Jungles or forests are biomes, formed by ecological units with particular characteristics, depending on climatic and geological conditions, with certain flora and fauna. There are different types of jungle or forests, with a diverse flora, rich species and many of them endemic. This post presents a sample of the Jungle Flora, its characteristics and types.
Jungle Flora
The terms jungle and forest are synonymous, however by definition the word jungle is used to delimit the extensive land surface populated with trees and other plants located in tropical climate zones, with high temperatures and rainfall. According to this, the forests are located on the continents of Asia, Africa, America and the islands of Oceania, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and cover an approximate surface of 6% of the earth.
It receives the names of jungle, jungle or tropical rain forest, it is characterized by having a high biological diversity, the characteristic vegetation of these spaces are broad-leaved trees, which form a closed canopy, with different floors or strata of vegetation and undergrowth with much biological Diversity. In the jungles they live from very tall trees with more than 30 meters high, where epiphytic plants and lianas live, which are part of the highest floors and in the undergrowth you can see the mosses and ferns flush with the surface of the ground, this being the place where less sunlight reaches.
These characteristics mean that the forests are the places where more than two thirds of the diversity of flora and fauna on earth originate and grow. Although investigations are still carried out to know the inventory of millions of animals, plants, insects and microorganisms. The forests of the tropics are very rich in flora and that is why even today, although there is clear information on the plant diversity of these biomes, knowledge of their flora is still incomplete.
Differences between jungle, forest and jungle
The initial difference is the origin of the words, jungle, forest and jungle. The word jungle comes from Latin and means "wooded land". On the other hand, the word forest has its origin from the German Busch, which means "bush" and in addition "mountain of trees". As the word jungle, it has its origin from the Sanskrit Jangala, which means wild land and in addition a forest. Due to its equivalent origin and definitions, confusion is created with its use.
Jungle Characteristics
The jungles are characterized by having a warm and rainy climate typical of the intertropical zones of the planet. According to the Köppen climate classification, in regions with macrothermal climates classified with the letter "A". That is why to delimit this term, currently when referring to jungle, it refers to tropical or equatorial forests. That they are spaces with a high biological diversity, and great retention of rainwater.
The Forests have a humid tropical climate, which depending on their location can have different climates, according to the Köppen classification, for the Forests with a humid tropical climate, it would be in the Af category; the Rainy Tropical Forest with a monsoon climate Am and if a Forest with a dry climate, it is identified with a tropical dry climate or Aw.
The average annual temperature varies between 27°C to 29°C, if they are below or a little more than 400 meters above sea level. On the other hand, in the subtropical forest the average annual temperature is 22°C and in the mountain forest the average temperature during the year is 18°C. Jungles are usually at an altitude on warm earth floors. When they are located on higher floors, they are called cloud forest or mountain jungles.
Types of Jungles
Rainforests can be divided into various types, depending on altitude, humidity, seasonality, and latitude. Due to its latitude and temperature, there is the type of forest: equatorial, very biodiverse and exuberant landscape, with warm weather all year round. This type of forest is located in the Amazon in South America, the Congo forest in Africa and the Malesia forest in Insulindia and New Guinea. They are the forests closest to the equator, hence their typology.
The tropical forest or also called tropical or macrothermal forest, with a climate most of the year warm and average annual temperatures above 24 ° C. They are jungles located in the intertropical zone, have high biodiversity and are located in South America to Mexico in North America; and on the African continent encompassing Madagascar.
The subtropical forest, are the large vegetation formations characteristic of the humid subtropical climate, it presents seasonality with torrid summer and cold winters, the sizes of this type of forest is smaller with respect to the tropical and equatorial forests. Average temperature 18 to 24°C. The forests of southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina, in South America, are subtropical forests. They are also this type of forest, the coastal forest of southern Africa and the forests located in the coastal areas of northern Australia. Likewise, the montane forest is also of the subtropical type, located in low latitudes.
Jungles in other latitudes, located in places far from the tropics with high humidity, grow hardwood forests with a great abundance of individuals that compete in exuberance with tropical and subtropical forests. Although they are not usually called by the term jungle, because they are not located in the intertropical region.
Within this group are the temperate forests, laurel forest or laurisilva, they are forests located in regions with a temperate climate, with high rainfall, which is why it has very abundant vegetation, as is the case of the Valdivia forest in Chile. Finally, there is the type of cold forest, which is also called subpolar rainy forest, it is a forest with mostly evergreen vegetation with high biological diversity. They are located on the coasts of fjords and glacial lakes, such as the Magellanic Forest.
The Flora and Fauna of the Jungle
Due to the differences in altitude, latitude, climate and geology, various species of plants and animals originate and adapt, which are part of the flora and fauna of these jungles. As previously described, in addition to the Amazon or Amazon Jungle, which occupies territories of several South American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, French Guiana and Suriname. There is also the Congo Rainforest in Africa, which is the second largest rainforest on the planet. It stands out for its faunal species and vegetation.
Flora and type of species of the Jungle
The jungles are characterized by a great diversity of plant species, in order to determine the number of different plant species that grow in these spaces, botanical explorations must be carried out to collect plant specimens and identify them. For this, it would be necessary to carry out the systematic collection of the plant species found in these forests and then carry out their taxonomic identification.
If the person who performs the recognition of these places is knowledgeable about the flora of the site, it facilitates the work and can identify in the place of origin of the plants, what species it is and to support this classification, then compare with a key of systematic identification and with the sample found in the collection of a reference herbarium. This is what helps to assess the plant richness of a given place. Thanks to this type of project it is possible to know the flora of the different types of tropical forests.
The flora of the tropical forest is characterized by a high diversity of trees classified within the Arecaceae family, because different species of palms can be found in most tropical forests. In addition, other botanical families are very well represented in the jungles of the continents of: America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, these are the families of Legumes, Gutiferas, Moraceae and Myrtaceae.
Other plants that are found in the humid tropical forests of the entire planet, in cloudy sectors or with dense humidity, are the tree ferns, as a representation of the most primitive plants on earth. Tree ferns are found in the understory of these rainforests and are part of the Cyatheaceae family.
America Rainforest
In the tropical forests of the American continent, you can find plants of the families of Legumes, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Malvaceae and Rubiaceae. As representatives of the Legume family are the genera: Albizia, Lonchocarpus, Anadenanthera, to name some of the most representative. With respect to the plants of the Meliaceae family, the spectacular trees of the species American cedar (Cedrela spp.) and Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla.), which are characterized by the good quality of their wood.
The genus that most abounds in the tropical forests of the planet of the Moraceae family is the Ficus, which is made up of many species of trees known by their common name of Rubbers, among them where the Religious ficus, known as the sacred “bo” of India, the ficus insipida originally from Venezuela.
Among the Malvaceae one can find specimens of Ceiba pentandra. Specimens of the Rubiaceae family are found in the undergrowth of these forests, some examples are the coffee bush (Coffea arabica) and the beautiful gardenia plants (Gardenia sp.), you can also name the dyed blonde.
In the Amazon rainforest, species of the Lecythidaceae family can be found, such as the coco de mono (Lecythis olivaria) and taparón, coco de mono or cannonball (couroupita guianensis). Accompanied by specimens of cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao), which comes from the Amazon basin, and the bromeliads are not far behind with their wealth of exuberant species of very different colors and sizes, such as the pineapple (Ananas comosus), which are cup-shaped herbaceous plants of the Bromeliaceae family.
The tropical forest of Africa
In the warm and humid African tropical forests of the Congo, there is a great diversity of plant species adapted to these soil and climate conditions, among the predominant species can be named Entandrophragma palustre, sterculia subviolacea and plants representing the genera of manilkara y Garcinia.
In this African Tropical Forest, its Flora can be represented by plants adapted to the climatic and geological conditions of these latitudes, in which species of trees with tasty fruits originate, such as Dacryodes klaineana. In addition, trees grow from this species that stand out for the good quality of their wood, such as the Strombosia glaucescens and another that the natives use as a medicinal plant Allanblackia floribunda.
In addition to the previous species of plants that are part of the Flora of the African Tropical Forest, the following can be named: The kola nut (sharp tail) is a tree from the African tropical forest and is used in industry to make soft drinks or cola. In these African tropical forests, as in the American tropical forest, one of the botanical families with the largest number of species and the greatest abundance of individuals is that of legumes such as Parkia bicolor, Parinari excelsa y Piptadeniastrum africanum.
The Flora of the Asian Rainforest
These jungles located in the Asian continent are swampy places located in Vietnam, where species of plants resistant to extreme environmental conditions grow and develop, because they are flooded soils, many of the plants have adapted to grow in these places and have stilt roots and pneumatophores. Pneumatophores are roots that are specialized to grow superficially out of the water and have negative geotropism. In order to breathe, these pneumotophore roots have structures such as pores or lenticels, through which the roots breathe and take in the air.
Among the plant species that are part of the Flora of the Asian Tropical Forest, the following stand out: the genus Eugenia of the Myrthaceae family, Elaeocarpus of the family Elaeocarpaceae, and of the family Guttiferae, the genus Calophyllum. Likewise, in the Asian tropical forests, located in Thailand and Malaysia, the trees of the species originate. (Tectona grandis), This species is very important for the wood and oil industry, as it is of very good quality.
Likewise, another timber species is Xylia dolabriformis, wood that is characterized by its hardness, which makes it highly appreciated. Other species of trees appreciated for the quality of their wood are those belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae family. Its most representative genres are Shorea, Hopea, Dipterocarpus y Vatican. Due to the illegal logging of many of its species, several of them are in danger of extinction. This is because these plants make use of their wood, resins and essential oils.
Oceania Rainforest
This Tropical Forest of Oceania, fulfills an important value in the preservation of the biological diversity characteristic of that region of the planet and for the ecology due to its capacity to release Oxygen. In addition to the tropical forest, there are other types of forests such as those where plants of the genus grow. Melaleuca y Eucalyptus. Characteristic plants of the Australian forests and that were introduced to other parts of the planet are trees of the genera Casuarina y Acacia.
The Oceanian Rainforest has a climate with high temperature and precipitation, with trees reaching heights of about 30 meters and more. Standing out in its Flora, trees of the species Rhus taitensis, Alphytonia zizyphoides y Casuarina equisetifolia. On the floor next to the surface of the soil or undergrowth, a great abundance of ferns grow, commonly called “staghorn” (Dicranopteris linearis), they also grow bushes of Macropiper puberulum y psychotria insularum. A dominant genus of the forests of Australia and New Zealand is the Eucalyptus of the Myrthaceae family.
Jungle Fauna
Among the animals that have received the greatest promotion throughout history and come from the tropical forests of Africa, are the fauna of the Congo, which are very striking due to their strength and size, and which currently must be protected because their vulnerable populations such as: the mountain gorilla, the coastal gorilla, as well as the dwarf crocodile, the okapi, the snake Dendroapis or mamba, which is a very poisonous reptile. Likewise, forest elephants.
While in the Amazon Rainforest the most abundant animals are primates, sloths that are native to these jungles and other reptiles such as the black alligator and the green anaconda. All adapted to the climatic conditions, soil, latitude and altitude of these forests. With average annual temperature that exceeds 26 ° C.
From the Asian Jungles, the fauna of the Harapan Jungle located on the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, come from and stand out, they are the places where several species in danger of extinction come from, such as the tiger and the Sumatran rhinoceros. These jungles are very rich in the diversity of their avifauna.
Conservation of the Jungles
The conservation of these forested spaces, with high biological diversity, have a high environmental value since they provide 40% of the Earth's Oxygen. In addition, being represented by its diversity of species of flora and fauna characteristic of each of them, they provide a large amount of minerals and raw material for the preparation of medicines, essential oils and others.
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