CHAPTER III 



WOODLAND CLIMATE AND GRASSLAND CLIMATE 



IN THE TROPICS 



i. The Kinds of Climatic Formations in the Tropics. 2. High-Forest Climate 

 in the Tropics. Climate of the Malay Archipelago according to Woeikof. Conditions 

 of rainfall in other tropical high-forest districts. Rain-forest and monsoon-forest in 

 Cis-gangetic India. Atmospheric humidity and temperature. Climatic tables taken from 

 tropical high-forest districts. 3. Thorn-Forest Climate in Cis-gangetic India. 

 4. Woodland Climate and Savannah Climate in Brazil. Coast mountain-ranges and 

 campos of Sao Paulo. Campos and forests in Minas Geraes. Xerophilous woodland 

 climate of the Sertao. 5. Climate of Northern South America and of the Antilles. 

 6. Climate of Tropical Africa. West coast. Savannah of the central African 

 plateau. Summary. 



i. THE KINDS OF CLIMATIC FORMATIONS IN THE 



TROPICS. 



Tropical wood/and, so far as its character depends 011 climate and not 

 on definite effects of the soil, may be divided into four kinds — Rain-forest, 

 Monsoon-forest, SavannaJi-forest, Thorn-forest. Close shrub-formations 

 are rare under favourable physical and chemical conditions of the soil ; 

 wherever the climate is too dry for forests, they are replaced by open, 

 half-desert and desert-like formations, in which xerophilous shrubs play 

 the chief part, but trees are not always absent. 



The Rain-forest (Fig. ] 24) is evergreen, hygrophilous in character, 

 at least thirty meters high, but usually much taller, rich in thick-stemmed 

 lianes, and in woody as well as herbaceous epiphytes. 



The Monsoon-forest (Fig. 125) is more or less leafless during the dry 

 season, especially towards its termination, is tropophilous in character, 

 usually less lofty than the rain-forest, rich in woody lianes, rich in herba- 

 ceous but poor in woody epiphytes. 



The Savannah-forest (Fig. 127) is more or less leafless during the dry 

 season, rarely evergreen, is xerophilous in character, usually, often much, 

 less than twenty meters high, park-like, very poor in underwood, lianes, 

 and epiphytes, rich in terrestrial herbs, especially in grasses. 



The Thorn-forest (Fig. 1 28), as regards foliage and average height, resembles 

 savannah-forest, but it is more xerophilous, is very rich in underwood 

 and in slender-stemmed lianes, poor in terrestrial herbs, especially in 

 grasses, and usually has no epiphytes. Thorn-plants are always plentiful. 



The different types of forest are connected by intermediate forms, and 



