Laurel forest
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of
Ecology
Laurel and laurophyll forests have a patchy distribution in warm
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
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
Some species belong to the true laurel family,
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. In this sense, the laurel forest is a transitional type between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.
Origin
Laurel forests are composed of
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
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
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
Laurel forests are common in subtropical eastern Asia, and form the climax vegetation in far southern Japan,
Associations of Lauraceous species are common in broadleaved forests; for example,
In the temperate zone, the cloud forest between 2,000 and 3,000 m altitude supports broadleaved evergreen forest dominated by plants such as
The common forest types of this zone include Rhododendron arboreum,
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
Laurel forest ecoregions in East Asia
- Changjiang Plain evergreen forests (China)
- Chin Hills–Arakan Yoma montane forests (Myanmar)
- Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests (Bhutan, India, Nepal)
- Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests (China)
- Jiang Nan subtropical evergreen forests (China)
- Nihonkai evergreen forests (Japan)
- Northern Annamites rain forests (Laos, Vietnam)
- Northern Indochina subtropical forests (China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam)
- Northern Triangle subtropical forests (Myanmar)
- South China–Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests (China, Vietnam)
- Southern Korea evergreen forests (South Korea)
- Taiheiyo evergreen forests (Japan)
- Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests (Taiwan)
Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines
Laurel forests occupy the humid tropical highlands of the
.Laurel forest ecoregions of Sundaland, Wallacea, and the Philippines
- Borneo montane rain forests
- Eastern Java–Bali montane rain forests
- Luzon montane rain forests
- Mindanao montane rain forests
- Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests
- Sulawesi montane rain forests
- Sumatran montane rain forests
- Western Java montane rain forests
Macaronesia and the Mediterranean Basin
Laurel forests are found in the islands of
Around 50 million years ago, during the
Descendants of these species can be found today in Europe, throughout the Mediterranean, especially in the
Although the Atlantic laurisilva is more abundant in the Macaronesian archipelagos, where the weather has fluctuated little since the
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
Laurel forest ecoregions of Macaronesia
Nepal
In the Himalayas, in Nepal, subtropical forest consists of species such as
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
In
The main species of the Afromontane forests include the broadleaf canopy trees of genus
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 (
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
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 (
The lower
Ancient California
During the
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
Laurel forest ecoregions in Mexico and Central America
- Central American montane forests
- Chiapas montane forests
- Chimalapas montane forests
- Oaxacan montane forests
- Talamancan montane forests
- Veracruz montane forests
Tropical Andes
The
Southeastern South America
The laurel forests of the region are known as the Laurisilva Misionera, after Argentina's
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,
The New Guinea and Northern Australian ecoregions are also closely related.
New Guinea
The eastern end of
The highlands of New Guinea and
Laurel forest ecoregions of New Guinea
The WWF identifies several distinct montane laurel forest ecoregions on New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland.[31]
- Central Range montane rain forests
- Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
- New Britain–New Ireland montane rain forests
- Northern New Guinea montane rain forests
- Vogelkop montane rain forests
References
- ^ 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".
- S2CID 241360441.
- ^ 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).
- .
- S2CID 32800204.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ .
- ^ "MBG: DIVERSITY, ENDEMISM, AND EXTINCTION IN THE FLORA AND VEGETATION OF NEW CALEDONIA". mobot.org.
- ^ "Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8131-2342-4. p. 25.
- ^ "Borneo montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ Madeira Laurel Forest, Madeira Wind Birds 2005
- ^ Sziemer, P. (2000). Madeira's natural history in a nutshell. Funchal, Portugal: Francisco Ribeiro & Filhos Lda.
- S2CID 132935444.
- ^ Uriarte, A. "Historia del clima de la Tierra". Bilbao, Spain: Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco.
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(help) - S2CID 25109937.
- ^ 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.
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(help) - S2CID 86477003. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- Junta de Andalucía. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ^ Interpretation Manual of European Union Habitats (PDF). 2007.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-520-09839-8.
- ISBN 978-1-282-35915-4, p. 56
- ^ "Talamancan montane forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Araucaria moist forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ "Serra do Mar coastal forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ "Central Range montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
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- ISBN 978-1-55963-923-1.