TROPICAL SEASONAL FORESTS

BINAYA SHAH

INTRODUCTION

THIS SEASONS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY DISTINCT WET AND DRY SEASONS, THESE FORESTS LOOKS BROWN AND DORMANT IN THE DRY SEASON BUT BURST INTO VIVID GREEN DURING RAINY .

Most common where Biomes occur• India, • South East Asia,• West Africa, • the West Indies,• Northern Australia,• Southern Mexico,• Paraguay and• Brazil

http://swisher.wikispaces.com/09+Tropical+Dry+Forest

CLIMATE / SEASONS: TROPICAL DRY FORESTS HAVE A

SEASONAL CLIMATE, ALTERNATING BETWEEN A WET AND DRY SEASON. HOWEVER, THE DRY SEASON IS OFTEN LONGER THAN THE WET SEASON, LASTING OVER FIVE MONTHS EVERY YEAR.

SUNLIGHT: TREES ARE NOT AS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AS IN A RAIN FOREST, THEREFORE ALLOWING MORE SUNLIGHT TO REACH THE FOREST FLOOR.

LATITUDE:THESE FORESTS TEND TO EXIST NORTH AND SOUTH OF

THE EQUATORIAL RAINFOREST BELT, SOUTH OR NORTH OF THE SUBTROPICAL DESERTS, GENERALLY IN TWO BANDS, ONE BETWEEN 10° AND 20°N LATITUDE AND THE OTHER BETWEEN 10° AND 20°S LATITUDE. THE MOST DIVERSE DRY FORESTS IN THE WORLD OCCUR IN SOUTHERN MEXICO AND IN THE BOLIVIAN LOWLANDS.

TEMPERATURE:THE ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURE IS

APPROXIMATELY 81ºF,OR AROUND 27ºC. HOWEVER, IN THE DRY SEASON, THIS MAY INCREASE TO 99ºF, OR 37ºC.

GROWING SEASON:TROPICAL SEASONAL FORESTS ARE TURN GREEN DURING WET SEASON. THESE

FORESTS TYPICALLY ARE FOUND IN VERY WARM REGIONS IN THE TROPICS, WHERE THE MEAN ANNUAL TEMPERATURE IS GREATER THAN 17C (63F), AND WHERE RAINFALL IS IN THE RANGE OF 250 TO 2000 MM PER YEAR (10 TO 80 INCHES).

SPECIES DIVERSITYPlant Life

• Most of the trees and shrubs found in this type of habitat are deciduous, losing their leaves at beginning of the dry season

• Leaves shed in dry season to conserve soil moisture.

• Up to 40 tree species in small forests

• Dry forests consist of trees, shrubs, and undergrowth of different heights which form a canopy

• Lotus, ironwood, and acacias

• Columnar, jumping cholla and barrel cactus

• More light penetration and more understory vegetation than a tropical rain forest

Animal Life

• Tasmanian devil

• American alligator

• Merriam's Kangaroo rat

• Ants

• Lizards

• Shrews

• Coyotes

• Kit and gray foxes

• Ringtails

• Raccoons

• Skunks

• Badger

• Bobcat

• Mountain lion

• Ocelot

ANIMALS FOUND IN TROPICAL SEASONAL FOREST

BOBCATS TIGERHTTP://SWISHER.WIKISPACES.COM/09+TROPICAL+DRY+FOREST HTTP://UPLOAD.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/WIKIPEDIA/COMMONS

ANIMALS IN THE TROPICAL DRY FOREST HAVE ADAPTED TO SURVIVE IN THE ARID, DRY SEASONS. MANY ANIMALS ARE NOCTURNAL, GATHERING THEIR FOOD IN THE COOLER NIGHT, CONSERVING WATER. THESE ANIMALS HAS 6 TIME GREATER NIGHT VISION THAN HUMAN WHICH ENABLES TO HUNT AT NIGHT AND MAKES THEM ADOPTED TO TROPICAL SEASONAL FORESTS.

MOUNTAIN LION COYOTEWWW.ANIMALS.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/ANIMALS WWW.CHATTANOOGANATURECENTER.ORG

THIS ANIMALS ARE ADOPTED TO BLEND INTO SURROUNDING DURING DRY SEASON. THEY HIDE INTO ROCKS AND DRY BUSHES. THEY ARE BLENDED TO THE BROWN COLOR WHICH MAKES HARD TO SEE THEM AND EASY TO CATCH THEIR PRAY.

SHREW MERRIAM'S KANGAROO RATSHTTP://TRUE-WILDLIFE.BLOGSPOT.COM/2011/02/ELEPHANT-SHREW.HTML HTTP://FACULTY.UCR.EDU/~CHAPPELL/INW/MAMMALS/PANAMINT.SHTML

THESE MAMMALS ARE ADOPTED TO THE TROPICAL SEASONAL FORESTS BECAUSE THEY CAN HIDE INTO THE SOIL DURING THE DRY SEASONS AND CAN FIND THEIR FOODS ON SOIL AND DURING THE WET SEASON THEY CAN FIND EASY FOODS.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: THE FACT THAT THE DRY SEASON LASTS LONGER THAN THE WET SEASON, AS WELL

AS THE SOIL’S HIGH SUSCEPTIBILITY TO EROSION, LIMITS THE GROWTH OF CERTAIN PLANT LIFE. THIS, IN TURN, WILL LIMIT THE BIOME’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN ANIMAL LIFE.

THE HIGH PRODUCTIVITY DURING THE WET SEASON, AS WELL AS THE RELIEF FROM RAIN DURING THE DRY SEASON MAKES THIS A FAVORABLE AREA FOR HUMANS TO CLEAR IN ORDER TO BE DEVELOPED FOR AGRICULTURAL NEEDS. SINCE DRY FOREST IS SUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE, MUCH OF IT HAS BEEN BURNED TO MAKE WAY FOR FARMLAND.

ALTHOUGH THESE FORESTS COVER THE MAJORITY OF THE SOIL ON THE EARTH BUT STILL THEY ARE MOST ENDANGERED FOREST BECAUSE OF BEING USED FOR AGRICULTURAL NEEDS. TO ELIMINATE THESE PROBLEMS PEOPLE MUST HAVE TO BE AWARE OF THE DANGER OF DEFORESTATION OF THESES FOREST.

WORK CITED:

SWISHER. "SWISHER - 09 TROPICAL DRY FOREST." TROPICAL DRY FOREST (MAY 28, 2009): 1-5.SWISHER - 09 TROPICAL DRY FOREST. 28 MAY 2009. WEB. 15 OCT. 2013.

"TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL DRY BROADLEAF FORESTS." WIKIPEDIA. WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION, 10 JAN. 2013. WEB. 15 OCT. 2013.

"TROPICAL SEASONAL  FORESTS PAGE." TROPICAL SEASONAL  FORESTS PAGE. N.P., N.D. WEB. 15 OCT. 2013.

GUTIERREZ, KENNETH, MARLON AMADOR, ELI GONZALEZ, AND STEPHANIE M. "TROPICAL DRY FOREST BIOME." TROPICAL DRY FOREST BIOME. N.P., N.D. WEB. 15 OCT. 2013. <HTTP://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/MDONOHUE/TROPICAL-DRY-FOREST-BIOME>.