Laurel forest
Encyclopedia
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest
, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide. The members of the Laurel family (Lauraceae
) may be prominent, or in association.
Some species belong to the true laurel family or Lauraceae
, but many have similar foliage to the Lauraceae due to convergent evolution
. As in any other rainforest, plants of the laurel forests must adapt to high rainfall and humidity. The trees adapted by developing leaves that repel water. Laurophyll or lauroide leaves are characterized by a generous layer of wax, making them glossy in appearance, and narrow, pointed oval in shape with an apical mucro, or 'drip tip', which permit the leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing perspiration and respiration from plant. The scientific names laurina, laurifolia, laurophylla, lauriformis, and lauroides are often used to name species of other plant families that resemble Lauraceace. The term "Lucidophyll", referring to the shiny surface of the leaves, was proposed in 1977 by Tatuo Kira.
Mature laurel forests typically have a dense tree canopy, and low light levels at the forest floor. Some forests are characterized by an overstory of emergent trees.
Laurel forests are typically multi-species, and diverse in the number of species represented, as well as the diversity of genera and families represented. In the absence of strong environmental selective pressure, the number of species sharing the arboreal stratum is high, nearly 100 tree species have been described in the laurisilva
rainforest of Misiones (Argentina
), about 20 in the Canary Islands, not reaching the values of tropical forests. This species diversity contrasts with other temperate forest types, which typically have a canopy dominated by one or a few species. Species diversity generally increases towards the tropics. In this sense, the laurel forest is a transitional type between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.
Laurel forest is a type of rainforest
or Cloud Forest
. An ecosystem
of great exuberance characterized by high humidity, no seasonal changes and with a wide variety of botanical and zoological species but also highly fragile against external aggressions. Characterized by evergreen and hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 meters in height.
The temperate evergreen and evergreen forests are typically multispecies. Evergreen because the mild climate allows for continuous biological activity, and multispecies for the remarkable diversity of tree species in the vault forestal. Indeed, in the absence of strong environmental selective pressure, the number of species sharing the arboreal stratum is high, nearly 100 tree species have been described in the rainforest laurisilva of Misiones (Argentina
), about 20 in the Canary Islands, not reaching the values of tropical forests yet. It is precisely this multispecies what they deserve the name of rainforest, in contrast to the "forest", Mediterranean forests, temperate deciduous forests etc., which is monospecific with a canopy dominated by one or a few species. In this sense, the laurel forest or laurisilva is a formation of transition between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.
However, despite the large number of species, there is considerable morphological convergence between the different species of trees, especially in the leaves, which correspond mainly to the type "lauroide" (Sweet bay): wide, oval, leathery, glossy. Hence the Latin name given to the training: laurus
.
The laurel forest is a type of cloud forest, the cloud forests
, are developed preferably about mountain
s, where the dense moisture
from the sea or ocean, is precipitated by the action of the relief. Opposing the terrain to a front of warm, moist air mass, it forces to increase the height above sea level of that body wet and warm air mass, which cools and decreases the dew point
, causing it to condense part of the moisture that falls as rain or fog, creating an habitat especially cool, saturated with moisture in the air and soil.
The Mediterranean climate is the balance between dry and warm influence of the subtropical anticyclone, hot and dry summer and the polar air stream, Antarctic and Arctic, responsible for carrying rain storms, cool wet winter.
As latitude increases, this increases the impact of the storms, which in its journey from west to east, swept the western coasts of continents, dumping heavy rains as carrying high humidity.
Precipitation multiply if these air masses are crossing mountains in the way. The resulting climate is wetter, but with an annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean.
These are the climatic conditions of Chile between 38 º and 45 º latitude. Rainfall is abundant, from 1500 to 5000 mm according to locality, and are spaced out throughout the year, but still see the influence subhumid Mediterranean with 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are unchanging enough and mild, without any month the average fall below 5 °C, with values for the warmest month below 22 °C.
The coasts of Brazil and Argentina, between 25 º and 35 º latitude, are under a laurel forest typical weather patterns. This region still falls in the area of influence of the subtropical anticyclone, which this side sends warm air, moist and unstable at high latitudes. During the summer the anticyclone strengthens and increases the flow of moist air mass, which, as it rises and cools, producing heavy rainfall. In winter, remove the cyclone and strengthening the polar air inlet to the west, causing rain-bearing depressions. Overall, the average annual rainfall varies according to locality, between 1,500 and 2,000 mm. The average temperature is around 20-21 °C, with mild winters and moderately hot summers, due to the moderating effect of heavy rains. This softness does not prevent them occur frost and even snow in the higher regions, which is a limiting factor for species from lower latitudes. A climate of these characteristics is classified as humid subtropical, or warm and rainy with warm summers.
The Atlantic laurel forest covered the European continent, North Africa and Middle East Asia, during the Tertiary, when tropical weather dominated the Mediterranean. Currently its largest populations are found on the islands of Macaronesia
in the North Atlantic Ocean, forming the so-called Macaronesian laurissilva.
It features deep soil and is typical of the northern midlands influenced by the mists of the trade winds, lack of frost, rainfall of 500 to 1,100 mm per year and an average annual temperature between 15 and 19 °C. It comprises a variety of trees, understory plants and species of insects and animals that live in wet conditions over 80%, usually appear on the site of heavy rain, mostly occupying favorable areas named geographically Umbria
s, this is north hillsides or slopes of the mountainous areas that are oriented behind the sun in the northern hemisphere
, of islands between 400 and 1500 meters, thus benefiting from the humidity provided by the trade winds to form such a sea of clouds. Macaronesian laurel forest comprises two subtypes: the laurilsilva and fayal-brezal in degradated areas. Due to the large amount of water and the terrain, it flows in the form of streams and waterfalls everywhere or stay quiet in ponds and puddles or drips, it cover and soak of the plants, rocks, soil, logs, moss etc. and the forest still remain impassable during heavy rains, the beauty of the set make it a tourist attraction.
Laurel forest formations are remarkable both by extension and biodiversity in great areas of Southeast Asia and Africa, mainland and islands, with the typical formation of Annobon
, but these formations are less studied.
s evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana
, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere
, including southern South America
, southernmost Africa
, New Zealand
, Australia
and New Caledonia
. These lauroides plant communities are twofold to tropical climate and temperate climate, having the more temperate climate their origin in the named Antarctic flora
.
, southern China, the mountains of Indochina
, and the eastern Himalayas
. In southern China, laurel forest once extended throughout the Yangtze Valley and Sichuan Basin from the East China Sea
to the Tibetan Plateau
. The northernmost laurel forests in East Asia occur at 39º N. on the Pacific coast of Japan. Altitudinally, the forests range from sea-level up to 1000 meters in warm-temperate Japan, and up to 3000 meters elevation in the tropical mountains of Asia. Some forests are dominated by Lauraceae, while in others evergreen laurophyll trees of the beech family (Fagaceae
) are predominant, including ring-cupped oaks (Quercus subgenus Cyclobalanopsis), chinquapin (Castanopsis
) and tanoak (Lithocarpus
). Other characteristic plants include Schima
and Camellia
, which are members of the tea family (Theaceae
), as well as Magnolia
s, bamboo
, and rhododendron
s. These subtropical forests lie between the temperate deciduous and conifer forests to the north, and the tropical monsoon forests of Indochina and India to the south.
In the Himalayas, Nepal, subtropical forest consists of species such as Schima wallichii, Castanopsis indica, and Castenopsis tribuloides on relatively humid areas. Some common forest types in this region include Castanopsis tribuloirdes mixed with Schima wallichi, Rhododendron spp., Lyonia ovalifolia, Eurya acuminata, and Quercus glauca; Castanopsis-Laurales forest with Symplocas spp.; Alnus nepalensis forests; Schima wallichii-Castanopsis indica hygrophile forest; Schima-Pinus forest; Pinus roxburghii forests with Phyllanthus emblica. Semicarpus anacardium, Rhododendron arboreum and Lyoma ovalifolia; Schima-Lagestromea parviflora forest, Quercus lamellosa forest with Quercus lenata and Quercus glauca; Castononpsis forests with Castononpsis hystrix and Lauraceae.
Associations of Lauraceous species are common in broadleaved forests; for example, Litsea
spp., litsea cupola, Persea odoratissima, Persea duthiei, etc., along with such others as Engelhardtia spicata, Rhododendron arboreum, Lyonia ovalifolia, Pyrus pashia, Rhus spp., Acer oblongum, myrica esculenta, Michelia kisopa, and Betula alnoides.
Some other common trees and large shrub species of subtropical forests are Semicarpus anacardium, Cretaeava unilocularis, Trewia nudiflora, Premna interrupta, Ulmus lancifolia, Ulmus chumlia, Glochidium velutinum, Callicarpa arborea, Toona ciliata, Ficus spp., Mahosama similicifolia, Trevesia palmate, Xylosma longifolium, Boehmeria rugulosa, Scheffera venulosa, Michelia spp., Casearia graveilens, Rhus wallichii, Actinodaphne reticulata, Sapimum insegne, Alns nepalensis, Ardisia thyrsiflora, Ilex spp, Macaranga pustulata, Trichilia cannoroides, Celtis tetranda, Wenlendia puberula, Saurauia nepalensis, Ligustrum confusum, Quercus glauca, Zizyphus incurva, Camellia kissi, Hymenodictyon flaccidum, Maytenus thomsonii, Zanthoxylum armatum, Rhus succednea, Eurya acuminata, Myrsine semiserrata, Slonea tomentosa, Hydrangea asper, Symplocus spp., Cleyrea spp. and Quercus lamellose.
In Temperate zone (cloud forest) from 2,000 to 3,000 m. This zone supports broadleaved evergreen forest dominated by plants such as Quercus lamillosa and Q. semicarpifolia in pure or mixed stands. Species such as Lindera and Litsea. Tseuga dumosa and Rhododendron spp. are also present in the upper levels of this zone. Other important species are Magnolia campbellii, Michelia doltsopa, Pieris ovalifolia, Daphnephyllum himalayanse, Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, and Sorbus cuspidata but these species do not extend toward the west beyond central Nepal. Alnus nepalensis, a pioneer tree species, grows gregariously and forms pure patches of forests on newly exposed slopes, gullies, moist places and on riversides.
The common forest types of this zone include Rododendraon arboreum, Rohododendron barbatum, Lyonia spp., Pieris Formosa; Tsuga dumosa forest with such deciduous species as Acer and Magnolia; deciduous mixed broadleaved forest of Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Sorbus cuspidata, and Magnolia campbellii; mixed broadleaved forest of Rhododendron arboreum, Acer campbellii, Symplocos ramosissima and Lauraceae.
This zone is habitat for many other important tree and large shrub species such as Abies pindrow, Betula utilis, Buxus rugulosa, Benthamidia capitata, Corylus ferox, Deutzia staminea, Euonymus tingens, Abies spectalbilis, Acanthopanax cissifolius, Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Betula alnoides, Coriaria terminalis, Fraxinus macrantha, odecadenia grandiflora}}, Eurya cerasifolia, Hydrangea heteromala, Ilex dipyrena, Ligustrum spp., Litsea elongata, Juglans regia, Lichelia doltsopa, Myrsine capitallata, Neolitsea umbrosa, Philadelphus tomentosus, Osmanthus fragrans, Prunus cornuta, Rhododendron companulatum, Sorbus cuspidate, and Vibernum continifolium.
In ancient times, laurel forests (shoyojurin) were the predominant vegetation type in the Taiheiyo evergreen forests
ecoregion of Japan
, which encompasses the mild temperate climate region of southeastern Japan's Pacific coast. There were three main types of evergreen broadleaf forests, in which Castanopsis
, Machilus
, or Quercus predominated. Most of these forests were logged or cleared for cultivation, and replanted with faster-growing conifers, like pine
or hinoki, and only a few pockets remain.
, Greater Sunda Islands
, and Philippines
above 1000 meters elevation. The flora of these forests is similar to that of the warm-temperate and subtropical laurel forests of East Asia, including oaks (Quercus), tanoak (Lithocarpus
), chinquapin (Castanopsis
), Lauraceae, Theaceae
, and Clethraceae
. Epiphytes, including orchids, ferns, moss, lichen, and liverworts, are more abundant than in either temperate laurel forests or in the adjacent lowland tropical rain forests. Myrtaceae
are common at lower elevations, and conifers and rhododendrons common at higher elevations. These forests are distinct in species composition from the lowland tropical forests, which are dominated by Dipterocarps and other tropical species.
forests are found in the islands of Macaronesia
in the eastern Atlantic, in particular the Azores
, Madeira Islands, and Canary Islands
from 400 to 1200 meters elevation. Trees of the genera Apollonias
(Lauraceae
), Ocotea
(Lauraceae
), Persea
(Lauraceae
), Clethra
(Clethra
ceae), Dracaena
(Ruscaceae
), and Picconia
(Oleaceae
) are characteristic. The Madeira Islands laurel forest was designated a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO
in 1999.
Millions of years ago, Laurel forests were widespread around the Mediterranean Basin
. The drying of the region since the Pliocene
, and cooling of the region during the Ice Ages, caused these rainforest to retreat. Some relict
Mediterranean laurel forest species, such as Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) and European Holly
(Ilex aquifolium), are fairly widespread around the Mediterranean basin.
In the Mediterranean there are other areas with species adapted to the same habitat, but without forming a laurel forest, they share some species of the Macaronesian laurilva. The most important is the ivy, a climber or vine that is well represented in most of Europe, where it spread again after the glaciations. The "loro" (Prunus lusitanica
), the only tree that survives in a relict in some Iberian streams, especially in the western part of the peninsula, particularly Extremadura
, and a little on the Northeast. In other cases, the presence of Mediterranean laurel (Laurus nobilis), provides an indication of where was the laurel forest. This species survives native in Morocco, Italy, Greece and the Mediterranean islands. In the Iberian Peninsula
appears in some Mediterranean streams, such as the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales in the province of Cádiz
. Also appearing in coastal mountains especially in, Girona Province of Catalonia
which keeps the best "lauredales" and some scraps in the Valencia area. Cortegada Island
in Galicia, is famous for its vast forest of laurels, but this forest is not indigenous to the island, because this forest originated spontaneously from the laurels that were planted after have been destroyed the original vegetation. The myrtle spread through North Africa. Tree Heath
(Erica arborea) grows in southern Spain, but without reaching the dimensions reached in the temperate evergreen or North Africa.
Spanish
endemics
Rhododendron ponticum
baeticum and Rhamnus frangula
baetica, still persist in humid microclimates, such as stream valleys, in Spain's Baetic Cordillera
and the Rif Mountains of Morocco
.
Although the Atlantic laurisilva
is more abundant in the Macaronesian archipelagos, where the weather just scarcely has fluctuated since the Tertiary, there are small representations and a species contribution to the environment ecoregions oceanic and Mediterranean of Europe, Asia minor
and west and north of Africa refugees in microenvironments favorable climate. That is, in the coastal mountain ranges.
These 'islands' inland, in some cases were genuinely islands in the tertiary and in some cases simply ice-free areas of both Eurasia and Africa. When you close the strait once again repopulated the Iberian Peninsula to the north again distributed along with other African species itself, but the change to a drier climate and seasonal prevented their previous reexpansion. But in the atlantic Europe there are subtropical vegetation interspersed taxa from Europe and North African in bioclimatic enclaves like Monchique, Sintra
or the coastal mountains from Cadiz
to Algeciras
.
In the Mediterranean, is present in some islands of the Aegean Sea, Black Sea coast of Iran and Turkey, which hosted the laurifolia castanopsis and true laurus Forests, associated with Prunus laurocerasus, and conifers Taxus baccata
, Cedrus atlantica, Abies pinsapo and so on. On the Turkish coast of the Black Sea
to the East arriving at Iran.
The laurel forest has been badly damaged due to short for timber harvesting, burning both accidental and deliberate by open fields for crops, either colonial or subsistence crops in the past and exotic timber plantations in the present, the open cattle pastures, golf courses and tourist facilities and the introduction of exotic animal and plant species that have replaced the original cover. Most of the biota
is in serious danger of extinction. The laurel forest vegetable species are usually strong and vigorous, so the forest is regenerated easily, the decline is due to the tremendous pressure that supports them.
in southern India
and Sri Lanka.
laurel forests describe the plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa
and the southern Arabian Peninsula
. The afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lowlands, their distribution is analogous to a series of islands. Patches of forest with Afromontane floristic affinities occur all along the mountain chains. Afromontane communities occur above 1500–2000 meters elevation near the equator, and as low as 300 meters elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests
of South Africa
. Afromontane forests are cool and humid. Rainfall is generally greater than 700 mm per year, and can exceed 2000 mm in some regions, occurring throughout the year, or during winter or summer, depending on the region. Temperatures can be extreme in some of the higher altitudes where snowfalls may occasionally occur.
In Subsaharan Africa, laurel forests are found in the Cameroon Highlands forests along the border of Nigeria
and Cameroon
, along the East African Highlands, a long chain of mountains extending from the Ethiopian Highlands
around the African Great Lakes
to South Africa
, in the Highlands of Madagascar
, and in the montane zone of the São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests. These scattered highland laurophyll forests of Africa are similar to one another in species composition (known as the Afromontane
flora), and distinct from the flora of the surrounding lowlands.
The main species of the Afromontane forests include the broadleaf canopy trees Apodytes dimidiata
, Ilex mitis
, Nuxia congesta, N. floribunda
, Kiggelaria africana
, Prunus africana
, Rapanea melanophloeos
, Halleria lucida
, Ocotea bullata
, and Xymalos monospora, along with the emergent conifers Podocarpus latifolius
and Afrocarpus falcatus
. Species composition of the Subsaharan laurel forests differs from that of Eurasia. Trees of the Laurel family are less prominent, limited to Ocotea
, and the members of the beech family (Fagaceae) are absent.
Trees can be up to 30 m or 40 m tall and distinct strata of emergent trees, canopy trees and shrub and herb layers are present. Tree species include: Real Yeilowwood Podocarpus latifolius, Outeniqua Yeilowwood Podocarpus falcatus, White Witchhazei Trichocladus ellipticus, Rhus chirendensis, Curtisia dentata, Calodendrum capense, Apodytes dimidiata, Halleria lucida, llex mitis, Kiggelaria africana, Nuxia floribunda, Xymalos monospora and Ocotea bullata. Shrubs and climbers are common and include: Common Spikethorn Maytenus heterophylla, Cat-thorn Scutia myrtina, Numnum Carissa bispinosa, Secamone alpinii, Canthium ciliatum, Rhoicissus tridentata, Zanthoxylum capense and Burchellia bubalina. In the undergrowth grasses, herbs and ferns may be locally common: Basketgrass Oplismenus hirtellus, Bushman Grass Stipa dregeana var. elongata, Pigs-ears Centella asiatica, Cyperus albostriatus, Polypodium polypodioides, Polystichum tuctuosum, Streptocarpus rexii and Plectranthus spp. Ferns, shrubs and small trees such as Cape Beech Rapanea melanophloeos are often abundant along the forest edges.
. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, as well as an assemblage of trees from the Laurel family, including Nectandra
, Ocotea
, Persea
, and Umbellularia
. Only one native species from the Laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
and almost all Central America
n countries, normally more than 1,000 m above sea level. Tree species include evergreen oaks, members of the Laurel family (Lauraceae), and species of Weinmannia
, Drimys
, and Magnolia
. The cloud forest of Sierra de las Minas
, Guatemala
, is the largest in Central America. In some areas of southeastern Honduras
there are cloud forests, the largest located near the border with Nicaragua
. In Nicaragua
the cloud forest
s are found in border zone with Honduras, and most were cleared to grow coffee. There are still some temperate evergreen hills of the north. The only cloud forest of the Pacific coast of Central America is on the Mombacho
volcano in Nicaragua. In Costa Rica
there are "laurisilva" in the "Cordillera de Tilarán
" and Volcán Arenal, called Monteverde
, also in the Cordillera de Talamanca
.
are typically evergreen forests or jungles, and multi-species, which often contain many species of the laurel forest. Appear from Venezuela
to northwestern Argentina
via Brazil
Bolivia
, Chile
, Colombia
, Ecuador
and Peru
. Discontinuously distributed in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, Tucumán and Catamarca, usually integrated with the Sub-Andean Sierras. Its relief is varied and in places where the Andes meet the Amazon penetrate areas with high gradient. Are characteristic of this region to bring them, they are deep channels formed by the rivers, like the way the Tarma River when down to the San Ramon Valley, or the Urubamba River as it passes through Machu Picchu. Many of the Yungas are degraded areas or tree formations in recovery who have not yet reached its climax vegetation
, like the Fayal-Heath of Macaronesian laurisilva.
The laurel forests of the region are known as the "Laurisilva Misionera", after Argentina's Misiones Province
. The Araucaria moist forests
occupies a portion of the highlands of southern Brazil, extending into northeastern Argentina. The forest canopy includes species of Lauraceae (Ocotea pretiosa and O. catharinense), Myrtaceae (Campomanesia xanthocarpa), and Leguminosae (Parapiptadenia rigida
), with an emergent layer of the conifer Brazilian Araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia
) reaching up to 45 meters in height. The subtropical Serra do Mar coastal forests
along the southern coast of Brazil have a tree canopy of Lauraceae and Myrtaceae, with emergent trees of Leguminaceae, and rich diversity of bromeliads and trees and shrubs of family Melastomaceae. The inland Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, which occupy portions of the Brazilian Highlands in southern Brazil and adjacent parts of Argentina and Paraguay, are semi-deciduous.
and Argentina
from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes
between 38 º and 45 º latitude. Rainfall is abundant, from 1500 to 5000 mm according to locality, distributed throughout the year, but with some subhumid Mediterranean climate influence in 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are unchanging enough and mild, with no month falling below 5 °C, and the warmest month below 22 °C.
, including New Guinea and the Aru Islands
of eastern Indonesia, is linked to Australia by a shallow continental shelf, and shares many marsupial
mammal and bird taxa
with Australia. New Guinea also has many additional elements of the Antarctic flora, including southern beech (Nothofagus
) and Eucalypt
s. New Guinea has the highest mountains in Malesia, and vegetation ranges from tropical lowland forest to tundra.
The highlands of New Guinea
and New Britain
are home to tropical montane laurel forests, from about 1000 up to 2500 meters elevation. These forests include species typical of both Northern Hemisphere laurel forests, including Castanopsis
, Lithocarpus
, Ilex, and Lauraceae, and Southern Hemisphere laurel forests, including Southern Beech Nothofagus
, Araucaria
, Podocarps, and trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae
). New Guinea and Norther Australia are closely related. Around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate
began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent
Gondwana
. As it collided with the Pacific Plate
on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea
emerged around 5 million years ago. In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York Peninsula
remained largely undisturbed.
Throughout the Pleistocene
epoch Australia and New Guinea have been alternately land-linked and separated by water on a number of occasions. During periods of glaciation
and resulting low sea levels, Cape York Peninsula provided a low-lying land link
. Another link existed between Arnhem Land
and New Guinea
, at times enclosing an enormous freshwater lake (Lake Carpentaria) in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria
. In this way, Australia and New Guinea remained connected until the shallow Torres Strait
was last flooded around 8,000 years ago.
The majority of Norther Australia is covered in tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. The flora of the Cape York peninsula includes original Gondwana
n species, plants that have emerged since the breakup of Gondwana and species from Indo-Malaya and from across the Torres Strait in New Guinea with the most variety being found in the rainforest areas. Most of the Cape York Peninsula is drier than nearby New Guinea which limits the laurel forest plants of that island from migrating across to Australia.
Tropical rainforest
s cover an area of 748,000 ha, or 5.6 percent of the total land area of Cape York Peninsula. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout the long Dry season
, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the Cape’s coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting a disproportionately high biodiversity including flora of Gondwana
n and New Guinea
n origin, the rainforests are of high conservation significance. The largest contiguous rainforest area on the Cape occurs in the McIllwraith Range-Iron Range
area. The Gondwanan flora of this area includes Araucariaceae
and Podocarpaceae
conifers and Arthrochilus
, Corybas, and Calochilus
orchids. In all, this rainforest contains at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species, and 16% of Australia's orchid species.
, 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, including Southern Beech (Nothofagus
) through the connection of the Antarctic flora
. Other typical flora include Winteraceae
, Myrtaceae
, Southern Sassafras (Atherospermataceae
), conifers of Araucariaceae
, Podocarpaceae
, and Cupressaceae
, and tree ferns.
New Caledonia was an ancient fragment of the supercontinent
Gondwana
. Unlike many of the Pacific Islands, which are of relatively recent volcanic origin, New Caledonia is part of Zealandia
, a fragment of the ancient Gondwana
super-continent. Zealandia separated from Australia 60–85 million years ago, and the ridge linking New Caledonia to New Zealand has been deeply submerged for millions of years. This isolated New Caledonia from the rest of the world's landmasses, preserving a snapshot of Gondwanan forests. New Caledonia and New Zealand are separated by continental drift
of Australia 85 million years ago. The islands still shelters an extraordinary diversity of endemic
plants and animals of Gondwanan origin have spread to the southern continents later.
The laurel forest of Australia, New Caledonia
(Adenodaphne
), and New Zealand have a number of other related species of the Valdivian laurel forest, through the connection of the Antarctic flora
of gymnosperms like the podocarpus and deciduous Nothofagus.Beilschmiedia tawa is often the dominant canopy species of genus Beilschmiedia
in lowland Lauraceae
forests in the North Island
and the north east of the South Island
, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in these areas, with podocarps
such as Kahikatea, Matai
, Miro and Rimu
. Genus Beilschmiedia are tree
s and shrub
s widespread in tropical Asia
, Africa
, Australia
, New Zealand
, Central America
, the Caribbean
and South America
as south as Chile
. Corynocarpus
family, Corynocarpus laevigatus is called laurel of New Zealand, Laurelia novae-zelandiae
belongs to the same genus that Laurelia sempervirens
. The tree niaouli grows in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand.
New Caledonia lies at the northern end of the ancient continent Zealandia
, while New Zealand rises at the plate boundary that bisects it. These land masses are two outposts of the Antarctic Flora
, including Araucaria
s and Podocarps. At Curio Bay
, logs of a fossil
ized forest
closely related to modern Kauri and Norfolk Pine can be seen that grew on Zealandia about 180 million years ago during the Jurassic
period, before it split from Gondwana.
During glacial periods more of Zealandia becomes a terrestrial rather than a marine environment. Zealandia was originally thought to have no native land mammal
fauna, but a recent discovery in 2006 of a fossil mammal jaw from the Miocene in the Otago region shows otherwise.
New Guinea and Northern Australia ecoregion are closely related. Over time Australia drifted north and became drier as well; the humid Antarctic flora
from Gondwana retreated to the east coast and Tasmania, while the rest of Australia became dominated by Acacia
, Eucalyptus
, and Casuarina
, as well as xeric shrubs and grasses. Human
s arrived in Australia 50-60,000 years ago, and used fire to reshape the vegetation of the continent; as a result, the Antarctic flora, also known as the Rainforest flora in Australia, retreated to a few isolated areas composing less than 2% of Australia's land area.
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide. The members of the Laurel family (Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
) may be prominent, or in association.
Setting
The laurel evergreen temperate forest vegetation is characteristic of a climate regime with well defined seasons, but lacking in sharp contrast. The annual temperature variation is mild, without excluding winter frost, and rainfall is abundant well-distributed throughout the year, without a defined dry season. These conditions occur in four different geographical regions:- Along the eastern margin of continents at latitudes of 25º to 35º.
- Along the western continental coasts between 40° and 55° latitude.
- On islands between 25º and 35º or 40º latitude.
- In humid tropical montaneMontaneIn biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
regions.
Characteristics
Laurel forests are characterized by evergreen and hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 meters in height.Some species belong to the true laurel family or Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
, but many have similar foliage to the Lauraceae due to convergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
. As in any other rainforest, plants of the laurel forests must adapt to high rainfall and humidity. The trees adapted by developing leaves that repel water. Laurophyll or lauroide leaves are characterized by a generous layer of wax, making them glossy in appearance, and narrow, pointed oval in shape with an apical mucro, or 'drip tip', which permit the leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing perspiration and respiration from plant. The scientific names laurina, laurifolia, laurophylla, lauriformis, and lauroides are often used to name species of other plant families that resemble Lauraceace. The term "Lucidophyll", referring to the shiny surface of the leaves, was proposed in 1977 by Tatuo Kira.
Mature laurel forests typically have a dense tree canopy, and low light levels at the forest floor. Some forests are characterized by an overstory of emergent trees.
Laurel forests are typically multi-species, and diverse in the number of species represented, as well as the diversity of genera and families represented. In the absence of strong environmental selective pressure, the number of species sharing the arboreal stratum is high, nearly 100 tree species have been described in the laurisilva
Laurisilva
Laurisilva or laurissilva is a subtropical forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterised by evergreen, glossy-leaved tree species that look alike with leaves of lauroide type...
rainforest of Misiones (Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
), about 20 in the Canary Islands, not reaching the values of tropical forests. This species diversity contrasts with other temperate forest types, which typically have a canopy dominated by one or a few species. Species diversity generally increases towards the tropics. In this sense, the laurel forest is a transitional type between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.
Laurel forest is a type of rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
or Cloud Forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
. An ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
of great exuberance characterized by high humidity, no seasonal changes and with a wide variety of botanical and zoological species but also highly fragile against external aggressions. Characterized by evergreen and hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 meters in height.
The temperate evergreen and evergreen forests are typically multispecies. Evergreen because the mild climate allows for continuous biological activity, and multispecies for the remarkable diversity of tree species in the vault forestal. Indeed, in the absence of strong environmental selective pressure, the number of species sharing the arboreal stratum is high, nearly 100 tree species have been described in the rainforest laurisilva of Misiones (Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
), about 20 in the Canary Islands, not reaching the values of tropical forests yet. It is precisely this multispecies what they deserve the name of rainforest, in contrast to the "forest", Mediterranean forests, temperate deciduous forests etc., which is monospecific with a canopy dominated by one or a few species. In this sense, the laurel forest or laurisilva is a formation of transition between temperate forests and tropical rainforests.
However, despite the large number of species, there is considerable morphological convergence between the different species of trees, especially in the leaves, which correspond mainly to the type "lauroide" (Sweet bay): wide, oval, leathery, glossy. Hence the Latin name given to the training: laurus
Laurus
-Overview:Laurus is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes three species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap ....
.
The laurel forest is a type of cloud forest, the cloud forests
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
, are developed preferably about mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s, where the dense moisture
Moisture
Humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold before it rains. Moisture refers to the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts...
from the sea or ocean, is precipitated by the action of the relief. Opposing the terrain to a front of warm, moist air mass, it forces to increase the height above sea level of that body wet and warm air mass, which cools and decreases the dew point
Dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which a given parcel of humid air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into liquid water. The condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface. The dew point is a saturation temperature.The dew point is...
, causing it to condense part of the moisture that falls as rain or fog, creating an habitat especially cool, saturated with moisture in the air and soil.
The Mediterranean climate is the balance between dry and warm influence of the subtropical anticyclone, hot and dry summer and the polar air stream, Antarctic and Arctic, responsible for carrying rain storms, cool wet winter.
As latitude increases, this increases the impact of the storms, which in its journey from west to east, swept the western coasts of continents, dumping heavy rains as carrying high humidity.
Precipitation multiply if these air masses are crossing mountains in the way. The resulting climate is wetter, but with an annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean.
These are the climatic conditions of Chile between 38 º and 45 º latitude. Rainfall is abundant, from 1500 to 5000 mm according to locality, and are spaced out throughout the year, but still see the influence subhumid Mediterranean with 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are unchanging enough and mild, without any month the average fall below 5 °C, with values for the warmest month below 22 °C.
The coasts of Brazil and Argentina, between 25 º and 35 º latitude, are under a laurel forest typical weather patterns. This region still falls in the area of influence of the subtropical anticyclone, which this side sends warm air, moist and unstable at high latitudes. During the summer the anticyclone strengthens and increases the flow of moist air mass, which, as it rises and cools, producing heavy rainfall. In winter, remove the cyclone and strengthening the polar air inlet to the west, causing rain-bearing depressions. Overall, the average annual rainfall varies according to locality, between 1,500 and 2,000 mm. The average temperature is around 20-21 °C, with mild winters and moderately hot summers, due to the moderating effect of heavy rains. This softness does not prevent them occur frost and even snow in the higher regions, which is a limiting factor for species from lower latitudes. A climate of these characteristics is classified as humid subtropical, or warm and rainy with warm summers.
The Atlantic laurel forest covered the European continent, North Africa and Middle East Asia, during the Tertiary, when tropical weather dominated the Mediterranean. Currently its largest populations are found on the islands of Macaronesia
Macaronesia
Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde...
in the North Atlantic Ocean, forming the so-called Macaronesian laurissilva.
It features deep soil and is typical of the northern midlands influenced by the mists of the trade winds, lack of frost, rainfall of 500 to 1,100 mm per year and an average annual temperature between 15 and 19 °C. It comprises a variety of trees, understory plants and species of insects and animals that live in wet conditions over 80%, usually appear on the site of heavy rain, mostly occupying favorable areas named geographically Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
s, this is north hillsides or slopes of the mountainous areas that are oriented behind the sun in the northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, of islands between 400 and 1500 meters, thus benefiting from the humidity provided by the trade winds to form such a sea of clouds. Macaronesian laurel forest comprises two subtypes: the laurilsilva and fayal-brezal in degradated areas. Due to the large amount of water and the terrain, it flows in the form of streams and waterfalls everywhere or stay quiet in ponds and puddles or drips, it cover and soak of the plants, rocks, soil, logs, moss etc. and the forest still remain impassable during heavy rains, the beauty of the set make it a tourist attraction.
Laurel forest formations are remarkable both by extension and biodiversity in great areas of Southeast Asia and Africa, mainland and islands, with the typical formation of Annobon
Annobón
Annobón may refer to:* Annobón Province* Annobonese language* Annobon people...
, but these formations are less studied.
Laurel forest 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 vascular plantVascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
s evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, including southern South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, southernmost Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. These lauroides plant communities are twofold to tropical climate and temperate climate, having the more temperate climate their origin in the named Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
.
East Asia
Laurel forests are common in warm-temperate to subtropical eastern Asia, and form the climax vegetation in southern Japan, southern Korea, TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, southern China, the mountains of Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
, and the eastern Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. In southern China, laurel forest once extended throughout the Yangtze Valley and Sichuan Basin from the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
to the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
. The northernmost laurel forests in East Asia occur at 39º N. on the Pacific coast of Japan. Altitudinally, the forests range from sea-level up to 1000 meters in warm-temperate Japan, and up to 3000 meters elevation in the tropical mountains of Asia. Some forests are dominated by Lauraceae, while in others evergreen laurophyll trees of the beech family (Fagaceae
Fagaceae
The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...
) are predominant, including ring-cupped oaks (Quercus subgenus Cyclobalanopsis), chinquapin (Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
) and tanoak (Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes. The World Checklist accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as few as 100 species. About 100 Asian species of the genus were formerly treated in the genus Pasania. All but one are...
). Other characteristic plants include Schima
Schima
[[Schima is a [[genus]] of evergreen trees belonging to the tea family, [[Theaceae]].The genus inhabits warm temperate to subtropical climates across southern and southeastern Asia, from the eastern [[Himalaya]] of [[Nepal]] and eastern [[India]] across [[Indochina]], southern [[China]],...
and Camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
, which are members of the tea family (Theaceae
Theaceae
The Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. Some botanists include the family Ternstroemiaceae within the Theaceae while others do not...
), as well as Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
s, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, and rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s. These subtropical forests lie between the temperate deciduous and conifer forests to the north, and the tropical monsoon forests of Indochina and India to the south.
In the Himalayas, Nepal, subtropical forest consists of species such as Schima wallichii, Castanopsis indica, and Castenopsis tribuloides on relatively humid areas. Some common forest types in this region include Castanopsis tribuloirdes mixed with Schima wallichi, Rhododendron spp., Lyonia ovalifolia, Eurya acuminata, and Quercus glauca; Castanopsis-Laurales forest with Symplocas spp.; Alnus nepalensis forests; Schima wallichii-Castanopsis indica hygrophile forest; Schima-Pinus forest; Pinus roxburghii forests with Phyllanthus emblica. Semicarpus anacardium, Rhododendron arboreum and Lyoma ovalifolia; Schima-Lagestromea parviflora forest, Quercus lamellosa forest with Quercus lenata and Quercus glauca; Castononpsis forests with Castononpsis hystrix and Lauraceae.
Associations of Lauraceous species are common in broadleaved forests; for example, Litsea
Litsea
Litsea is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes 200 to 400 species in tropical and subtropical areas of both hemispheres.-Overview:Trees or shrubs, dioecious...
spp., litsea cupola, Persea odoratissima, Persea duthiei, etc., along with such others as Engelhardtia spicata, Rhododendron arboreum, Lyonia ovalifolia, Pyrus pashia, Rhus spp., Acer oblongum, myrica esculenta, Michelia kisopa, and Betula alnoides.
Some other common trees and large shrub species of subtropical forests are Semicarpus anacardium, Cretaeava unilocularis, Trewia nudiflora, Premna interrupta, Ulmus lancifolia, Ulmus chumlia, Glochidium velutinum, Callicarpa arborea, Toona ciliata, Ficus spp., Mahosama similicifolia, Trevesia palmate, Xylosma longifolium, Boehmeria rugulosa, Scheffera venulosa, Michelia spp., Casearia graveilens, Rhus wallichii, Actinodaphne reticulata, Sapimum insegne, Alns nepalensis, Ardisia thyrsiflora, Ilex spp, Macaranga pustulata, Trichilia cannoroides, Celtis tetranda, Wenlendia puberula, Saurauia nepalensis, Ligustrum confusum, Quercus glauca, Zizyphus incurva, Camellia kissi, Hymenodictyon flaccidum, Maytenus thomsonii, Zanthoxylum armatum, Rhus succednea, Eurya acuminata, Myrsine semiserrata, Slonea tomentosa, Hydrangea asper, Symplocus spp., Cleyrea spp. and Quercus lamellose.
In Temperate zone (cloud forest) from 2,000 to 3,000 m. This zone supports broadleaved evergreen forest dominated by plants such as Quercus lamillosa and Q. semicarpifolia in pure or mixed stands. Species such as Lindera and Litsea. Tseuga dumosa and Rhododendron spp. are also present in the upper levels of this zone. Other important species are Magnolia campbellii, Michelia doltsopa, Pieris ovalifolia, Daphnephyllum himalayanse, Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, and Sorbus cuspidata but these species do not extend toward the west beyond central Nepal. Alnus nepalensis, a pioneer tree species, grows gregariously and forms pure patches of forests on newly exposed slopes, gullies, moist places and on riversides.
The common forest types of this zone include Rododendraon arboreum, Rohododendron barbatum, Lyonia spp., Pieris Formosa; Tsuga dumosa forest with such deciduous species as Acer and Magnolia; deciduous mixed broadleaved forest of Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Sorbus cuspidata, and Magnolia campbellii; mixed broadleaved forest of Rhododendron arboreum, Acer campbellii, Symplocos ramosissima and Lauraceae.
This zone is habitat for many other important tree and large shrub species such as Abies pindrow, Betula utilis, Buxus rugulosa, Benthamidia capitata, Corylus ferox, Deutzia staminea, Euonymus tingens, Abies spectalbilis, Acanthopanax cissifolius, Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Betula alnoides, Coriaria terminalis, Fraxinus macrantha, odecadenia grandiflora}}, Eurya cerasifolia, Hydrangea heteromala, Ilex dipyrena, Ligustrum spp., Litsea elongata, Juglans regia, Lichelia doltsopa, Myrsine capitallata, Neolitsea umbrosa, Philadelphus tomentosus, Osmanthus fragrans, Prunus cornuta, Rhododendron companulatum, Sorbus cuspidate, and Vibernum continifolium.
In ancient times, laurel forests (shoyojurin) were the predominant vegetation type in the Taiheiyo evergreen forests
Taiheiyo evergreen forests
The Taiheiyo evergreen forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion of Japan.The ecoregion covers an area of on the Pacific side of the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. The influence of the Japan Current creates a humid climate with mild winters and a long growing season, which...
ecoregion of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, which encompasses the mild temperate climate region of southeastern Japan's Pacific coast. There were three main types of evergreen broadleaf forests, in which Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
, Machilus
Machilus
Machilus is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Is distributed in temperate, tropical and subtropical Asia. Machilus genus include currently more than 100 species, mostly in laurel forest habitat.-Overview:...
, or Quercus predominated. Most of these forests were logged or cleared for cultivation, and replanted with faster-growing conifers, like pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
or hinoki, and only a few pockets remain.
Laurel forest ecoregions in East Asia
- Changjiang Plain evergreen forests (ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) - Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane rain forests (MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
) - Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forestsEastern Himalayan broadleaf forestsThe Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion found in the middle elevations of the eastern Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Bhutan...
(BhutanBhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
) - Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests (China)
- Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests (China)
- Nihonkai evergreen forests (JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) - Northern Annamites rain forests (LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
) - Northern Indochina subtropical forestsNorthern Indochina subtropical forestsThe Northern Indochina subtropical forests are a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of northern Indochina, covering portions of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and China's Yunnan Province.-Setting:...
(China, Laos, Myanmar, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Vietnam) - Northern Triangle subtropical forests (Myanmar)
- Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests (China)
- South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests (China, Vietnam)
- Southern Korea evergreen forestsSouthern Korea evergreen forestsThe Southern Korea evergreen forests ecoregion, within the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, is at the southern end of the Korean Peninsula.-Setting:...
(South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
) - Taiheiyo evergreen forestsTaiheiyo evergreen forestsThe Taiheiyo evergreen forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion of Japan.The ecoregion covers an area of on the Pacific side of the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. The influence of the Japan Current creates a humid climate with mild winters and a long growing season, which...
(Japan) - Taiwan subtropical evergreen forestsTaiwan subtropical evergreen forestsThe Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests is an ecoregion that covers most of the island of Taiwan, with the exception of the southern tip of the island, which constitutes the South Taiwan monsoon rain forests ecoregion...
(TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
) - Yunnan Plateau subtropical evergreen forests (China)
Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines
Laurel forests occupy the humid tropical highlands of the Malay PeninsulaMalay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, Greater Sunda Islands
Greater Sunda Islands
The Greater Sunda Islands are a group of large islands within the Malay archipelago. Jawa , smallest but by far the most populous and important; Sumatera in the west, directly across the Strait of Malacca from Malaysia; Kalimantan, the Indonesian sector of large, compact, minicontinent Borneo; and...
, and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
above 1000 meters elevation. The flora of these forests is similar to that of the warm-temperate and subtropical laurel forests of East Asia, including oaks (Quercus), tanoak (Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes. The World Checklist accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as few as 100 species. About 100 Asian species of the genus were formerly treated in the genus Pasania. All but one are...
), chinquapin (Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
), Lauraceae, Theaceae
Theaceae
The Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. Some botanists include the family Ternstroemiaceae within the Theaceae while others do not...
, and Clethraceae
Clethraceae
Clethraceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia and the Americas, with one species also on Madeira...
. Epiphytes, including orchids, ferns, moss, lichen, and liverworts, are more abundant than in either temperate laurel forests or in the adjacent lowland tropical rain forests. Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
are common at lower elevations, and conifers and rhododendrons common at higher elevations. These forests are distinct in species composition from the lowland tropical forests, which are dominated by Dipterocarps and other tropical species.
Laurel forest ecoregions of Sundaland, Wallacea, and the Philippines
- Borneo montane rain forestsBorneo montane rain forestsThe Borneo montane rain forests are an ecoregion, of Cloud forest, within the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, of the island of Borneo in south-east Asia .-Location and description:...
- 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
The laurisilvaLaurisilva
Laurisilva or laurissilva is a subtropical forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterised by evergreen, glossy-leaved tree species that look alike with leaves of lauroide type...
forests are found in the islands of Macaronesia
Macaronesia
Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde...
in the eastern Atlantic, in particular the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, Madeira Islands, and Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
from 400 to 1200 meters elevation. Trees of the genera Apollonias
Apollonias
Apollonias is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes from one to ten species of evergreen trees and shrubs from laurel forest habitat mainly in Macaronesian islands.-Description:...
(Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
), Ocotea
Ocotea
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and...
(Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
), Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
(Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
), Clethra
Clethra
Clethra is a genus of between 30-70 species of flowering shrubs or small trees. It is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae...
(Clethra
Clethra
Clethra is a genus of between 30-70 species of flowering shrubs or small trees. It is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae...
ceae), Dracaena
Dracaena (plant)
Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent shrubs. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae . It has also formerly been separated into the family Dracaenaceae or placed in the Agavaceae...
(Ruscaceae
Ruscaceae
Nolinoideae is a monocot subfamily of the family Asparagaceae in the APG III system of 2009. It was previously treated as a separate family, Ruscaceae s.l...
), and Picconia
Picconia
Picconia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.-Species:*Picconia azorica - endemic to the archipelago of the Azores*Picconia excelsa - tree up to 15m; Madeira, Canaries...
(Oleaceae
Oleaceae
Oleaceae are a family containing 24 extant genera and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines. As shrubs, members of this family may be twine climbers, or scramblers.-Leaves:...
) are characteristic. The Madeira Islands laurel forest was designated a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1999.
Millions of years ago, Laurel forests were widespread around the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
. The drying of the region since the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
, and cooling of the region during the Ice Ages, caused these rainforest to retreat. Some relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
Mediterranean laurel forest species, such as Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) and European Holly
European Holly
Ilex aquifolium, holly, or european holly, is a species of holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.- Overview :...
(Ilex aquifolium), are fairly widespread around the Mediterranean basin.
In the Mediterranean there are other areas with species adapted to the same habitat, but without forming a laurel forest, they share some species of the Macaronesian laurilva. The most important is the ivy, a climber or vine that is well represented in most of Europe, where it spread again after the glaciations. The "loro" (Prunus lusitanica
Prunus lusitanica
Prunus lusitanica, with common name Portugal laurel, is a species of cherry, native to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia .-Distribution:...
), the only tree that survives in a relict in some Iberian streams, especially in the western part of the peninsula, particularly Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, and a little on the Northeast. In other cases, the presence of Mediterranean laurel (Laurus nobilis), provides an indication of where was the laurel forest. This species survives native in Morocco, Italy, Greece and the Mediterranean islands. In the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
appears in some Mediterranean streams, such as the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales in the province of Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. Also appearing in coastal mountains especially in, Girona Province of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
which keeps the best "lauredales" and some scraps in the Valencia area. Cortegada Island
Cortegada Island
Cortegada is an island in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. It is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park.Originally a village of the municipally of O Carril , it was offered as a present to King Alfonso XIII at the start of XX century, then sold to a private company...
in Galicia, is famous for its vast forest of laurels, but this forest is not indigenous to the island, because this forest originated spontaneously from the laurels that were planted after have been destroyed the original vegetation. The myrtle spread through North Africa. Tree Heath
Tree heath
Erica arborea, the tree heath, is a shrub or small evergreen tree found mostly in the macchia-matorral-maquis shrublands, dry evergreen scrublands, surrounding the Mediterranean Basin and west to Portugal and the Canary and Madeira Islands....
(Erica arborea) grows in southern Spain, but without reaching the dimensions reached in the temperate evergreen or North Africa.
Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
endemics
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
Rhododendron ponticum
Rhododendron ponticum
Rhododendron ponticum, called Common Rhododendron or Pontic Rhododendron, is a species of Rhododendron native to southern Europe and southwest Asia.-Description:...
baeticum and Rhamnus frangula
Rhamnus frangula
Frangula alnus, syn. Rhamnus frangula, the Alder Buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northernmost Africa, and western Asia, from Ireland and Great Britain north to 68°N in Scandinavia, east to central Siberia and Xinjiang in western China, and...
baetica, still persist in humid microclimates, such as stream valleys, in Spain's Baetic Cordillera
Baetic Cordillera
The Baetic System is the main system of mountain ranges in Spain. Located in southern and eastern Spain, it is also known as the Baetic Cordillera, Baetic Ranges or Baetic Mountains...
and the Rif Mountains of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Although the Atlantic laurisilva
Laurisilva
Laurisilva or laurissilva is a subtropical forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterised by evergreen, glossy-leaved tree species that look alike with leaves of lauroide type...
is more abundant in the Macaronesian archipelagos, where the weather just scarcely has fluctuated since the Tertiary, there are small representations and a species contribution to the environment ecoregions oceanic and Mediterranean of Europe, Asia minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and west and north of Africa refugees in microenvironments favorable climate. That is, in the coastal mountain ranges.
These 'islands' inland, in some cases were genuinely islands in the tertiary and in some cases simply ice-free areas of both Eurasia and Africa. When you close the strait once again repopulated the Iberian Peninsula to the north again distributed along with other African species itself, but the change to a drier climate and seasonal prevented their previous reexpansion. But in the atlantic Europe there are subtropical vegetation interspersed taxa from Europe and North African in bioclimatic enclaves like Monchique, Sintra
Sintra
Sintra is a town within the municipality of Sintra in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. Owing to its 19th century Romantic architecture and landscapes, becoming a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon.In addition to...
or the coastal mountains from Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
to Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
.
In the Mediterranean, is present in some islands of the Aegean Sea, Black Sea coast of Iran and Turkey, which hosted the laurifolia castanopsis and true laurus Forests, associated with Prunus laurocerasus, and conifers Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...
, Cedrus atlantica, Abies pinsapo and so on. On the Turkish coast of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
to the East arriving at Iran.
The laurel forest has been badly damaged due to short for timber harvesting, burning both accidental and deliberate by open fields for crops, either colonial or subsistence crops in the past and exotic timber plantations in the present, the open cattle pastures, golf courses and tourist facilities and the introduction of exotic animal and plant species that have replaced the original cover. Most of the biota
Biota
Biota may refer to:* Biota , the plant and animal life of a region* Biota , a superdomain in taxonomy* Biota , an evergreen coniferous tree, Platycladus orientalis* Biota , an avant-prog band from Colorado, USA...
is in serious danger of extinction. The laurel forest vegetable species are usually strong and vigorous, so the forest is regenerated easily, the decline is due to the tremendous pressure that supports them.
Southern India
Laurel forests are also prevalent in the montane rain forests of the South Western GhatsSouth Western Ghats montane rain forests
The South Western Ghats montane rain forests are an ecoregion of southern India, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats range in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, at elevations over 1000 meters...
in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka.
Africa
The AfromontaneAfromontane
Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
laurel forests describe the plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the southern Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. The afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lowlands, their distribution is analogous to a series of islands. Patches of forest with Afromontane floristic affinities occur all along the mountain chains. Afromontane communities occur above 1500–2000 meters elevation near the equator, and as low as 300 meters elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests
Knysna-Amatole montane forests
The Knysna-Amatole montane forests ecoregion, of the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, is in South Africa. It covers an Afromontane area of in South Africa's Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.-Setting:...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Afromontane forests are cool and humid. Rainfall is generally greater than 700 mm per year, and can exceed 2000 mm in some regions, occurring throughout the year, or during winter or summer, depending on the region. Temperatures can be extreme in some of the higher altitudes where snowfalls may occasionally occur.
In Subsaharan Africa, laurel forests are found in the Cameroon Highlands forests along the border of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, along the East African Highlands, a long chain of mountains extending from the Ethiopian Highlands
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...
around the African Great Lakes
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes are a series of lakes and the Rift Valley lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African Rift on the continent of Africa...
to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, in the Highlands of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and in the montane zone of the São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests. These scattered highland laurophyll forests of Africa are similar to one another in species composition (known as the Afromontane
Afromontane
Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
flora), and distinct from the flora of the surrounding lowlands.
The main species of the Afromontane forests include the broadleaf canopy trees Apodytes dimidiata
Apodytes dimidiata
Apodytes dimidiata is a bushy tree, with white fragrant flowers and small, dark red berries. It is usually about 5 m tall , and it is indigenous to Southern Africa.The taxonomical family placement for this and other Apodytes is currently under debate...
, Ilex mitis
Ilex mitis
Ilex mitis is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Southern Africa. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straight and dense.-Appearance:If not pruned, Ilex mitis can grow to a height of 20 meters or more...
, Nuxia congesta, N. floribunda
Nuxia floribunda
Nuxia floribunda is a species of tree, native to Africa. It usually grows to between 3 and 10 metres tall, although it occasionally may grow as tall as 25 metres. It has a crooked trunk, rough flaking bark and a rounded canopy...
, Kiggelaria africana
Kiggelaria africana
Kiggelaria africana is a large, robust, low-branching African tree.Despite its common name, it is not related to the more familiar fruit-producing Peach tree although the leaves do superficially look similar.-Appearance:A well-shaped, robust, evergreen tree with grey-green leaves...
, Prunus africana
Prunus africana
Prunus africana, or Red Stinkwood , is an evergreen tree native to the montane regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Islands of Madagascar, Sao Tome, Fernando Po and Grande Comore at about 900–3400 m. of altitude. The mature tree is 10–25 m. high, open-branched and often pendulous in forest,...
, Rapanea melanophloeos
Rapanea melanophloeos
Rapanea melanophloeos, commonly known as Cape Beech, Kaapse Boekenhout or IsiCalabi, is native to the afromontane forests of Southern Africa.-Distribution:...
, Halleria lucida
Halleria lucida
Halleria lucida is an small, attractive, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Southern Africa. It is increasingly grown as an ornamental tree in African gardens.-Appearance:...
, Ocotea bullata
Ocotea bullata
Ocotea bullata is a species of flowering tree in the family Lauraceae, native to South Africa. It produces very fine and valuable timber which, along with Yellowood, was much sought after to make traditional furniture. Due to over-exploitation it is now a protected species. Other names for it are...
, and Xymalos monospora, along with the emergent conifers Podocarpus latifolius
Podocarpus latifolius
Podocarpus latifolius is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podocarpaceae; it is the type species of the genus Podocarpus....
and Afrocarpus falcatus
Afrocarpus falcatus
Afrocarpus falcatus, commonly known as the Sickle-leaved Yellowwood and False Yellowwood Afrocarpus falcatus, commonly known as the Sickle-leaved Yellowwood and False Yellowwood Afrocarpus falcatus, commonly known as the Sickle-leaved Yellowwood and False Yellowwood (formerly also Outeniqua...
. Species composition of the Subsaharan laurel forests differs from that of Eurasia. Trees of the Laurel family are less prominent, limited to Ocotea
Ocotea
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and...
, and the members of the beech family (Fagaceae) are absent.
Trees can be up to 30 m or 40 m tall and distinct strata of emergent trees, canopy trees and shrub and herb layers are present. Tree species include: Real Yeilowwood Podocarpus latifolius, Outeniqua Yeilowwood Podocarpus falcatus, White Witchhazei Trichocladus ellipticus, Rhus chirendensis, Curtisia dentata, Calodendrum capense, Apodytes dimidiata, Halleria lucida, llex mitis, Kiggelaria africana, Nuxia floribunda, Xymalos monospora and Ocotea bullata. Shrubs and climbers are common and include: Common Spikethorn Maytenus heterophylla, Cat-thorn Scutia myrtina, Numnum Carissa bispinosa, Secamone alpinii, Canthium ciliatum, Rhoicissus tridentata, Zanthoxylum capense and Burchellia bubalina. In the undergrowth grasses, herbs and ferns may be locally common: Basketgrass Oplismenus hirtellus, Bushman Grass Stipa dregeana var. elongata, Pigs-ears Centella asiatica, Cyperus albostriatus, Polypodium polypodioides, Polystichum tuctuosum, Streptocarpus rexii and Plectranthus spp. Ferns, shrubs and small trees such as Cape Beech Rapanea melanophloeos are often abundant along the forest edges.
Ancient California
During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, as well as an assemblage of trees from the Laurel family, including Nectandra
Nectandra
Nectandra is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae.-Overview:Plants from this genus have been used in the treatment of several clinical disorders in humans. It has been demonstrated that Nectandra plants have potential analgesic, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, energetic and hypotensive activities...
, Ocotea
Ocotea
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and...
, Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
, and Umbellularia
Umbellularia
Umbellularia californica is a large tree native to coastal forests of California and slightly extended into Oregon.It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia....
. Only one native species from the Laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
Central America
The laurel forest is the most common Central American temperate evergreen cloud forest type. They are found in mountainous areas of southern MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and almost all Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n countries, normally more than 1,000 m above sea level. Tree species include evergreen oaks, members of the Laurel family (Lauraceae), and species of Weinmannia
Weinmannia
Weinmannia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cunoniaceae. The genus includes approximately 150 species of canopy trees and shrubs, ranging across the montane tropics and temperate New Zealand and Chile....
, Drimys
Drimys
Drimys is a genus of about eight species of woody evergreen flowering plants, in the family Winteraceae. The species are native to the Neotropics, ranging from southern Mexico to the southern tip of South America...
, and Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
. The cloud forest of Sierra de las Minas
Sierra de las Minas
Sierra de las Minas is a mountain range in eastern Guatemala, extending 130 km west of the Lake Izabal. It is 15–30 km wide and bordered by the valleys of the rivers Polochic in the north and the Motagua in the south. Its western border is marked by the Salamá River valley which separates it...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, is the largest in Central America. In some areas of southeastern Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
there are cloud forests, the largest located near the border with Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. In Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
the cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
s are found in border zone with Honduras, and most were cleared to grow coffee. There are still some temperate evergreen hills of the north. The only cloud forest of the Pacific coast of Central America is on the Mombacho
Mombacho
Mombacho is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, near the city of Granada. It is 1344 metres high. The Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve is one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. Mombacho is an active volcano but the last eruption occurred in 1570...
volcano in Nicaragua. In Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
there are "laurisilva" in the "Cordillera de Tilarán
Tilarán
Tilarán is a small town in the Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. It is the seat of the Tilarán Canton located in the hills overlooking the west shore of Lake Arenal...
" and Volcán Arenal, called Monteverde
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism destination in Costa Rica...
, also in the Cordillera de Talamanca
Cordillera de Talamanca
The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies on the border between Costa Rica and Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in the La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two countries....
.
Laurel forest ecoregions in Mexico and Central America
- Central American montane forests
- Chiapas montane forests
- Chimalpas montane forests
- Oaxacan montane forests
- Talamancan montane forestsTalamancan montane forestsThe Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and Panama in Central America.-Setting:...
- Veracruz montane forests
Tropical Andes
The YungasYungas
The Yungas is a stretch of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from southeastern Peru through central Bolivia. It is a transitional zone between the Andean highlands and the eastern forests. Like the surrounding areas, it has characteristics of the Neotropic ecozone...
are typically evergreen forests or jungles, and multi-species, which often contain many species of the laurel forest. Appear from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
to northwestern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
via Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Discontinuously distributed in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, Tucumán and Catamarca, usually integrated with the Sub-Andean Sierras. Its relief is varied and in places where the Andes meet the Amazon penetrate areas with high gradient. Are characteristic of this region to bring them, they are deep channels formed by the rivers, like the way the Tarma River when down to the San Ramon Valley, or the Urubamba River as it passes through Machu Picchu. Many of the Yungas are degraded areas or tree formations in recovery who have not yet reached its climax vegetation
Climax vegetation
Climax vegetation is the vegetation which establishes itself on a given site for given climatic conditions in the absence of anthropic action after a long time ....
, like the Fayal-Heath of Macaronesian laurisilva.
Southeastern South America
The coasts of Brazil and Argentina, between 25 º and 35 º latitude, are under a laurel forest typical weather patterns. This region still falls in the area of influence of the subtropical anticyclone, which this side sends warm air, moist and unstable at high latitudes. During the summer the anticyclone strengthens and increases the flow of moist air mass, which, as it rises and cools, producing heavy rainfall. In winter, remove the cyclone and strengthening the polar air inlet to the west, causing rain-bearing depressions. Overall, the average annual rainfall varies according to locality, between 1,500 and 2,000 mm. The average temperature is around 20-21 °C, with mild winters and moderately hot summers, due to the moderating effect of heavy rains. This softness does not prevent them occur frost and even snow in the higher regions, which is a limiting factor for species from lower latitudes. A climate of these characteristics is classified as humid subtropical, or warm and rainy with warm summers.The laurel forests of the region are known as the "Laurisilva Misionera", after Argentina's Misiones Province
Misiones Province
Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamiсa region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
. The Araucaria moist forests
Araucaria moist forests
The Araucaria moist forests are a subtropical moist forest ecoregion of southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina.-Setting:The Araucaria moist forests cover an area of , encompassing a region of mountains and plateaus in the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do...
occupies a portion of the highlands of southern Brazil, extending into northeastern Argentina. The forest canopy includes species of Lauraceae (Ocotea pretiosa and O. catharinense), Myrtaceae (Campomanesia xanthocarpa), and Leguminosae (Parapiptadenia rigida
Parapiptadenia rigida
Parapiptadenia rigida is a perennial shrub or tree. It is not a threatened species. It is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay...
), with an emergent layer of the conifer Brazilian Araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia
Araucaria angustifolia
Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Covering an original area of 233000 km², it is native to southern Brazil Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Covering an...
) reaching up to 45 meters in height. The subtropical Serra do Mar coastal forests
Serra do Mar coastal forests
Biome: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forestsRealm: NeotropicalWWF ID: NT0160Size: 104,800 square kilometers...
along the southern coast of Brazil have a tree canopy of Lauraceae and Myrtaceae, with emergent trees of Leguminaceae, and rich diversity of bromeliads and trees and shrubs of family Melastomaceae. The inland Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, which occupy portions of the Brazilian Highlands in southern Brazil and adjacent parts of Argentina and Paraguay, are semi-deciduous.
Central Chile
The Valdivian temperate rain forests, or Laurisilva Valdiviana, occupies southern ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
between 38 º and 45 º latitude. Rainfall is abundant, from 1500 to 5000 mm according to locality, distributed throughout the year, but with some subhumid Mediterranean climate influence in 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are unchanging enough and mild, with no month falling below 5 °C, and the warmest month below 22 °C.
New Guinea and Northern Australia
The eastern end of MalesiaMalesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
, including New Guinea and the Aru Islands
Aru Islands
The Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Indonesia.-Geography:...
of eastern Indonesia, is linked to Australia by a shallow continental shelf, and shares many marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
mammal and bird taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
with Australia. New Guinea also has many additional elements of the Antarctic flora, including southern beech (Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
) and Eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s. New Guinea has the highest mountains in Malesia, and vegetation ranges from tropical lowland forest to tundra.
The highlands of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
are home to tropical montane laurel forests, from about 1000 up to 2500 meters elevation. These forests include species typical of both Northern Hemisphere laurel forests, including Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
, Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes. The World Checklist accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as few as 100 species. About 100 Asian species of the genus were formerly treated in the genus Pasania. All but one are...
, Ilex, and Lauraceae, and Southern Hemisphere laurel forests, including Southern Beech Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
, Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
, Podocarps, and trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
). New Guinea and Norther Australia are closely related. Around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate
Indo-Australian Plate
The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and surrounding ocean, and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and adjacent waters...
began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent
Supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
. As it collided with the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
emerged around 5 million years ago. In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
remained largely undisturbed.
Throughout the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch Australia and New Guinea have been alternately land-linked and separated by water on a number of occasions. During periods of glaciation
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
and resulting low sea levels, Cape York Peninsula provided a low-lying land link
Land bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
. Another link existed between Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, at times enclosing an enormous freshwater lake (Lake Carpentaria) in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
. In this way, Australia and New Guinea remained connected until the shallow Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
was last flooded around 8,000 years ago.
The majority of Norther Australia is covered in tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. The flora of the Cape York peninsula includes original Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
n species, plants that have emerged since the breakup of Gondwana and species from Indo-Malaya and from across the Torres Strait in New Guinea with the most variety being found in the rainforest areas. Most of the Cape York Peninsula is drier than nearby New Guinea which limits the laurel forest plants of that island from migrating across to Australia.
Tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
s cover an area of 748,000 ha, or 5.6 percent of the total land area of Cape York Peninsula. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout the long Dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the Cape’s coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting a disproportionately high biodiversity including flora of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
n and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
n origin, the rainforests are of high conservation significance. The largest contiguous rainforest area on the Cape occurs in the McIllwraith Range-Iron Range
Iron Range National Park
Iron Range is a National Park located in Queensland, Australia, 1940 km northwest of Brisbane and 100 km east of Weipa in the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Within the National Park is the Iron Range , Scrubby Creek mining site and the Lockhart River Aboriginal Reserve...
area. The Gondwanan flora of this area includes Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae, commonly referred to as araucarians, is a very ancient family of coniferous trees. It achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide...
and Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
conifers and Arthrochilus
Arthrochilus
Arthrochilus is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....
, Corybas, and Calochilus
Calochilus
Calochilus is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....
orchids. In all, this rainforest contains at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species, and 16% of Australia's orchid species.
Laurel forest ecoregions of New Guinea
The WWF identifies several distinct montane laurel forest ecoregions on New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland.- 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
Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand
The laurifolia appears in mountains of the coastal strip of New South Wales in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The laurel forests of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are home to species related to those in the Valdivian laurel forests, including Southern Beech (Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
) through the connection of the Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
. Other typical flora include Winteraceae
Winteraceae
The Winteraceae are a family of flowering plants. The family includes 120 species of trees and shrubs in 9 genera.The Winteraceae are a mostly southern-hemisphere family associated with the Antarctic flora, found in tropical to temperate climate regions of Malesia, Oceania, eastern Australia, New...
, Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
, Southern Sassafras (Atherospermataceae
Atherospermataceae
The Atherospermataceae, commonly known as the southern sassafrases, are a family of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14 species in seven genera. The atherosperms are native to the southern hemisphere, with two species native to southern Chile and 12 species native to...
), conifers of Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae, commonly referred to as araucarians, is a very ancient family of coniferous trees. It achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide...
, Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
, and Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
, and tree ferns.
New Caledonia was an ancient fragment of the supercontinent
Supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
. Unlike many of the Pacific Islands, which are of relatively recent volcanic origin, New Caledonia is part of Zealandia
Zealandia (continent)
Zealandia , also known as Tasmantis or the New Zealand continent, is a nearly submerged continental fragment that sank after breaking away from Australia 60–85 million years ago, having separated from Antarctica between 85 and 130 million years ago...
, a fragment of the ancient Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
super-continent. Zealandia separated from Australia 60–85 million years ago, and the ridge linking New Caledonia to New Zealand has been deeply submerged for millions of years. This isolated New Caledonia from the rest of the world's landmasses, preserving a snapshot of Gondwanan forests. New Caledonia and New Zealand are separated by continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
of Australia 85 million years ago. The islands still shelters an extraordinary diversity of endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
plants and animals of Gondwanan origin have spread to the southern continents later.
The laurel forest of Australia, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
(Adenodaphne
Adenodaphne
Adenodaphne is a genus of flowering plants, evergreen trees or shrubs belonging to the family Lauraceae, of five species from New Caledonia. They are large trees characteristics of Rainforest in montane laurel forest habitats in New Caledonia and restricted to this region. They belong to an ancient...
), and New Zealand have a number of other related species of the Valdivian laurel forest, through the connection of the Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
of gymnosperms like the podocarpus and deciduous Nothofagus.Beilschmiedia tawa is often the dominant canopy species of genus Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean,...
in lowland Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
forests in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and the north east of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in these areas, with podocarps
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
such as Kahikatea, Matai
Prumnopitys taxifolia
Prumnopitys taxifolia is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura but is uncommon there....
, Miro and Rimu
Rimu
Rimu can mean the following:*Dacrydium cupressinum, also rimu, a tree endemic to New Zealand*Rimu, Southland, a locality in Southland, New Zealand*Rimu, West Coast, a locality in the West Coast region of New Zealand...
. Genus Beilschmiedia are tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s widespread in tropical Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
as south as Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Corynocarpus
Corynocarpus
Corynocarpus is the only genus of plants in the family Corynocarpaceae. It comprises six species growing from New Guinea to New Zealand and islands in the western Pacific Ocean.-Species:*Corynocarpus australasicus C. T. White...
family, Corynocarpus laevigatus is called laurel of New Zealand, Laurelia novae-zelandiae
Laurelia novae-zelandiae
Laurelia novae-zelandiae, also called Pukatea, is a large laurifolia evergreen tree, endemic to the forests of New Zealand . with so-called 'toothed' leaves and producing small flowers...
belongs to the same genus that Laurelia sempervirens
Laurelia sempervirens
Laurelia sempervirens, called from mapuche: Tihue, Trihue, also called Chilean Laurel or Chilean Sassafras. It is a species of Evergreen tree in the family Atherospermataceae, formerly Monimiaceae family, in the southern hemisphere genus of plant Laurelia, not closely related to Lauraceae despite...
. The tree niaouli grows in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand.
New Caledonia lies at the northern end of the ancient continent Zealandia
Zealandia
SS Zealandia, nicknamed Z was a historically significant Australian cargo and passenger ship. It served as a troopship in both World War I and World War II. Zealandia transported the ill-fated Australian 8th Division. Its crew were the last Allied personnel to see HMAS Sydney, which was lost with...
, while New Zealand rises at the plate boundary that bisects it. These land masses are two outposts of the Antarctic Flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
, including Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
s and Podocarps. At Curio Bay
Curio Bay
Located near the southern end of New Zealand's South Island, Curio Bay is a coastal embayment best known as the site of a petrified forest some 180 million years old. It also hosts a yellow-eyed penguin colony, arguably the rarest of penguin species, with approximately 1600 breeding pairs in the...
, logs of a fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
closely related to modern Kauri and Norfolk Pine can be seen that grew on Zealandia about 180 million years ago during the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
period, before it split from Gondwana.
During glacial periods more of Zealandia becomes a terrestrial rather than a marine environment. Zealandia was originally thought to have no native land mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
fauna, but a recent discovery in 2006 of a fossil mammal jaw from the Miocene in the Otago region shows otherwise.
New Guinea and Northern Australia ecoregion are closely related. Over time Australia drifted north and became drier as well; the humid Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
from Gondwana retreated to the east coast and Tasmania, while the rest of Australia became dominated by Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, and Casuarina
Casuarinaceae
Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 species of trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics , Australia, and the Pacific Islands...
, as well as xeric shrubs and grasses. Human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s arrived in Australia 50-60,000 years ago, and used fire to reshape the vegetation of the continent; as a result, the Antarctic flora, also known as the Rainforest flora in Australia, retreated to a few isolated areas composing less than 2% of Australia's land area.