Editing Tropical forest

{{for|the plant life in tropical latitudes|tropical vegetation}}
{{short description|Generic forest in the tropics}}

'''Tropical forests''' are [[forest]]ed [[ecoregion]]s with [[tropical climate]]s – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the [[Tropic of Cancer|tropics of Cancer]] and [[Tropic of Capricorn|Capricorn]], but possibly affected by other factors such as [[prevailing winds]].
[[File:BorneoRainforest DSC 9267.JPG|thumb|350px|right|[[Borneo]] rainforest]]

Some tropical forest types are difficult to categorize. While forests in [[temperate climate|temperate]] areas are readily categorized on the basis of [[tree canopy]] density, such schemes do not work well in tropical forests.<ref name="Putz_etal">{{cite journal | last1=Putz | first1=Francis E. | last2=Redford | first2=Kent H. | title=The Importance of Defining 'Forest': Tropical Forest Degradation, Deforestation, Long-term Phase Shifts, and Further Transitions | journal=Biotropica | publisher=Wiley | volume=42 | issue=1 | date=September 14, 2009 | issn=0006-3606 | doi=10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00567.x | pages=10–20| s2cid=83577100 }}</ref> There is no single scheme that defines what a forest is, in tropical regions or elsewhere.<ref name="Putz_etal"/><ref name = "Shvidenko_etal">Anatoly Shvidenko, Charles Victor Barber, Reidar Persson et al. 2005 "[[Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]]." Ecosystems and human wellbeing: a framework for assessment Washington, DC: Island Press</ref> Because of these difficulties, information on the extent of tropical forests varies between sources. However, tropical forests are extensive, making up just under half the world's forests.<ref>D'Annunzio, Rémi, Lindquist, Erik J., MacDicken, Kenneth G. 2017 "Global forest land-use change from 1990 to 2010:an update to a global remote sensing  survey of forests Forest Resource Assessment Working Paper 187" FAO, Rome.</ref> The tropical domain has the largest proportion of the world's forests (45 percent), followed by the boreal, temperate and subtropical domains.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings|publisher=FAO|year=2020|isbn=978-92-5-132581-0|doi=10.4060/ca8753en|s2cid=130116768 }}</ref>

More than 3.6 million hectares of virgin tropical forest was lost in 2018.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life. Scientists reveal 1 million species at risk of extinction in damning UN report] 6 May 2019 Guardian [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yd8l2v0u4jqptp3/AACpraYjOYWpTxAFv5H-2vrKa/1%20Global%20Assessment%20Summary%20for%20Policymakers?dl=0&preview=Summary+for+Policymakers+IPBES+Global+Assessment.pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World Lost 12 Million Hectares of Tropical Forest in 2018 |url=https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/world-lost-12-million-hectares-tropical-forest-2018/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Ecosystem Marketplace |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
The first [[Tropical rainforest|tropical rainforests]] appeared during the [[Devonian]], characterized mainly by [[Pseudosporochnales|Pseudosporochnalean]] and [[Archaeopteridales|Archaeopteridalean]] plants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Berry |first1=Christopher M. |last2=Marshall |first2=John E.A. |date=2015-12-01 |title=Lycopsid forests in the early Late Devonian paleoequatorial zone of Svalbard |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/43/12/1043/131717/Lycopsid-forests-in-the-early-Late-Devonian |journal=Geology |volume=43 |issue=12 |pages=1043–1046 |doi=10.1130/G37000.1 |bibcode=2015Geo....43.1043B |issn=0091-7613}}</ref> Other canopy forests expanded north-south of the equator during the [[Paleogene]] epoch, around 40 million years ago, as a result of the emergence of drier, cooler climates.

The tropical forest was originally identified as a specific type of [[biome]] in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khan Academy |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/biogeography/a/tropical-rainforest-biomes |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.khanacademy.org |language=en}}</ref> 

==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>

==Threats==
{{see|Deforestation of tropical rainforests}}
[[File: Logging Bulletwood Berbice-Guyana JK.JPG|thumb|Guyaneese log "bulletwood" near the [[Berbice River]], Guyana]]
A number of tropical forests have been designated [[High-Biodiversity Wilderness Area]]s, but remain subject to a wide range of disturbances, including more localized pressures such as habitat loss and degradation and anthropogenic [[climate change]]. 

Studies have also shown that ongoing climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of some climate extremes (e.g. droughts, heatwaves and hurricanes) which, in combination with other local human disturbances, are driving unprecedented negative ecological consequences for tropical forests around the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1098/rstb.2019.0116|title = Climatic and local stressor interactions threaten tropical forests and coral reefs |journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B|volume = 375|pages = 20190116|year = 2020|last1 = França |first1 = FM|last2 = Benkwitt |first2 = CE|last3 = Peralta |first3 = G |last4 = Robinson |first4 = JPW|last5 = Graham|first5 =  NAJ |last6 = Tylianakis |first6 = JM|last7 = Berenguer |first7 = E |last8 = Lees |first8 = AC|last9 = Ferreira |first9 = J|last10 = Louzada |first10 = J |last11 = Barlow |first11 = J|issue = 1794 |pmid = 31983328 |pmc = 7017775 }}</ref> All tropical forests have experienced at least some levels of disturbance.<ref>[[Robin Chazdon|Robin L. Chazdon]] 2003 "Tropical forest recovery: legacies of human impact and natural disturbances" Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 6/1,2, pp. 51–71</ref> 

Current deforestation in the biodiversity hotspots of North of South America, sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific, can be attributed to export of commodities such as: beef, soy, coffee, cacao, [[palm oil]], and timber; there is a requirement for "strong transnational efforts ... by improving supply chain transparency [and] public–private engagement".<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01417-z | doi=10.1038/s41559-021-01417-z | title=Mapping the deforestation footprint of nations reveals growing threat to tropical forests | year=2021 | last1=Hoang | first1=Nguyen Tien | last2=Kanemoto | first2=Keiichiro | journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution | volume=5 | issue=6 | pages=845–853 | pmid=33782576 | bibcode=2021NatEE...5..845H | s2cid=232420306 }}</ref>

A study in [[Borneo]] describes how, between 1973 and 2018, the [[old-growth forest]] had been reduced from 76% to 50% of the island, mostly due to fire and [[agricultural expansion]].<ref>[http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/factsheet/6552-factsheet.pdf Gaveau DLA (2016) ''What a difference 4 decades make: Deforestation in Borneo since 1973'' CIFOR (retrieved 29 October 2017)]</ref>  A widely-held view is that placing a value on the [[ecosystem services]] these forests provide may bring about more sustainable policies.  However, clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for environmental, social and economic outcomes are needed. 

For example, a study in Vietnam indicated that poor and inconsistent data combined with a lack of human resources and political interest (thus lack of financial support) are hampering efforts to improve forest land allocation and a Payments for Forest Environmental Services scheme.<ref>[http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-155.pdf Pham TT, Le ND, Vu TP, Nguyen HT, Nguyen VT (2016) ''Forest land allocation and payments for forest environmental services in four northwestern provinces of Vietnam: From policy to practice'' CIFOR (retrieved 29 October 2017)]</ref>

==See also==
{{div col}}
*[[Tropical rainforest]]
*[[Gallery forest]]
*[[Savanna]]
*[[Seasonal tropical forest]]
*[[Primary forest]]
*[[Secondary forest]]
*[[Jungle]]

{{div col end}}

== Sources ==
* {{Free-content attribution
| title = Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| page numbers = 
| source = 
| documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/CA8753EN/CA8753EN.pdf
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Forest_Resources_Assessment_2020_%E2%80%93_Key_findings.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[https://regeneration.org/nexus/tropical-forests Tropical Forests], Project Regeneration, 2021.

{{Vegetation}}
{{Biomes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ecosystems]]
[[Category:Biodiversity]]
[[Category:Wilderness areas]]
[[Category:Forests]]
[[Category:Old-growth forests]]
[[Category:Types of formally designated forests]]
[[Category:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]