What Is A Cloud Forest?

A cloud forest is generally found in tropical or sub-tropical environments. It is an evergreen montane forest. Montane is a term used for a highland area which is located below the timberline. A timberline is the boundary line which demarcates the area where trees grow and differentiates it from the area where they do not grow.

There is a high incidence of a low-level cloud cover in a cloud forest, especially at the canopy level. The definition of the term cloud forest is quite confusing. The reason for this ambiguity is that some countries prefer to use terms like Afromontane forest and upper montane rainforest or localised terms such as the 'Yungas' in Peru and the 'Laurisilva' in the Atlantic islands to the generic term cloud forest.

The climatic conditions in sub-tropical and temperate forests are also somewhat similar to those in cloud forests. Cloud forests are found in the following countries: Angola, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Vietnam.

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