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Article: Rain Forests
- Article from:
- Plant Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Rain Forests
Since rainfall controls tropical vegetation in the tropics, rain forest types may be classified with reference to local climate. These include lowland,
montane
, subtropical, and temperate rain forests. Their common features are at least 1,500 millimeters (approximately 33 inches) of annual rainfall and evergreen vegetation with lianas and
epiphytes
. Most widespread are lowland tropical rain forests, accounting for less than one-third of the tropical land surface, growing in areas receiving between 2,000 to 5,000 millimeters of annual rainfall, with relatively high and constant air temperature (annual mean
±
25
°
C) never below freezing point. They persist in ...