Beauty of the evergreen forests
T. LAJAPATHI ROY
|
The plants and trees in the rainforest spread their leaves to capture maximum sunlight and in this struggle the trees grow closely and form a green canopy.
|
PANORAMIC VIEW: The rainforests.
Rain forests are the most attractive of forest eco systems. Today they cover about six percent of the earth's surface but they shelter over 50 percent of all the species of plants and animals in the world. The plants and trees in the rain forest spread their leaves to capture maximum sunlight and in this struggle the trees grow closely and form a kind of green umbrella called canopy. It provides good shade to the forest floor and for this reason rain forests are called sholas.
Because of the competition of light, one can find every space utilised, there are plants at the forks of trees, epiphytes like vandas and orchids at branches, mosses over trees, ferns in every crevice and the whole forest is alive with the sounds of insects, birds and animals.
To survive
These forests get more than 2000 mm of rain and the trees never shed their leaves completely, lest they lose out in the race for survival and be replaced by other trees.
The rain forests of Pampadum Shola National Park at Munnar, Kerala and Kottakadu forests near Top Station in Bodinaickanur in Tamil Nadu are ideal locations for a nature lover. Both forests are located side by side and form a single ecosystem transcending the political barriers between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. . The location of the forests are also strategic for trekking to either Kodaikanal or Valparai. Of course one has to learn to tolerate the leeches and avoid the nettles to make the visit comfortable.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
