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ASIAN LANDS:
Vegetation & The Global Ecological Zones
Vegetation
 the plant life or the plant ground
cover of a region, not the particular
taxa, life forms, structure, spatial
extent, or any other specific botani-
cal or geographic characteristics.
 Primeval redwood forests, coastal mangrove
stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts,
roadside weed patches, wheat fields,
cultivated gardens and lawns; all are
encompassed by the term vegetation
Climate and Vegetation

THE CONNECT
ION
ASIA’S
VEGETAT
ION
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Facts on Asia’s vegetation
  Asian plants, which include ferns, gymnosperms,
and flowering vascular plants, make up 40 percent of
the earth's plant species. The endemic plant species
come from more than forty plant families and fifteen
hundred genera.
 Asia is divided into five major vegetation regions
based on the richness and types of each region's
flora: tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia,
temperate mixed forests in East Asia, tropical rain
dry forests in South Asia, desert and steppe in
Central and West Asia, and taiga and tundra in North
Asia. 无忧PPT整理发布
GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF ASIA
Global Ecological Zone Surface area
Km 2
% of total land area % of GEZ worldtotal
Region
Tropical rain forest 3 009 375 11.1 20.6
Tropical moist deciduous forest 1 379 477 5.1 12.5

Tropical dry forest 1 426 603 5.2 19.1


Tropical shrubland 1 167 107 4.3 14.0
Tropical desert 2 704 536 9.9 23.4
Tropical mountain systems 834 931 3.1 18.5
Subtropical humid forest 2 047 862 7.5 43.7
Subtropical dry forest 129 040 0.5 8.1
Subtropical steppe 1 180 330 4.3 2.4
Subtropical desert 1 446 347 5.3 21.7
Subtropical mountain systems 3 459 622 12.7 71.2
Temperate oceanic forest 0 0 0
Temperate continental forest 1 253 135 4.6 18.0
Temperate steppe 1 115 606 4.1 18.9
Temperate desert 2 181 946 8.0 40.4
Temperate mountain systems 3 604 836 13.2 49.9
Boreal coniferous forest 157 450 0.6 1.9
Boreal tundra woodland 0 0 0
Boreal mountain systems 109 168 0.4 1.7
Total land area 27 207 371 99.9  

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Tropical Rainforest
 The Asian regions richest in flora, tropical rain forests, are found in the
island nations of Southeast Asia, which extend from Kinabalu in the north to
Java in the south and from New Guinea in the east to Sumatra in the west.
In this vast archipelago, the longest island chain between Asia and Australia,
are thirty-five thousand to forty thousand vascular plant species. Tropical
rain forests grow there year-round because of the region's warm
temperatures and plentiful rainfall. The forests contain great varieties of tall
trees, some towering 148 feet (45 meters) high. Within any 1-square-mile
area, one can see as many as one hundred tree species with no single
species dominant.

     The rain forests have mostly broad leafed ever greens, with some palm
trees and tree ferns. The uppermost branches of the trees form canopies
that cover and protect the earth below. Because little sunlight penetrates the
dense canopies, few shrubs or herbs grow in the rain forests. Instead, many
vines, lianas, epiphytes, andparasites are twined on tree branches and
trunks. Mangroves fringe the tropical rain forests 无忧PPT整理发布
along the coasts.
The prevailing vegetation type is dense moist evergreen forest.  Floristic variations exist, depending
Some more remarkable plants are blooms,
on the location. The most striking difference is the occurrence of Dipterocarpaceae, an important
Asian endemic family, to the west of the Wallace’s line, whereas they are totally absent to the east
carnivorous pitcher plants, and Rafflesia flowers -
of this line. As these forests grow in lowlands, they are under greatest pressure for timber
exploitation and conversion to agricultural land. The Sundarbans mangrove forests of the Ganges
the world's largest flowers, which are endemic to
Delta and those of western New Guinea are by far the most extensive in the world. In the drier parts
of the area, mainly in eastern Indonesia and the Himalayas foothill, semi-deciduous or moist
Asia.  
deciduous forests occur; especially in the Brahmaputra valley, they are valuable Sal forests (Shorea
robusta).

Tropical rain forest (Tar)

the world's largest flowers,


which are endemic to Asia
Pitcher plant from Sabah Malaysia
Raflessia
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Temperate Mixed Forests
 Second in floral richness, East Asia's temperate mixed forests contain thirty thousand to
thirty-five thousand plant species. This region ranges from Japan in the east to the Himalayan
nations (Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal) in the west, and from Russia's Amur River Valley in the
north to China's Hainan Island in the south. East Asia's temperate weather is similar to the
climate of eastern North America, with hot summers and cool winters. From south to north
and from the east coasts to lower elevations in mountainous areas in the west, the vegetation
changes from evergreen to deciduous broad-leafed forests, with dense shrubs, bamboo, and
herbs in different layers beneath the forest canopy. The major tree species are of the
magnolia, oak, tea, laurel, spurge, azalea, and maple families. Herbs include members of the
primrose, gentian, pea, carrot, foxglove, composite, buttercup, and rose families.

      The Himalayan range is the point where the regions of South Asia, East Asia, and Central
and West Asia join. From the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China to the lower areas of
the Himalayas, elevation usually is between about 5,000 and 13,000 feet (1,500 and 4,000
meters). Mountains with deep valleys showcase complex, multiple vegetation types from
mixed forests and dense shrubs to alpine meadows in mountain plains. Many
primary seed plants (gymnosperms and flowering plants), grow there.

      Untouched native vegetation in East Asia is usually found only in mountainous or remote
areas. On mountains at high elevations, the points where the temperatures are so cold that
trees cannot grow form what is called the tree line. Near the tree line, only plants related to
coniferous and alpine species grow. Above about 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) in high mountain
areas, no vegetation grows. Instead, snowcaps or icebergs无忧PPT整理发布
exist year round.
Due to the dry season, the natural vegetation is nearly everywhere a deciduous or
semi-deciduous forest. This forest type is in Asia commonly known as monsoon forest.
Its flora varies according to the region and the actual leafless period varies between
species. On average, moist deciduous forests are leafless for at least 8 weeks in
February and March. Many dominant trees belong to the Leguminosae, Combretaceae,
Meliaceae or Verbenaceae. Dipterocarps are also present, but less conspicuous as in
the rain forest. The forest is 20 to 25 m tall and a sparse grass cover is usually present.

Tropical moist deciduous forest (TAwa)


An Asian valuable medicinal plant

Asian Ginseng

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Tropical Rain/ Dry Mixed Forests
 The third-richest region, tropical rain/dry forests, is found in South Asia, which
reaches from the Philippines in the east to Pakistan in the west, and from the
Himalayas in the north to Thailand in the south. Twenty five thousand to thirty
thousand species of plants grow there. This region has both tropical rain forests and
tropical seasonal dry forests. The tropical rain forest is mainly found in the region's
lowlands and the seasonal dry forests in the highlands or mountainous areas. More
often, these two types of forests are combined.

      The tropical seasonal dry forests usually grow in a climate with wet and dry
seasons or under a somewhat cooler climate than the tropical rainforests. The
canopy, formed from primarily deciduous broad leafed species, is much thinner than
the canopy in the tropical rain forest, so more sunlight reaches plants below.
Many different plant species live together, forming tropical jungles. Tall, thick-trunked
trees, colorful orchids, ferns, dense mosses, and twined vines and lianas dominate
this vast region. The major components of these kinds of forests are members of the
dipterocarpas, sweetsop, laurel, piper, fig, dissotis, akee, gardenia, periwinkle,
milkweed, African violet, palm, and aroid families. In central and southern India and in
some areas of Pakistan there are tropical grasslands, called the savanna. Because
of the savanna's hot, dry weather, mainly coarse grasses 无忧PPT整理发布
grow there.
A complex of vegetation types are found in this Ecological Zone. Dry evergreen forest occurs on the
dry eastern Coromandel Coast of India and in north Sri Lanka. This very peculiar and vestigial plant
community is unknown elsewhere in Asia and is limited to a small area. Today, most of these forests
have been cleared for agriculture and locally replaced by Casuarina equisetifolia and Eucalyptus
plantations. The ecologically decisive factors include the rainfall regime with well-marked maxima in
October, November or December and a summer of 5 – 7 dry months. This rainfall pattern is
uncommon in the tropics. The natural vegetation is a stunted woody formation with a peculiar
floristic composition, including Manilkara hexandra, Chloroxylon swietenia, Albizia amara and
Capparis zeylanica. The total flora is poor.

Tropical Dry forest (TAwb)


Fruit with long wings developed
from persistant calyx

Shorea obtuse

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Desert and Steppe
  The desert and steppe region in Central and West Asia has twenty to twenty-five
thousand species of plants. This region stretches from north and northwest
China and Mongolia in the east to Turkey in the west and from Kazakhstan in the
north to the Arabian Peninsula in the south. This region's vegetation changes
from semi desert or desert to the temperate grassland called the steppe.

      Central and West Asia contains the largest desert steppe landscape in the
Northern Hemisphere. Few plant species grow in the steppe and nearly none in
the desert. The herbs and few woody plants that grow in these dry areas are
members of the grass, pink, mustard, pea, saxifrage, stonecrops, lignum vitae,
forget-me-not, and lily families.

      Because the desert environment is so dry, plant species must be able to


survive in the arid weather for long periods of time. Central and West Asia with
its steppe between the desert in the south and coniferous forests in the north
forms one of the world's largest foraging areas, providing food resources for both
wild and domestic animals, such as camels, sheep, goats, cows, and horses.
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In some places, between the
dunes, a pseudo-steppic
vegetation may occur. Sandy or
rocky deserts are extensive.
The boundary of the Tropical
desert in the Arabian Peninsula is
based on the presence of tropical
Periploca plants (south of this line)
belonging to the Sudanian
Region. The sparse vegetation
consists of perennial shrubs,
bushes, succulents and grasses.
Acacia flora is the indicator of the
region with plants like Balanites,
Abutilon, Haloxylon, Retametalia,
Eremopogon, Trichodesma,
Cucumis, Cenchrus, Cyperus,
Tribulus, Maerua, Boscia,
Tephrosia, Rynchosia, Periploca,
Pergularia. Thorny thickets of
Acacia tortilis and Maerua
crassifolia characterize the
foothills. Panicum turgidum,
Lasiurus hirsutus are found in
sandy plains, Yemen and the
Tropical desert (TBWh) Hadramut.
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In these very dry conditions, only
a low open forest can grow, often
giving way to woodland, savanna
woodland or thickets. Moreover, in
Tropical shrubland (TBSh) densely populated India most of
this area is devoted to cultivation
and grazing. Stretches of poor
degraded savanna or pseudo-
steppe intermingle with the crops.
The thickets are composed of
thorny bushes of Acacia,
Capparis, Maytenus and Ziziphus.
In semi-arid Rajasthan, in the
northwest of India, Sudano-
Deccanian floristic elements
prevail. Some thorny thickets and
low forest types dominated by
Anogeissus pendula can be
considered as a virtual climax. In
these formations, several Acacia
species (A. jacquemontii, A.
leucophloea), Prosopis,
Salvadora and Capparis are
common shrubs. In southeastern
Viet Nam and Indonesia, the low
Good honey plant
deciduous forest often gives way
to a sclerophyllous thicket.
Capparis 无忧PPT整理发布
Taiga and Tundra
 The poorest region in floral richness, with only about five thousand vascular plant
species, is North Asia. This region is primarily Siberia, the eastern part of Russia,
reaching from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Bering Strait in the east and from
the Arctic Circle in the north to Mongolia and Kazakhstan in the south. The region's
weather is temperate, with short, mild summers and long, cold winters. The predominant
vegetation in North Asia is coniferous (boreal) forest. This region, called the taiga,
contains mainly pine, spruce, fir, larch, and some species in the birch, aspen, and willow
families. Because the trees there are straight and tall, the taiga provides timber for
Russia's forestry industry. Small, perennial herbs and a few types of shrubs grow in the
taiga's swamps or marshes.

 Farther north is the cooler Arctic area called the tundra. Plants that grow in tundra are
resistant to the cold climate. During the summer they complete their life cycle quickly,
before winter comes. Tundra plant species are members of such common families as
composites, peas, grasses, and reeds. Far beyond the tundra is Arctic ice.

 Asia's native plant species provide shelter and food for animals. For example, arrow
bamboo and umbrella bamboo, found in the forests of central to southwest China, are
the main food of the giant panda. Many plants in Asia also provide food, ornaments, or
medicine for humans. 无忧PPT整理发布
THANK
YOU!
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