The adaptation of Tropical monsoon forest to it’s environment.
Ø Structure of the forest
ü Tropical monsoon forests have three vertical layers. The trees founded in the tropical monsoon forest are also much shorter than the tress founded in tropical rainforest. This is because in tropical monsoon forest, the tress were lacking of water supply during the dry season. Thus, it did not allow the trees to grow to great heights. The average heights of the trees are around 15 meters to 30 meters.
ü The three layers are undergrowth layer, understorey layer, and canopy layer.
ü Undergrowth layer are the layer where short trees such as bamboo thickets and grasses grow. The bamboo thickets and the grass would grow densely during the wet season, and they are less dense during the dry season.
ü Understorey layer are the middle layer of the forest. The trees that are founded in the understorey layer are mostly found around 6 meters to 15 meters heights.
ü Canopy layer are the top layer of the trees. These layers consist of the highest tress founded on the tropical monsoon forest. The trees in this layer could grow to a height of 25 to 30 meters. The examples of trees founded are creepers vines, epiphytes, and parasitic plants.
Ø Diversity of plant species
ü The plants species founded in tropical monsoon forest are fewer compared to tropical rainforest. This s because of the inconsistent rainfall. In tropical monsoon forest, we could find 200 species of plants in one hectare of the forest.
ü During the dry season the plants lose their leaves and the forest appears sprse. The plants founded in tropical monsoon forest are not as dense as the tropical rainforest during the dry season. Thus, their crowns did not interlock to form continuous canopy that block the sunlight to pass through to the undergrowth layer. The
ü However, during the wet season, the trees in tropical monsoon forest are not much different as the trees founded in tropical rainforest. The forests are very dense and luxuriant as the leaves on the plants are more abundant.
Ø Plants characteristic
|drip tips leafs|
· The leaves have a waxy surface and drip tips. This is to facilitate the draining off of rainfall and prevents bacteria from growing on them. High rainfall and temperatures promote the growth of bacteria.
· Some trees such as bamboo have thin and narrow leaves. This is to minimize water loss through transpiration. Some trees shed their leaves during the dry season to minimize the transpiration too.
· Trees have a thick and coarse barks, this is to protect the trunk from heat and dryness during the dry season. The thick bark helps the trees to withstand the extreme heat from natural forest flies which break out occasionally.
· In tropical monsoon forest, the branches of the trees are founded in the middle of the trunks, instead of near the top.
ü Flowers and fruits
· The plants found in a tropical monsoon forest produced flowers and fruits during the dry season while they are leafless
· The trees founded in tropical monsoon forest have deep roots under the ground. The roots that anchor the trees firmly to the ground and enable them to tap underground water during the dry season as the rainfall in tropical monsoon forest are irregular trough out the year.