By William Dieu
A cloud forest, also known as a fog forest, is basically a forest covered with a low-level cloud. Rain forests are almost exactly the same because they both receive high levels of rain. The difference is that the rain for the cloud forests comes directly from the clouds. Cloud forests often have a surplus amount of mosses growing on the ground which then they are called mossy forests. These forests are generally on edge or back of a mountain because of the settling moisture from the clouds.
There are loads of cloud forests all over the world. Many people think of them as uniquely tropical. Some are in Australia, Japan, United States and that’s just to name a few. People say that if you walk under one of them, you’d think you were in a rain storm. Cloud forests are important due to functions they have. The water shed function is that rainfall can be doubled in dry seasons and increase in the wet season by around 10%. This occurs because of the cloud-stripping strategy which is simply clouds coming in contact with the tree, water is collected on the leaves and stems.
The natural place for animals is very high. In Peru, more than one third of local birds, mammals, and frogs are found in cloud forests. The mountain gorilla is one of the best known cloud forest mammals because of them almost becoming extinct. A large amount of the animals have specific functions in the ecosystem such as seed dispersal and forest dynamics.
In 2001, lowland deforestation occurred and impacted the nearby cloud forests in Costa Rica. The damage was so terrible that the life of the flora might have been threatened. If the forest had been lost, it would take unique plants and animals with it.
Sources:
5. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/top_5_environmental_questions/top_5_questions_about_forests/
Image Sources:1. http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/12/cows.lasgralarisas.568.jpg
2. http://www.varmaphoto.com/data/photos/36_1img_1095.jpg
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