Forests
A forest is a large area of land covered with trees or other woody vegetation. Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across the globe.
Forests at different latitudes form distinctly different ecozones: boreal forests near the poles tend to consist of evergreens, while tropical forests near the equator tend to be distinct from the temperate forests at mid-latitude. The amount of precipitation and the elevation of the forest also affects forest composition.
Types of Forest
- Tropical rainforests
- Sub-tropical forests
- Mediterranean forests
- Coniferous forests
- Temperate forests
- Plantation forests
- Montane forests
Tropical rainforest
- Hugely dense, lush forest with canopies preventing sunlight from getting to the floor of the forest.
- All year high temperatures and abundant rainfall.
- Located near the equator.
- A vital storehouse of biodiversity, sustaining millions of different animals, birds, algae and fish species.
Sub-tropical forest
- Located at the south and north of the tropical forest.
- Trees here are adapted to resist the summer drought.
Mediterranean forest
- Located at the south of the temperate regions around the coasts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile and Western Australia.
- The growing season is short and almost all trees are evergreen, but mixed with hardwood and softwood.
Temperate forest
- Located at Eastern North America, Northeastern Asia, and western and eastern Europe.
- Mix of deciduous and coniferous evergreen trees.
- Usually, the broad-leaved hardwood trees shed leaves annually.
- There are well-defined seasons with a distinct winter and sufficient rainfall.
Coniferous forest
- Located in the cold, windy regions around the poles.
- They come in both hardwoods and conifers.
- The hardwoods are deciduous.
- The conifers are evergreen and structurally adapted to withstand the long drought-like conditions of the long winters.
Montane forest
- Known as cloud forest because they receive most of their precipitation from the mist or fog that comes up from the lowlands.
- Usually found in high-elevation tropical, subtropical and temperate zones.
- Plants and animals in these forests are adapted to withstanding the cold, wet conditions and intense sunlight.
- Trees are mainly conifers.
Plantation forests
- Has around 7% of global forest cover (140 million hectares).
- Produces more sustainable timber and fibre than natural forest.
- Plantations produce around 40% of industrial wood.
- Plantation forests are on the increase.
Source : http://eschooltoday.com/forests/types-of-forests.html