Laurel forest

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(Redirected from
Laurisilva
)
Laurisilva of Madeira

Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of

broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae
) may or may not be present, depending on the location.

Ecology

Humid laurel forest in La Gomera

Laurel and laurophyll forests have a patchy distribution in warm

bats are the predominant seed-dispersers and pollinators. Decomposers such as invertebrates, fungi, and microbes on the forest floor are critical to nutrient cycling.[2]

These conditions of temperature and moisture occur in four different geographical regions:

  • Along the eastern margin of continents at latitudes of 25° to 35°.
  • Along the western coast of continents between 35° and 50° latitude.
  • On islands between 25° and 35° or 40° latitude.
  • In humid
    montane regions of the tropics.[3][4][5]

Some laurel forests are a type of cloud forest. Cloud forests are found on mountain slopes where the dense moisture from the sea or ocean is precipitated as warm moist air masses blowing off the ocean are forced upwards by the terrain, which cools the air mass to the dew point. The moisture in the air condenses as rain or fog, creating a habitat characterized by cool, moist conditions in the air and soil. The resulting climate is wet and mild, with the annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean.[citation needed]

Characteristics

Laurel forests are characterized by evergreen and hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 m (130 ft) in height. Laurel forest, laurisilva, and laurissilva all refer to plant communities that resemble the

bay laurel.[citation needed
]

Some species belong to the true laurel family,

ivies
, whose waxy leaves somewhat resemble those of the Lauraceae.

Mature laurel forests typically have a dense tree canopy and low light levels at the forest floor.[7] Some forests are characterized by an overstory of emergent trees.

Laurel forests are typically multi-species, and diverse in both the number of species and the genera and families represented.

Misiones (Argentina), about 20 in the Canary Islands. This species diversity contrasts with other temperate forest types, which typically have a canopy dominated by one or a few species. Species diversity generally increases towards the tropics.[9]
In this sense, the laurel forest is a transitional type between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.

Origin

Laurel forests are composed of

southern beech
.

This type of vegetation characterized parts of the ancient

]

Although some remnants of archaic flora, including species and genera extinct in the rest of the world, have persisted as endemic to such coastal mountain and shelter sites, their biodiversity was reduced. Isolation in these fragmented habitats, particularly on islands, has led to the development of

glaciations show that species of Laurus were formerly distributed more widely around the Mediterranean and North Africa. Isolation gave rise to Laurus azorica in the Azores Islands, Laurus nobilis on the mainland, and Laurus novocanariensis
in the Madeira and the Canary Islands.

Ecoregions

Laurel forests occur in small areas where their particular climatic requirements prevail, in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Inner laurel forest ecoregions, a related and distinct community of

the Congo region, Cameroon, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, in lowland forest and Afromontane
areas. Since laurel forests are archaic populations that diversified as a result of isolation on islands and tropical mountains, their presence is a key to dating climatic history.[citation needed]

East Asia

Subtropical evergreen forests of Taiwan

Laurel forests are common in subtropical eastern Asia, and form the climax vegetation in far southern Japan,

Quercus subgenus Cyclobalanopsis), chinquapin (Castanopsis) and tanoak (Lithocarpus).[7] Other characteristic plants include Schima and Camellia, which are members of the tea family (Theaceae), as well as magnolias, bamboo, and rhododendrons.[11]
These subtropical forests lie between the temperate deciduous and conifer forests to the north and the subtropical/tropical monsoon forests of Indochina and India to the south.

Associations of Lauraceous species are common in broadleaved forests; for example,

spp.

In the temperate zone, the cloud forest between 2,000 and 3,000 m altitude supports broadleaved evergreen forest dominated by plants such as

, but these species do not extend toward the west beyond central Nepal. Nepalese alder (Alnus nepalensis), a pioneer tree species, grows gregariously and forms pure patches of forests on newly exposed slopes, in gullies, beside rivers, and in other moist places.

The common forest types of this zone include Rhododendron arboreum,

Acer) and Magnolia; deciduous mixed broadleaved forest of Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Sorbus cuspidata, and Magnolia campbellii; mixed broadleaved forest of Rhododendron arboreum, Acer campbellii, Symplocos ramosissima
and Lauraceae.

This zone is habitat for many other important tree and large shrub species such as pindrow fir (

.

In ancient times, laurel forests (shoyojurin) were the predominant vegetation type in the

hinoki, and only a few pockets remain.[12]

Laurel forest ecoregions in East Asia

Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines

Laurel forests occupy the humid tropical highlands of the

Quercus), tanoak (Lithocarpus), chinquapin (Castanopsis), Lauraceae, Theaceae, and Clethraceae
.

Dipterocarps and other tropical species.[13]

Laurel forest ecoregions of Sundaland, Wallacea, and the Philippines

Macaronesia and the Mediterranean Basin

Laurel forests are found in the islands of

World Heritage sites by UNESCO in 1986 and 1999, respectively. They are considered the best remaining examples of the Atlantic laurel forest, due to their intact nature.[15] The paleobotanical record of the island of Madeira reveals that laurisilva forests have existed on this island for at least 1.8 million years.[16]

Around 50 million years ago, during the

oaks with lauroid-shape leaves and Castanopsis) were common along several species of ferns.[18][19] Around the Eocene, the planet began cooling, ultimately leading to the Pleistocene glaciations. This progressively deteriorated the Paleotropical flora of Europe, which went extinct in the late Pliocene. Some of these species went globally extinct (e.g. laurophyll Quercus), others survived in the Atlantic islands (e.g. Ocotea), or in other continents (e.g. Magnolia, Liquidambar) and some adapted to the cooler and drier climate of Europe and persisted as relicts in places with high mean annual precipitation or in particular river basins, such as sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) and European holly (Ilex aquifolium), which are fairly widespread around the Mediterranean basin.[20]

Descendants of these species can be found today in Europe, throughout the Mediterranean, especially in the

Parque Natural de Los Alcornocales has the biggest and best preserved relicts of Laurisilva in Western Europe.[23]

Although the Atlantic laurisilva is more abundant in the Macaronesian archipelagos, where the weather has fluctuated little since the

Cadiz to Algeciras. In the Mediterranean region, remnant laurel forest is present on some islands of the Aegean Sea, on the Black Sea coast of Iran and Turkey, including the Castanopsis and true laurus forests, associated with Prunus laurocerasus, and conifers such as Taxus baccata, Cedrus atlantica, and Abies pinsapo
.

In Europe the laurel forest has been badly damaged by timber harvesting, by fire (both accidental and deliberate to open fields for crops), by the introduction of exotic animal and plant species that have displaced the original cover, and by replacement with arable fields, exotic timber plantations, cattle pastures, and

biota
is in serious danger of extinction. The laurel forest flora is usually strong and vigorous and the forest regenerates easily; its decline is due to external forces.

Laurel forest ecoregions of Macaronesia

Nepal

In the Himalayas, in Nepal, subtropical forest consists of species such as

Lagerstroemia parviflora forest, Quercus lamellosa forest with Quercus lanata and Quercus glauca; Castanopsis forests with Castanopsis hystrix
and Lauraceae.

Southern India

Laurel forests are also prevalent in the montane rain forests of the Western Ghats in southern India.

Sri Lanka

Laurel forest occurs in the montane rain forest of Sri Lanka.[9]

Africa

The

Knysna-Amatole montane forests of South Africa
. Afromontane forests are cool and humid. Rainfall is generally greater than 700 mm/a (28 in/year), and can exceed 2,000 mm (79 in) in some regions, occurring throughout the year or during winter or summer, depending on the region. Temperatures can be extreme at some of the higher altitudes, where snowfalls may occasionally occur.

In

Cameroon Highlands forests along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon, along the East African Highlands, a long chain of mountains extending from the Ethiopian Highlands around the African Great Lakes to South Africa, in the Highlands of Madagascar, and in the montane zone of the São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón forests. These scattered highland laurophyll forests of Africa are similar to one another in species composition (known as the Afromontane
flora), and distinct from the flora of the surrounding lowlands.

The main species of the Afromontane forests include the broadleaf canopy trees of genus

Xymalos monospora, along with the emergent conifers Podocarpus latifolius and Afrocarpus falcatus. Species composition of the Subsaharan laurel forests differs from that of Eurasia. Trees of the Laurel family are less prominent, limited to Ocotea or Beilschmiedia due to exceptional biological and paleoecological interest and the enormous biodiversity mostly but with many endemic species, and the members of the beech family (Fagaceae) are absent.[9]

Trees can be up to 30 or 40 m (98 or 131 ft) tall and distinct strata of emergent trees, canopy trees, and shrub and herb layers are present. Tree species include: Real Yellowwood (

Rapanea melanophloeos
) are often abundant along the forest edges.

Southeast United States

According to the recent study by Box and Fujiwara (Evergreen Broadleaved Forests of the Southeastern United States: Preliminary Description), laurel forests occur in patches in the southeastern United States from southeast

Mississippi river basin to southern Illinois. In many portions of the coastal plain, a low-lying mosaic topography of white sand, silt, and limestone (mostly in Florida
), separate these laurel forests. Frequent fire is also thought to be responsible for the disjointed geography of laurel forests across the coastal plain of the southeastern United States.

Despite being located in a humid climate zone, much of the broadleaf Laurel forests in the Southeast USA are semi-

.

There are several different broadleaved evergreen canopy trees in the laurel forests of the southeastern United States. In some areas, the evergreen forests are dominated by species of Live oak (

as a dense evergreen understory (Box and Fujiwara 1988).

The lower

Cyrilla racemiflora, Lyonia fruticosa, wax myrtle Myrica is present as an evergreen understory. Several species of Yucca and Opuntia are native as well to the drier sandy coastal scrub environment of the region, including Yucca aloifolia, Yucca filamentosa, Yucca gloriosa, and Opuntia stricta
.

Ancient California

During the

Umbellularia californica
, remains in California today.

There are however, several areas in Mediterranean California, as well as isolated areas of southern Oregon that have evergreen forests. Several species of evergreen Quercus forests occur, as well as a mix of evergreen scrub typical of Mediterranean climates. Species of Notholithocarpus, Arbutus menziesii, and Umbellularia californica can be canopy species in several areas.

Central America

The laurel forest is the most common

Volcán Arenal, called Monteverde, also in the Cordillera de Talamanca
.

Laurel forest ecoregions in Mexico and Central America

Tropical Andes

Yunga in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela

The

climax vegetation
.

Southeastern South America

The laurel forests of the region are known as the Laurisilva Misionera, after Argentina's

Melastomaceae.[28] The inland Alto Paraná Atlantic forests
, which occupy portions of the Brazilian Highlands in southern Brazil and adjacent parts of Argentina and Paraguay, are semi-deciduous.

Central Chile

The Valdivian temperate rain forests, or Laurisilva Valdiviana, occupy southern Chile and Argentina from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes between 38° and 45° latitude. Rainfall is abundant, from 1,500 to 5,000 mm (59–197 in) according to locality, distributed throughout the year, but with some subhumid Mediterranean climate influence for 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are sufficiently invariant and mild, with no month falling below 5 °C (41 °F), and the warmest month below 22 °C (72 °F).

Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand

Laurel forest appears on mountains of the coastal strip of New South Wales in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The laurel forests of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are home to species related to those in the Valdivian laurel forests,

niaouli
grows in Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua.

The New Guinea and Northern Australian ecoregions are also closely related.

New Guinea

The eastern end of

Aru Islands of eastern Indonesia, is linked to Australia by a shallow continental shelf, and shares many marsupial mammal and bird taxa with Australia. New Guinea also has many additional elements of the Antarctic flora, including southern beech (Nothofagus) and Eucalypts. New Guinea has the highest mountains in Malesia, and vegetation ranges from tropical lowland forest to tundra
.

The highlands of New Guinea and

Podocarps, and trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae).[9][29] New Guinea and Northern Australia are closely related. Around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. As it collided with the Pacific Plate on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea emerged around 5 million years ago.[30] In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York Peninsula
remained largely undisturbed.

Laurel forest ecoregions of New Guinea

The WWF identifies several distinct montane laurel forest ecoregions on New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland.[31]

References

  1. ^ Abstract at NASA – MODIS: Izquierdo, T; de las Heras, P; Marquez, A (2011). Vegetation indices changes in the cloud forest of La Gomera Island (Canary Islands) and their hydrological implications". Hydrological Processes, 25(10), 1531–41: "[R]esults prove the absence of summer drought stress in the laurel forest implying that the fog drip income is high enough to maintain enough soil moisture".
  2. S2CID 241360441
    .
  3. ^ Resumen, Aschan, G., María Soledad Jiménez Parrondo, Domingo Morales Méndez, Reiner Lösch (1994), "Aspectos microclimaticos de un bosque de laurisilva en Tenerife / Microclimatic aspects of a Laurel Forest in Tenerife". Vieraea: Folia scientarum biologicarum canariensium, (23), 125–41. Dialnet. (in Spanish).
  4. .
  5. .
  6. ^ a b Otto E. (Otto Emery) Jennings. "Fossil plants from the beds of volcanic ash near Missoula, western Montana" Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum, 8(2), p. 417.
  7. ^ a b c d Box, Elgene O.; Chang-Hung Chou; Kazue Fujiwara (1998). "Richness, Climatic Position, and Biogeographic Potential of East Asian Laurophyll Forests, with Particular Reference to Examples from Taiwan" (PDF). Bulletin of the Institute of Environmental Science, Yokohama National University. 24: 61–95. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-26.
  8. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ "MBG: DIVERSITY, ENDEMISM, AND EXTINCTION IN THE FLORA AND VEGETATION OF NEW CALEDONIA". mobot.org.
  11. ^ "Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  12. . p. 25.
  13. ^ "Borneo montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  14. ^ Madeira Laurel Forest, Madeira Wind Birds 2005
  15. ^ Sziemer, P. (2000). Madeira's natural history in a nutshell. Funchal, Portugal: Francisco Ribeiro & Filhos Lda.
  16. S2CID 132935444
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  17. ^ Uriarte, A. "Historia del clima de la Tierra". Bilbao, Spain: Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. S2CID 25109937
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  19. ^ Barrón, E.; Peyrot, D. (2006). "La vegetación forestal en el Terciario. Paleoambientes y cambio climático (ed. by J. Carrión, S. Fernández and N. Fuentes)". Murcia: Fundación Séneca/Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia: 56–77. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. S2CID 86477003
    . Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  21. Junta de Andalucía
    . Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  22. ^ Interpretation Manual of European Union Habitats (PDF). 2007.
  23. .
  24. .
  25. , p. 56
  26. ^ "Talamancan montane forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Araucaria moist forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  28. ^ "Serra do Mar coastal forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  29. ^ "Central Range montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  30. .
  31. .

External links