Monsoon forests are vast green areas with lush vegetation and rich wildlife. In the rainy season, they resemble equatorial evergreen forests. Found in subequatorial and tropical climates. Attract tourists and photographers with a variety of picturesque landscapes.
Description
Wet monsoon forests are most common in the tropics. Most often they are located at an altitude of 850 meters above sea level. They are also called deciduous due to the fact that trees lose foliage during a drought. Heavy rains return them to their former juiciness and color. The trees here reach a height of twenty meters, the leaves on the crowns are small. In the undergrowth, evergreen species, many vines and epiphytes, are common. Orchids grow in the monsoon zone. They are found in the Brazilian coastal mountain ranges, the Himalayas, Malaysia, Mexico, Indochina.
Features
Monsoon forests in the Far East are famous for the variety of plants and animals. Warm and humid summers and an abundance of plant foods create favorable conditions for the habitat of insects, birds, and mammals. There are coniferous and deciduous trees. Among the inhabitants in the forests sable, squirrel, chipmunk, hazel grouse, as well as animals rare for the climatic zone of Russia are seen. The typical inhabitants of monsoon woodland are the Ussuri tiger, black bear, Far Eastern cat, sika deer, wolf, raccoon dog. There are many wild boars, hares, moles, pheasants on the territory. The water bodies of the subequatorial climate are rich in fish. Some species are protected.
In the moist forests of Brazil, Mexico, Indochina, rare orchids grow. About sixty percent belong to sympodial species, well known among flower growers. The red-yellow soils of the monsoon territories are favorable for ficuses, palm trees, and valuable tree species. The most famous include teak, satin, greasy, iron. For example, a banyan tree is able to form a dark grove from its trunks. In the Indian Botanical Gardens, a huge banyan tree grows, which has almost two thousand (!) Trunks. The crown of the tree covers an area of twelve thousand square meters. Alternating-humid forests become habitats for bamboo bears (pandas), Japanese macaques, salamanders, tigers, leopards, poisonous insects and snakes.
Climate
What climate prevails in monsoon forests? Winter is mostly dry, summer is not hot, but warm. The drought period lasts three to four months. The average air temperature is lower than in the humid tropics: the absolute minimum is -25 degrees, the maximum is 35 with the “+” sign. The temperature difference is from eight to twelve degrees. A characteristic feature of the climate is prolonged heavy rains in summer and their absence in winter. The difference between the two opposite seasons is huge.
Monsoon forests are known for their morning mists and low clouds. That is why the air is so saturated with moisture. By noon, the bright sun completely evaporates moisture from the vegetation. In the afternoon, foggy haze forms again in the forests. High humidity and cloudiness hold for a long period of time. In winter, precipitation also falls, but rarely.
Geography
Monsoon forests develop in the subequatorial belt due to the large amount of precipitation and their uneven distribution, high temperature contrast. In Russia, they grow in the Far East, have a complex relief, rich flora and fauna. There are wet forests in Indochina, Hindustan, the Philippine Islands, Asia, North and South America, Africa. Despite the long rainy seasons and prolonged drought, the fauna in the monsoon forest zones is poorer than in the wet equatorial ones.
The monsoon phenomenon is most pronounced on the Indian continent, where the period of drought is replaced by heavy rains, the duration of which can be seven months. Such a change of weather is characteristic of Indochina, Burma, Indonesia, Africa, Madagascar, northern and eastern parts of Australia, Oceania. For example, in Indochina and on the Hindustan Peninsula, the dry period in the forests lasts seven months (from April to October). Trees with large crowns and an irregularly shaped arch grow in vast monsoon territories. Sometimes forests grow in tiers, which is especially noticeable from a height.
The soil
Monsoon moist soils are characterized by a red tint, granular structure, and insignificant humus content. The soil is rich in useful trace elements such as iron and silicon. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium in moist soil is very small. On the territory of Southeast Asia, yellow soils and red soils prevail. Central Africa and South Asia are characterized by dry chernozem. Interestingly, with the cessation of rains, the concentration of humus in monsoon forests increases. The reserve is one of the forms of wildlife conservation in the territory rich in valuable plants and animals. It is in the humid forests that many species of orchids are found.
