atbrazerzkidai.blogg.se

Rainforests and jungles are similar in many ways – they are both warm, tropical forest habitats filled with thick vegetation – but there are also some key differences.

Is there a difference between a jungle and a rainforest? Put simply, a jungle is a forested area that combines warm temperatures with dense, ground-level vegetation. Plants such as shrubs, grasses, vines, and moss thrive in jungles, which makes it very difficult for humans to penetrate on foot without cutting a path through. These days ‘jungle’ is used to describe the ground level of densely forested tropical areas where there is tangled vegetation and underbrush. Since then the terms ‘tropical forest’ and ‘rainforest’ have more or less completely replaced the term ‘jungle’ to describe humid tropical forests. Prior to the 1970s, all tropical forests were generically referred to as jungle, whether they were rainforests, cloud forests, or mangroves. Nearly everyone has an idea about how they’d define the biome, and usage of the term ‘jungle’ has evolved significantly over the past fifty or so years. Before we look at some iconic jungle species it’s worth taking a moment to understand exactly what we mean by the term ‘jungle’. Jungle animals are some of the most diverse and numerous of any habit on the planet.