Module I Introduction

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Content

Introduction

Forests are found in tropical, temperate and boreal zones. This module examines what is meant by the tropics and how they are distinguished from the other zones. We will look at how these zones were identified and their relationship to both vegetation type and climate.

Tropical forests do not coincide precisely with the latitudinal tropics, that area lying between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Instead, they occur where there is sufficient moisture to support trees and sufficient temperatures to support what we consider to be tropical vegetation. Tropical forests can be found in regions that are wet all year round, and also in the seasonally dry tropics. The amount of rainfall has a major effect on the type of vegetation present, but so does the temperature, particularly the year-round warmth.

In this module we will also examine some of the driving forces behind the development of tropical forests. These include very long-term processes, such as the movement of the Earth’s plates and the evolution of different lifeforms, as well as short-term factors such as violent volcanic explosions and the effects of asteroid collisions with the Earth.

 

 

FODE 008-01