight of the trees -shallow and spreading roots to absorb nutrients that are on the surface of the soil. Tropical monsoon forest: They are found in 10degrees north to 23 1/2degrees north and also found in 10degrees south to 23 1/2degrees south. In the tropical monsoon forest, they have distinct wet and dry seasons{ monsoon seasons}.examples of countries that experiences the monsoon season are India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia and Northern Australia Southwest monsoon season{from June to September} From June to September, Countries in the Northern hemisphere is experiencing Summer whereas countries in the Southern hemisphere is experiencing winter. In summer, hot air rises this would result in a low air pressure. In winter, the air tends to "sink" which would result in a higher air pressure. winds travel from a region with high air pressure to a region with low air pressure. The Southeast monsoon winds start from Northern Australia. it will travel along the Indian ocean. at the Indian ocean, hot air rises. the wind will pick up water vapour as it travels along the Indian Ocean. Due to Earth rotation, the winds would be deflected at the equator and the winds would travel as Southwest monsoon winds which would bring a lot of rain to countries in the Northern hemisphere. Northeast monsoon season{from october to january} From october to january, countries in the Northern hemisphere is experiencing winter whereas countries in the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing summer. In summer, how air rises this would result in a low air pressure. In winter, the air tends to "sink" which would result in a higher air pressure. Winds travel from a region with high air pressure to a region wtih low air pressure. The northeast monsoon winds starts from the northern hemisphere. The wind would travel along the Indian ocean. At the Indian ocean, hot air rises. The wind will pick up a lot of water vapour as it travels along the Indian ocean. Due to the Earth's rotation, the winds would be deflected at the Equator and the winds would travel as Northwest winds which would bring a lot of rain to Northern Australia. Characteristics of the tropical monsoon forest: (i) leaves -the leaves have a waxy surface to reduce transpiration loss. -the leaves have waxy drip tip to allow water to "run off" and to prevent water to collect on the leave surface and to prevent bacteria growth. -the leaves are deciduous. trees would shed their leaves during the dry season and the leaves would grow back quickly during the wet season. -some plants have bamboo leaves{ small } to reduce transpiration loss. (ii) branches and barks/trunks - the barks are thick and coarse to protect itself from the heat and the dryness during the dry season -it to also to protect itself from the extreme heat during natural forest fires - branches are found in the middle of the trees as sunlight is able to reach the lower parts of the trees due to the discontinuous canopy layer. (iii) flower and fruits -the plants on bear flowers and fruits during the dry season. (iv) roots - they have deep roots that would tap on underground water during the dry season when there is little water avaliable. -the roots anchor firmly in the soil (v) diversity The tropical monsoon forest is less dense as compared to the tropical rainforest. the trees in the tropical monsoon forest do not grow very close to one another as compared to the tropical rainforest. the tropical monsoon forest do not have a continuous canopy layer as the crowns do not interlock with one another. this results in an open canopy and this will allow sunlight to reach the lower layers of the forest.during the dry season, the tropical monsoon forest looks very sparse. however, during the wet season, the tropical monsoon forest looks like the tropical rainforest Continueing part II later (: this recap method is so fun :D ciaos ! |
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Random songs played randomly (:"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." |
