Editing Tropical forest (section)

==Types of tropical forest==
Tropical forests are often thought of as [[evergreen]] [[rainforest]]s<ref name = "Shvidenko_etal"/> and moist forests, but these account for only a portion of them (depending on how they are defined – see maps).  The remaining tropical forests are a diversity of many different forest types including:
''[[Eucalyptus]]'' open forest, [[tropical coniferous forests]], [[savanna]] woodland (''e.g.'' [[Sahel#Flora and fauna|Sahelian forest]]), and [[mountain forests]]<ref>{{cite book | last=Van Der Hammen | first=Thomas | title=Tropical Forests and Climate | chapter=Palaeoecological Background: Neotropics | publisher=Springer Netherlands | location=Dordrecht | year=1991 | pages=37–47 | isbn=978-90-481-4147-0 | doi=10.1007/978-94-017-3608-4_4}}</ref> (the higher elevations of which are [[cloud forests]]).  Over even relatively short distances, the boundaries between these [[biome]]s may be unclear, with [[ecotone]]s between the main types.

[[File:tropical_forests.tif|thumb|350px|right|Tropical forest ecological zones (FAO)]]
[[File:Tropical_Forests_2000_by_Major_Ecological_Domains.tif|thumb|350px|right|Tropical forest land from the UN FO FRA2000 report]]
[[File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_A_present.svg|thumb|350px|right|Tropical climate sub-types ([[Köppen classification]]):
{{legend|#0000FF|[[tropical rainforest climate|Af—Tropical rainforest climate]],}}
{{legend|#0077FF|[[tropical monsoon climate|Am—Tropical monsoon climate]],}}
{{legend|#46A9FA|[[tropical savanna climate|Aw—Tropical savanna climate]].}}]]

The nature of tropical forests in any given area is affected by several factors, most importantly:
* '''Geographical''': location and [[climatic zone]] (see sub-types), with:
**Temperature profile, which is relatively even in [[equatorial rainforest]] or with a cooler season towards [[subtropical]] latitudes;
**[[Precipitation]] levels and [[seasonal tropical forest|seasonality]], with strong [[dry season]]s significantly affecting flora (''e.g.'' the predominance of [[lianas]]);<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Ya-Jun |last2=Cao |first2=Kun-Fang |last3=Schnitzer |first3=Stefan A. |last4=Fan |first4=Ze-Xin |last5=Zhang |first5=Jiao-Lin |last6=Bongers |first6=Frans |date=September 29, 2014 |title=Water-use advantage for lianas over trees in tropical seasonal forests |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1782&context=bio_fac |journal=New Phytologist |publisher=Wiley |volume=205 |issue=1 |pages=128–136 |doi=10.1111/nph.13036 |issn=0028-646X |pmid=25264136 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
**Elevation affects the above, often creating "[[ecological island]]s" with high [[endemism]] (''e.g.'' [[Mount Kinabalu]] in the [[Borneo#Ecology|Borneo]] rainforest).<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/nature14949| pmid=26266979| title=Evolution of endemism on a young tropical mountain| journal=Nature| volume=524| issue=7565| pages=347–350| year=2015| last1=Merckx| first1=Vincent S. F. T.| last2=Hendriks| first2=Kasper P.| last3=Beentjes| first3=Kevin K.| last4=Mennes| first4=Constantijn B.| last5=Becking| first5=Leontine E.| last6=Peijnenburg| first6=Katja T. C. A.| last7=Afendy| first7=Aqilah| last8=Arumugam| first8=Nivaarani| last9=De Boer| first9=Hugo| last10=Biun| first10=Alim| last11=Buang| first11=Matsain M.| last12=Chen| first12=Ping-Ping| last13=Chung| first13=Arthur Y. C.| last14=Dow| first14=Rory| last15=Feijen| first15=Frida A. A.| last16=Feijen| first16=Hans| last17=Soest| first17=Cobi Feijen-van| last18=Geml| first18=József| last19=Geurts| first19=René| last20=Gravendeel| first20=Barbara| last21=Hovenkamp| first21=Peter| last22=Imbun| first22=Paul| last23=Ipor| first23=Isa| last24=Janssens| first24=Steven B.| last25=Jocqué| first25=Merlijn| last26=Kappes| first26=Heike| last27=Khoo| first27=Eyen| last28=Koomen| first28=Peter| last29=Lens| first29=Frederic| last30=Majapun| first30=Richard J.| display-authors=29| bibcode=2015Natur.524..347M| s2cid=4447746| url=<!-- nobot -->}}</ref>
* '''Historical''': prehistoric age of forest and level of recent disturbance (see [[#Threats|threats]]), changing [[primary forest|primary]] (usually maximum [[biodiversity]]) into [[secondary forest]], degenerating into [[bamboo forest]] after prolonged [[swidden agriculture]] (''e.g.'' in several areas of [[Indo-China]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1659/mrd.0875|title = The Dynamics of Secondary Forest Landscapes in the Lower Mekong Basin|journal = Mountain Research and Development|volume = 27|issue = 3|pages = 232–241|year = 2007|last1 = Heinimann|first1 = Andreas|last2 = Messerli|first2 = Peter|last3 = Schmidt-Vogt|first3 = Dietrich|last4 = Wiesmann|first4 = Urs|s2cid = 102490131| url=https://boris.unibe.ch/25546/ }}</ref>
* '''[[Soil]] characteristics''' (also subject to various [[soil classification|classifications]]): including depth and drainage.<ref>Schulte, A, Ruhiyat D (Eds.) (1998) ''Soils of Tropical Forest Ecosystems: Characteristics, Ecology and Management''. Springer, 204 pp.</ref>

===The ''Global 200'' scheme===
The ''[[Global 200]]'' scheme, promoted by the [[World Wildlife Fund]], classifies three main tropical forest habitat types ([[biome]]s), grouping together tropical and sub-tropical areas (maps below):
* [[Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests]].
* [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests]],
* [[Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests]],

Extent of tropical and sub-tropical -
<gallery>
File:Biome map 03.svg|coniferous forest regions
File:Biome map 02.svg|dry forest regions
File:Biome map 01.svg|moist forest regions
</gallery>