Download Natural Vegetation

Natural Vegetation
What Is Natural Vegetation?
Natural vegetation grows naturally in the environment by themselves without being planted
through human activities such as farming and economic and urban development.
Types Of Natural Vegetation
There are three major types of natural vegetation and they are forest, grasslands and the
desert vegetation.
The three major types of forest are tropical rainforest, temperate deciduous forests and
temperate coniferous forests. There are 2 types of grasslands, tropical savannahs and
temperate grasslands.
There are 2 types of desert vegetation-hot desert vegetation and cold tundra vegetation
Characteristics of forest
Forest is found in places with high rainfall. It is found between latitude 66.5 degrees South
and 66.5 degrees north. The temperature is from 12-30 degrees Celsius and the rainfall is from
300mm to 2000mm.
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical rainforests are rainforests in the tropics, found near the Equator (between the
Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn). They are found in southeast Asia (Myanmar
to Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia), Sub-Saharan
Africa from Cameroon to the Congo (Congo Rainforest), South America (e.g. the
Amazon Rainforest), Central America (e.g. Bosawás, southern Yucatán Peninsula-El
Peten-Belize-Calakmul), and on many of the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaii). Tropical
rainforest in singapore are found mainly in the central catchment nature reserve which is
located in the central part of the island surrounding the upper seletar, peirce and
macritchie reservoir and in the bukit timah nature reserve.
The three distinct layers are:Emergent, canopy, and undergrowth.
Emergent:
Very tall trees that reach a height of 40-50 metres to receive more sunlight.
These trees have buttress roots to support their tall and heavy trunks.
Canopy:
Tall trees that reach a height of 15-30 metres.The interior of the tropical rainforest is cool
and shady because the canopy blocks out sunlight.
Undergrowth:
Plant growth is sparse because very little sunlight reach that area.
The trees in the tropical rainforest grow very closely so it becomes very dense.Many trees
in the tropical rainforest have waxy drip tipleaves which are pointed at the the tip to allow
rainwater to flow off quickly. Many trees also have broad leave surfaces to get as much
sunlight as possible.
Characteristic of temperate forest
Both temperate deciduous forest and temperate coniferous forest are found widely in
Japan, China, Europe north america and new zealand. Such places experience seasonal
changes and are home to temperate forest.
Temperate deciduous forest
The temperature range from -2 to 18 degree Celsius and the rainfall ranges from 750 to
1000mm annualy. Deciduous trees have broad leaves and thus
there is a large surface area from which water can be lost through
transpiration. There are three layers. The top layer is known as the
canopy and it is the thickest during summer and the trees are full
of leaves. They grow up to a height of 25 to 30 metres. Shrubs and smaller trees make up
the second layer. The third layer is made up of grasses, mosses and ferns. The apperance
of temperate deciduous forests changes with the season.The trees do not grow closely
together and are not dense.
Temperate Coniferous Forests
The temperate coniferous forests sare found in places with a temperature ranging from 12 to 10 degrees celsius.They also experience rainfall ranging from 300 to 750mm
annually.These trees can be found in Northern areas like North America, Europe, China
and Japan.Temperate Coniferous forests are coned shaped to allow snow to slide off so
that it will not build up on the branches and cause the
branches to break from the weight of the snow.these trees also have small needle-like
leaves and a small surface areas to reduce water loss through transpiration.The above
features allows the trees to adapt to the climate.
Grasslands
The main types of plants found in grasslands arwe grasses,bushes and scattered trees.they
are found in places with little rainfall betwween 200 and 1000mm.The temperature ranges
from -20 to 30 degrees celsius.In grasslands with high temperayture and moderate rainfall
have light spaced trees,tallshrubs and large expanses of grasses.
Tropical savannahs
Tropical savannahs are tall grasses with scattered trees and short thorny shrubs which is
adapted to the dry condition. They are found in places within the tropics that have very
high temperatures from 20 to 30 degrees celsius.fires are frequent . Trees and grasses are
parched from the dry season and as they are easily set on fire when struck by lightning
during thunderstorms. Tropical Savannahs can be found in the
central and southern parts of Africa, Venezuela and Brazil in South America and in parts
of India and Australia. They also have long roots to tap underground water, small leaves
to reduce transpiration, large trunks to store water and thick barks to protect it from fires
and loss of water through transpiration.
Temperate grasslands
Temperate grassland are found in places where summer is very hot and winter is very
cold. The climate tends to be very dry and strong winds are common. The temperature
ranges from -20 to 10 degree Celsius. These trees are found in Europe, central Asia, parts
of North America and Argentina in South America. The grasses that grow there is shorter
as they receive lesser rainfall.
Hot Dessert Vegetation
The temperature ranges from -30 to 48 degree celsius. Generally, vegetation is sparse in
the desert and the vegetation have small or no leaves to reduce loss of water through
transpiration. The hot desert vegetation consist of cacti, short bushes and tough grasses.
The cold tundra vegetation consist of lichens, mosses, tough grasses and scrubs.
Hot desert vegetation
Hot desert are found in parts of north america, south america, Africa, in parts of saudi
arabia and australia. These temperature have very high temperature that reach 48 degree
celsius. Vegetation is sparse as rainfall is little. Luckily, these plants have special features
to adapt to the hot and dry condition. Some of the plants have swollen roots to store
water, long roots to tap underground water, wide spreading roots to
cover a bigger surface area in search of more water, or small or no leaves to reduce water
loss through transpiration. Other plants also have a thick layer of wax to reduce water loss
and have short life cycles. The short life cycles will prevent the plants from meeting with
the harsh climate. When the climate is harsh, the seed stay in the ground and when there
is rain, the seed will grow out into a small plant quickly and scatter its seeds which stay in
the ground till the rain comes again.
Cold tundra vegetation
Cold tundra vegetation are found in antarctica, the arctic region of north america,
greenland and iceland. The temperature of cold tundra is slightly above 0 degree celsius.
The plants in the cold tundra vegetation have special features to help them adapt to the
harsh condition. The plants are small and compact and they grow closely to the ground to
brace themselves together from the strong wind. They also have short roots that are not
exposed to prevent it from being damaged by the extreme cold. Most of the plants have
small leaves to reduce loss of water through transpiration and also have short cycles and
the plants grow only during the short summer months.
Uses of forest
Forest makes up a large part of the earth surface thus it does affect our lifes. Some of the
plants in the forest can be used as a natural resoure and some even have have medicinal
value to help cure diseases.
Many of the forest also provide a place for
nature lovers to enjoy nature
and also provide a habitat for the animals.
The trees prevent soil erosion as the roots hold onto the soil and prevent it from being
washed away into the river. Most importantly, plants add more water vapour into the air
through transpiration and thus increase the amount of rainfall. The plants also help to
maintain a balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air.