Variably moist forests grow in those areas of the Earth where precipitation in the form of rain does not fall all year round, but the dry season lasts a short time. They are located in Africa north and south of the equatorial rainforests, as well as in the northeast of Australia.

See geographical position zones of variable humid forests on the map of natural zones.

The life of variable humid forests is closely related to seasonal climatic changes: during the dry season, under conditions of moisture deficiency, plants are forced to shed their leaves, and during the wet season, again dress in foliage.

Climate. In the summer months, the temperature in the areas of variable-moist forests reaches 27 degrees Celsius, in the winter months the thermometer rarely drops below 21 degrees. The rainy season comes after the hottest month. During the summer rainy season, there are frequent thunderstorms, overcast days can be observed for several days in a row, often turning into rain. During the dry season in some areas, rain may not fall for two to three months.

Variably humid forests are dominated by yellow earth and red earth soil. The structure of the soil is granular-cloddy, the humus content gradually decreases downwards, on the surface - 2-4%.

Among the plants of variable humid forests, evergreen, coniferous and deciduous trees are distinguished. Evergreens include palm trees, ficuses, bamboo, all kinds of magnolia, cypress, camphor tree, tulip tree. Deciduous trees are represented by linden, ash, walnut, oak, maple. Of the evergreens, fir and spruce are often found.

Animals.

The animal world of variable rainforests is rich and varied. Many rodents live in the lower tier, among large animals - elephants, tigers and leopards, monkeys, pandas, lemurs, all kinds of felines have found shelter among the branches of trees. There are Himalayan bears, a raccoon dog and a wild boar. A variety of birds is represented by pheasants, parrots, partridges and black grouse. Pelicans and herons are found on the banks of rivers and lakes.

Man has destroyed a significant part of the variable rainforests. Rice, tea bush, mulberry, tobacco, cotton, citrus fruits are grown on the site of cut down forests. It will take a long time to restore the lost areas of forests.

Monsoon forests are huge green areas with lush vegetation and rich wildlife. During the rainy season, they resemble equatorial evergreen forests. Found in subequatorial and tropical climates. They attract tourists and photographers with a variety of picturesque landscapes.

Description

Moist monsoon forests are most common in the tropics. Most often they are located at an altitude of 850 meters above sea level. They are also called deciduous due to the fact that the trees lose their foliage during the drought period. Heavy rains return them to their former juiciness and color. The trees here reach a height of twenty meters, the leaves on the crowns are small. Evergreen species, many lianas and epiphytes are common in the undergrowth. Orchids grow in the monsoon zone. They are found in the Brazilian coastal mountain ranges, the Himalayas, Malaysia, Mexico, Indochina.

Peculiarities

Monsoon forests in the Far East are famous for their variety of plants and animals. Warm and humid summers, an abundance of plant foods create favorable conditions for the habitat of insects, birds, and mammals. Coniferous and broad-leaved trees are found here. Among the inhabitants of the forests, sable, squirrel, chipmunk, hazel grouse, as well as animals rare for the climatic zone of Russia were noticed. Characteristic inhabitants of the monsoon forests are the Ussuri tiger, black bear, spotted deer, wolf, and raccoon dog. There are many wild boars, hares, moles, pheasants on the territory. reservoirs subequatorial climate rich in fish. Some species are protected.

Rare orchids grow in the humid forests of Brazil, Mexico, and Indochina. About sixty percent are sympodial species, well known among flower growers. The red-yellow soils of the monsoon territories are favorable for ficuses, palm trees, valuable tree species. The most famous include teak, satin, lard, iron. For example, it is able to form a dark grove from its trunks. A huge banyan tree grows in the Indian Botanical Garden, which has almost two thousand (!) Trunks. The crown of the tree covers an area of ​​twelve thousand square meters. Variably humid forests become a habitat for bamboo bears (pandas), salamanders, tigers, leopards, poisonous insects and snakes.

Climate

Which one dominates the monsoon forests? Winter here is mostly dry, summer is not hot, but warm. The dry season lasts three to four months. The average air temperature is lower than in the humid tropics: the absolute minimum is -25 degrees, the maximum is 35 with a "+" sign. The temperature difference is from eight to twelve degrees. A characteristic feature of the climate is prolonged heavy rains in summer and their absence in winter. The difference between the two opposite seasons is huge.

The monsoon forests are known for their morning mist and low clouds. That is why the air is so saturated with moisture. Already by noon, the bright sun completely evaporates moisture from the vegetation. In the afternoon, foggy haze forms again in the forests. High humidity and cloudiness persist for a long period of time. In winter, precipitation also falls, but rarely.

Geography

AT subequatorial belt due to the large amount of precipitation and their uneven distribution, high temperature contrast, monsoon forests develop. On the territory of Russia, they grow in the Far East, have a complex terrain, rich flora and fauna. There are humid forests in Indochina, Hindustan, the Philippine Islands, Asia, North and South America, and Africa. Despite the long rainy seasons and prolonged drought, the fauna in the monsoon forest zones is poorer than in the humid equatorial ones.

The monsoon phenomenon is most pronounced on the Indian continent, where a period of drought is replaced by heavy downpours, the duration of which can be seven months. Such a change in weather is typical for Indochina, Burma, Indonesia, Africa, Madagascar, northern and eastern Australia, and Oceania. For example, in Indochina and the Hindustan Peninsula, the dry period in the forests lasts seven months (from April to October). Trees with large crowns and an irregularly shaped vault grow in vast monsoon territories. Sometimes forests grow in tiers, which is especially noticeable from a height.

The soil

Monsoon moist soils are characterized by a red tint, a granular structure, and a low content of humus. The soil is rich in useful trace elements such as iron and silicon. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium in moist soil is very small. On the territory of Southeast Asia, zheltozems and red soils predominate. Central Africa and are distinguished by dry chernozem. Interestingly, with the cessation of rain, the concentration of humus in monsoon forests increases. The reserve is one of the forms of wildlife protection on the territory rich in valuable plants and animals. It is in humid forests that many species of orchids are found.

Plants and fauna

Monsoon forests in the subequatorial climate of Hindustan, China, Indochina, Australia, America, Africa, the Far East (Russia) are characterized by a variety of fauna. For example, teak trees are common in Southeast Asia in variable humid zones, as well as Indochinese laurel and ebony. There are also bamboo, creepers, butea, cereals. Many trees in the forests are highly valued for their healthy and durable wood. For example, teak bark is dense and resistant to destruction by termites and fungi. Sal forests grow at the southern foot of the Himalayas. In the monsoon regions of Central America there are many thorny bushes. It also grows in a humid climate and is a valuable Jat tree.

In the subequatorial climate, fast-growing trees are common. Palm trees, acacias, baobab, euphorbia, cecropium, entandrophragma, ferns predominate, there are many other types of plants and flowers. The humid climate zone is characterized by a wide variety of birds and insects. In the forests there are woodpeckers, parrots, toucans, butterflies. Among terrestrial animals, marsupials, elephants, various representatives of the cat family, freshwater, amphibians, frogs, snakes are found in monsoon woodlands. This world is truly bright and rich.

Introduction

Eurasia is the largest continent on Earth, the area is 53,893 thousand square kilometers, which is 36% of the land area. The population is over 4.8 billion people.

The continent is located in the Northern Hemisphere between approximately 9° and 169° West longitude, with some of the Eurasian islands located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of continental Eurasia lies in the Eastern Hemisphere, although the extreme western and eastern ends of the mainland are in the Western Hemisphere. Contains two parts of the world: Europe and Asia.

All climatic zones and natural zones are represented in Eurasia.

Natural zone - part of a geographical zone with homogeneous climatic conditions.

Natural areas take their name from their natural vegetation and other geographical features. The zones regularly change from the equator to the poles and from the oceans deep into the continents; have similar temperature and moisture conditions, which determine homogeneous soils, vegetation, wildlife and other components of the natural environment. Natural zones are one of the stages of physical and geographical zoning.

The main natural zones of the subequatorial and equatorial belts of Eurasia considered in the course work are the zone of variable humid, including monsoon forests, the zone of savannas and light forests, the zone of equatorial forests.

A zone of variable humid, monsoon forests develops on the plains of Hindustan, Indochina and in the northern half of the Philippine Islands, a zone of savannahs and woodlands - on the Deccan Plateau and the interior of the Indochina Peninsula, humid equatorial forests - throughout the Malay Archipelago, the southern half of the Philippine Islands, the southwest Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula.

The course work gives a detailed description of these natural areas, reflects the geographical location, climate, soil, flora, its ecological features, animal population and its ecological features. A topical topic is also developed - the environmental problems of the equatorial and subequatorial belts of Eurasia. First of all, these include the deforestation of moist equatorial forests and the desertification of savannahs under the influence of grazing.

Zone of variable humid, including monsoon forests

Geographical location, natural conditions

In the subequatorial zone, due to seasonal precipitation and uneven distribution of precipitation over the territory, as well as contrasts in the annual course of temperatures, landscapes of subequatorial variable humid forests develop on the plains of Hindustan, Indochina and in the northern half of the Philippine Islands.

Variably humid forests occupy the most humid regions of the lower reaches of the Ganges-Brahmaputra, the coastal regions of Indochina and the Philippine archipelago, are especially well developed in Thailand, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, where at least 1500 millimeters of precipitation falls. On drier plains and plateaus, where the amount of precipitation does not exceed 1000-800 millimeters, seasonally moist monsoon forests grow, which once covered large areas of the Hindustan peninsula and southern Indochina (Korat Plateau). With a decrease in precipitation to 800-600 millimeters and a reduction in the rainfall period from 200 to 150-100 days a year, forests are replaced by savannahs, woodlands and shrubs.

The soils here are ferralitic, but predominantly red. With a decrease in the amount of rain, the concentration of humus in them increases. They are formed as a result of ferralitic weathering (the process is accompanied by the decay of most of the primary minerals, with the exception of quartz, and the accumulation of secondary ones - kaolinite, goethite, gibbsite, etc.) and humus accumulation under the forest vegetation of the humid tropics. They are characterized by low content of silica, high content of aluminum and iron, low cation exchange and high anion absorption capacity, predominantly red and variegated yellow-red color of the soil profile, very acidic reaction. Humus contains mainly fulvic acids. Humus contain 8-10%.

The hydrothermal regime of seasonally humid tropical communities is characterized by constantly high temperatures and a sharp change in the wet and dry seasons, which determines the specific features of the structure and dynamics of their fauna and animal population, which noticeably distinguish them from communities of tropical rainforests. First of all, the presence of a dry season lasting from two to five months determines the seasonal rhythm of life processes in almost all animal species. This rhythm is expressed in the confinement of the breeding period mainly to the wet season, in the complete or partial cessation of activity during the drought, in the migratory movements of animals both within the biome under consideration and outside it during the unfavorable dry season. Falling into full or partial anabiosis is characteristic of many terrestrial and soil invertebrates, for amphibians, and migration is characteristic of some insects capable of flight (for example, locusts), birds, bats and large ungulates.

Africa is the hottest continent on planet Earth. The equator line passing through the center of the Black Continent symmetrically divides its area into different natural zones. The characteristic of the natural zones of Africa allows you to form a general idea of ​​the geographical position of Africa, about the features of the climate, soil, flora and fauna of each of the zones.

What natural areas is Africa located in?

Africa is the second largest continent on our planet. This continent is washed by two oceans and two seas from different sides. But its main feature is its symmetrical arrangement to the equator. In other words, the equator line horizontally divides the continent into two equal parts. The northern half is much wider than southern Africa. As a result, all the natural zones of Africa are located on the map from north to south in the following order:

• savannas;
• variable-humid forests;
• humid evergreen equatorial forests;
• variable humid forests;
• savannas;
• tropical deserts and semi-deserts;
• subtropical evergreen hardwood forests and shrubs.

Fig.1 Natural areas of Africa

Moist equatorial forests

On both sides of the equator is a zone of humid evergreen equatorial forests. It occupies a rather narrow strip and is characterized by numerous precipitations. In addition, it is rich in water resources: the deepest Congo River flows through its territory, and the Gulf of Guinea washes its banks.

Constant heat, numerous rainfall and high humidity have led to the formation of lush vegetation on red-yellow ferralite soils. Evergreen equatorial forests surprise with their density, impenetrability and variety of plant organisms. Their feature is versatility. It became possible due to the endless struggle for sunlight, in which not only trees, but also epiphytes and climbing vines take part.

The tsetse fly lives in the equatorial and subequatorial zones of Africa, as well as in the wooded part of the savannah. Her bite is deadly to humans, as she is a carrier of a "sleeping" disease, which is accompanied by terrible pain in the body and fever.

Rice. 2 Moist evergreen equatorial forests

Savannah

The amount of precipitation is directly related to the richness of the plant world. The gradual reduction of the rainy season leads to the appearance of a dry one, and the humid equatorial forests are gradually replaced by variable wet ones, and then they turn into savannahs. The last natural zone occupies the largest area of ​​the Black Continent, and makes up about 40% of the entire continent.

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Here, the same red-brown ferrallitic soils are observed, on which various herbs, cereals, and baobabs grow mainly. Low trees and shrubs are much rarer.

A distinctive feature of the savannah is a dramatic change in appearance - juicy tones of green during the rainy season fade sharply under the scorching sun during dry periods and become brown-yellow.

Savannah is unique and rich in wildlife. A large number of birds live here: flamingos, ostriches, marabou, pelicans and others. It impresses with an abundance of herbivores: buffaloes, antelopes, elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, rhinos and many others. They are also food for the following predators: lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, hyenas, crocodiles.

Rice. 3 African Savannah

Tropical deserts and semi-deserts

In the southern part of the mainland, the Namib Desert dominates. But neither it nor any other desert in the world can compare with the greatness of the Sahara, which consists of rocky, clay and sandy deserts. The amount of precipitation per year in sugar does not exceed 50 mm. But this does not mean that these lands are lifeless. The flora and fauna is quite scarce, but it exists.

Of the plants, it should be noted such representatives as sclerophyd, succulents, acacia. The date palm grows in the oases. Animals have adapted to the dry climate. Lizards, snakes, turtles, beetles, scorpions can do without water for a long time.

In the Libyan part of the Sahara, one of the most beautiful oases in the world is located, in the center of which there is a large lake, the name of which literally translates as “Mother of Water”.

Rice. 4 Sahara Desert

Subtropical evergreen hardwood forests and shrubs

The most extreme natural zones of the African continent are subtropical evergreen hardwood forests and shrubs. They are located in the north and southwest of the mainland. They are characterized by dry, hot summers and wet, warm winters. Such a climate favored the formation of fertile brown soils, on which the Lebanese cedar, wild olive, arbutus, beech and oak grow.

Table of Natural Areas of Africa

This table for grade 7 in geography will help you compare the natural areas of the mainland and figure out which natural area prevails in Africa.

What have we learned?

Today we talked about the natural areas of the hottest continent on Earth - Africa. So let's call them again:

• subtropical evergreen hardwood forests and shrubs;
• tropical deserts and semi-deserts;
• savannas;
• variable-humid forests;
• moist evergreen equatorial forests.

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"Peoples of Eurasia" - Romance peoples are dark-haired, swarthy. Russian Ukrainians Belarusians. Frenchwoman. Oriental. On the territory of Eurasia live peoples belonging to different language families and groups. About 3/4 of the world's population lives in Eurasia. Slavic peoples. Religions of Eurasia. Poles, Czechs, Slovaks. The Germanic peoples are characterized by blond hair and fair skin.

"Climatic features of Eurasia" - High average annual and summer temperatures. Temperature. Definition of climate types. Climatic zones and regions of Eurasia. The climate is mild. Arctic air. January temperature. You have learned to read. Temperature and winds in January. Climate charts. Relief. Climatic features of Eurasia. The greatest amount of precipitation.

"Eurasia Geography Lesson" - To introduce students to the idea of ​​​​Eurasia. Explain the effect of size on natural features. Semenov-Tan-Shansky P.P. The highest mountain in the world Chomolungma - 8848 m. Geographical position of Eurasia. General information about Eurasia. Name the names of travelers and explorers of the continent. Obruchev V.A.

"Nature of Eurasia" - Square. Minerals. Inland waters. natural areas. Climate. Eurasia. Relief. organic world. Geographical position. Mainland records.

"Lakes of Eurasia" - The correct answer. -Tectonic lakes in faults have a great depth, an elongated shape. Lake basin of glacial origin. Such lakes are lakes - seas: Caspian and Aral. Internal waters of Eurasia. Determination of the types of lake basins in Eurasia. Lake basin of tectonic origin.

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