Tree ferns in cloud forest on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

At the edge of the Panamanian side of the Parque Internacional la Amistad

Temperate cloud forest on La Palma, Canary Islands

The cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica

Cloud forest on Mount Lushan in southeastern China

One of the hanging bridges of the Sky walk in Santa Elena, Costa Rica disappearing into the clouds

A cloud forest is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained.^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1562x1488, 1704 KB) Cloud forest. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1562x1488, 1704 KB) Cloud forest. ... Tree Fern refers to any fern that grows with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level. ... Mount Kinabalu (Malay: Gunung Kinabalu) is a prominent mountain in Southeast Asia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Kalimantan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (852x1136, 86 KB) A cloud forest very near Parque Nacional La Amistad, near Boquete, Panamá Original filename: 040410_8710r. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (852x1136, 86 KB) A cloud forest very near Parque Nacional La Amistad, near Boquete, Panamá Original filename: 040410_8710r. ... An approach on the Panamanian side (near Boquete) Of course it can get quite misty in a cloud forest The Parque Internacional La Amistad is an international peace park in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica and Panama, following a recommendation by UNESCO after the park... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1191 KB) Astonomy Observatory - Photo taken by Luc Viatour 2004 License : Image: Astonomy Observatory File links The following pages link to this file: San Andrés y Sauces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife User:Lviatour Metadata This file contains additional information... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1191 KB) Astonomy Observatory - Photo taken by Luc Viatour 2004 License : Image: Astonomy Observatory File links The following pages link to this file: San Andrés y Sauces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife User:Lviatour Metadata This file contains additional information... Satellite image of La Palma, with the Caldera de Taburiente visible (north is to the lower right). ... Anthem: Arrorró Capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 13th  7,447 km²  1. ... Image File history File links Copyright Liz Roy. ... Image File history File links Copyright Liz Roy. ... The cloud forest of Monteverde Monteverde, Costa Rica (Spanish for green mountain) is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1712x2304, 1769 KB) Summary Description: Fog curls around the peaks of Mt Lushan in Jiangxi province, China. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1712x2304, 1769 KB) Summary Description: Fog curls around the peaks of Mt Lushan in Jiangxi province, China. ... Mount Lushan is a mountain in the Peoples Republic of China (also known as Mount Lu), situated south of the city of Jiujiang in the Jiangxi Province, with Boyang Lake at its bank. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 116 KB) Photograph by Dirk van der Made (user:DirkvdM). ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 116 KB) Photograph by Dirk van der Made (user:DirkvdM). ... The cloud forest of Monteverde Monteverde, Costa Rica (Spanish for green mountain) is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... Tropic wet forests in the World Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as tropical wet forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome. ... Cumulus mediocris clouds, as seen from a plane window. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. ...

Characteristics

Typically, there is a relatively small band of altitude in which the atmospheric environment is suitable for cloud forest development. This is characterized by persistent mist or clouds at the vegetation level, resulting in the reduction of direct sunlight and thus of evapotranspiration. Trees in these regions are generally shorter and more heavily stemmed than in lower altitude forests in the same regions, and the moisture promotes the development of an abundance of vascular epiphytes. This results in abundant moss and fern covering, and frequently flowers such as orchids may be found. Soils are rich but boggy, with a preponderance of peats and humus. Within cloud forests, much of the precipitation is in the form of fog drip, where fog condenses on tree leaves and then drips onto the ground below. Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration. ... Near Orosí, Costa Rica Epiphytes on a tree near Santa Elena in Costa Rica An example of an epiphyte assemblage of orchids and bromeliads in a garden setting in Hawaii An epiphyte is any plant that grows upon or attached to another living plant. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ... Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Golden Gate Bridge in Fog Evening fog obscures Londons Tower Bridge from passers by. ... Water vapor condensing over a cup of hot tea Condensation is the change in matter of a substance to a denser phase, such as a gas (or vapor) to a liquid. ...

The definition of cloud forest can be ambiguous, with many countries not using the term (preferring such terms as Afromontane forest and upper montane rain forest, or more localised terms such as the Peruvian yungas, and the laurisilva of the Atlantic Islands), and occasionally subtropical and even temperate forests in which similar meteorological conditions occur are considered to be cloud forests. Afromontane is a term used to describe the plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. ... The Yungas is an area in the eastern piedmont of the Andes Mountains, primarily in Bolivia. ... Laurisilva on in the National Park Garajonay on La Gomera Laurisilva on La Palma Laurisilva is a type of humid subtropical laurel forest found on several of the Macaronesian islands of the north Atlantic, namely the Azores, Madeira Islands, and the Canary Islands. ...

Distribution of cloud forests

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Tropical and subtropical cloud forests exist in the following countries: Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ...

• Angola
• Australia
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Ecuador -
• El Salvador
• Fiji
• Gabon
• Guatemala
• Honduras Delete this sentence if you are a member of the Nazi party.
• India
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Nicaragua
• Oman
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Philippines
• Rwanda
• Sri Lanka
• Tanzania
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Venezuela
• Vietnam

Temperate cloud forests

Although far from being universally accepted as true cloud forests, several forests in temperate regions have strong similarities with tropical cloud forests. The term is further confused by occasional reference to cloud forests in tropical countries as "temperate" due to the cooler climate associated with these misty forests.

Distribution of temperate cloud forests

• Argentina
• Australia - Lamington National Park (Queensland)
• People's Republic of China - Yunnan Plateau, mountains of southern and eastern China
• Dominican Republic - Western provinces such as Barahona
• Haiti
• Japan - parts of Yakushima Island
• New Zealand - parts of Fiordland,Mt Taranaki and Mount Cargill cloud forest
• Portugal - Azores and Madeira
• Spain - Canary Islands
• Taiwan

Lamington is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 75 km south of Brisbane. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Yakushima ) is an island of about 500km² and roughly 15 000 islanders to the south of KyÅ«shÅ« in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. ... Fiordland is a region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island. ... ... Mount Cargill and Buttars Peak seen from above North East Valley, Dunedin Mount Cargill is a 680 metre high volcanic outcrop which dominates the skyline of northern Dunedin, New Zealand. ... Motto (Portuguese for Rather die free than in peace subjugated) Anthem  (national)  (local) Capital Ponta Delgada1 Angra do Heroísmo2 Horta3 Largest city Ponta Delgada Official languages Portuguese Government Autonomous region  -  President Carlos César Establishment  -  Settled 1439   -  Autonomy 1976  Area  -  Total 2,333 km² (n/a) 911 sq mi... Madeira Island is the largest island of the Madeira Islands archipelago, with 741 km ², has a length of 30 geographical miles (57 km), an extreme breadth of 13 miles (22 km), and a coastline of 80 or 90 miles. ... Missing image image:ccaa-canary. ...

References

1. ^ Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, p. 29.

External links

• Monteverde Costa Rica Cloud Forest
• Tropical Montane Cloud Forest Initiative
• National Geographic (2001), "Cloud Forests Fading in the Mist, Their Treasures Little Known"
• An Ecological Reserve in the Cloud Forest of Mindo Ecuador
• St. Elena and Rara Avis, Costa Rica - Video