World Biomes

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World Biomes

• Tropical deciduous forest

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Introduction

• Tropical deciduous forests are like tropical rain
  forests, but have a pronounced dry season which
  causes the trees to lose their leaves.  This type
  of forest is found on the fringes of the tropical
  rain forests. As the climate gets drier, tropical
  deciduous forests grade into savannah, and,
  eventually, grasslands.
• http//staff.aist.go.jp/old-gamo/2003.4a/4-2index.
  html

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Distribution
Tropical deciduous forests grow in seasonally dry
areas of the tropics. These forests occur mainly
in India, the Myanmar-Vietnam-southern coastal
China region, eastern Brazil, smaller areas in
South and Central America, the West Indies,
south-eastern Africa, and northern Australia.
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Distribution
Warm desert
Tropical grassland
Savanna
Tropical deciduous forest
Tropical rainforest
Dry
Wet
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Climate

• Well defined dry (winter) and wet (summer) season
• Rainfall of 700-3000mm
• Like in the tropical rainforest climate,
  temperatures remain high all year

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Soil

• Soil is richer in nutrients than in tropical
  rainforest because trees drop down leaves and the
  trees grow more sparsely.

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Moist deciduous forests

• Moist deciduous forests are found in tropical
  regions where both rainy and dry seasons occur
  during the year. These forests are different from
  tropical rain forests in that the trees are not
  as tall and have rather thick bark. In the first
  month of the dry season, the leaves fall. New
  leaves sprout just before the rainy season begins.

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Dry deciduous forests

• Dry tropical deciduous forests occur in regions
  that have long, severe dry seasons, such as the
  savannas (grasslands) of Africa. The tallest
  trees are shorter and more twisted than those in
  a temperate forest, and the bark is thicker. Some
  trees may store water in their trunks. During the
  dry season, the trees lose their leaves, and many
  produce flowers. Some, such as wattle trees in
  Australia, have adapted by producing thorns
  instead of many leaves.

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Plants

• The trees here are typically not as close
  together as in the tropical rainforests, so more
  light can reach the forest floor, especially when
  the deciduous species have dropped their leaves.
  The availability of sunlight on the forest floor
  results in dense undergrowth, which makes walking
  extremely difficult.

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Baobab forest
Black palm
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Teak
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Bamboo
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Plumeria
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Animals

• Many animals live on trees
• Life on forest floor is more diverse
• Animals are adapted to dry season

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Gilt-Edged Tanager
Red-Knee Tarantula
Hooded Visorbearer
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Hummingbird
Parrot
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Angonoka tortoise
Lemur
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Flying fox
Komodo dragon
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Ocelot
Monkey
Bengal Tiger
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Sloth bear
Crested Gibbon
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Gaur
Tapir
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People

• Dry tropical forests share many of the problems
  of the rainforest, in terms of pressures for
  agricultural development as a consequence of
  human population pressure. Recovery of these
  forests after disturbance can take even longer
  than that of rainforest.
• Monsoon forests are now largely logged out in SE
  Asia. Dry tropical forests also heavily logged,
  nearly vanished in Indonesia.

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