The relationship between climates,soil and vegetation of Tropical marine areas, Tropical continental areas and Equatorial areas. Climate In tropical marine areas,the ocean is largely responsible for creating the tropical marine climate system. In these areas there are two seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The average temperature ranges from 25-35 degrees celsius.
The annual rainfall is between 1000-1500 mm . The trade winds in this area blow all year and are moist because they pass over warm seas.When the conditions in the atmosphere are unstable,at this time islands like Trinidad, Jamaica etc. are affected by the ITCZ(Intertropical Convergence Zone). IN the dry season when the weather conditions are more stable, there is less rainfall and these regions are affected by anticyclones which are associated with descending air currents,low realtive humidity and cloudless conditions.
In tropical continental areas there is a seasonal change which occurs between wet air masses and dry tropical air masses resulting in a very wet season and a very dry season.In the dry season,there are hot dry winds,for example in west Afica,there is wind blowing in and bringing parched air from the Sahara Desert. In the wet season, these tropical continental areas are affected by the ITCZ, which also affects tropical marine areas. In equatorial areas, their climate is different from tropical marine regions, because in these parts, the temperature of the equatorial regions is hot throughout year,usually of temperatures of around 27 degrees celsius,with a very low temperature range of usually less than 3 degrees celsius.Present in these regions is also a very wet climate of often more than 2000mm annually, which constitutes to more rainfall than in tropical marine regions. Vegetation and Soils In tropical marine areas,during the dry season, plants must conserve water/moisture.
The adaptations these plants must make rely largely on the annual rainfall present in that area. Short dry periods with few rain showers allow for the presence of hygrophytic ecosystems. The soil in this ecosystem holds sufficient water for the growth of plants.Also present in these marine areas is a type of eco system called the mesophytic ecosytem also known as the the semi evergreen forest. this is found when there is a long dry season with very little rainfall and therefore there is less vegetation than in a rainforest.
The very small leaves in this ecosystem allows the plant to conserve water so less transpiration would occur. During the dry season,the leaves covering the ground will not decay until the ground is moist. Then there is the xerophytic system also known as dry woodland.It is found in rain shadow areas of this region and often develops soil that drains quickly.
Trees of the dry woodland areas are much shorter than those in the rainforest areas and either have small leaves or their leaves shed. The biomass of this area is also much lower than that of a rainforest. In continental areas the vegetation here is different from marine areas, because these parts have a type of vegetation known as Savanna vegetation. The climatic variation means that the vegetation here has a short life cycle, in which the main aim is to conserve water to survive.The majority of the plants here are xerophytic. This means they have small, spindly leaves, with waxy layers to reduce evapotranspiration or a thick bark.
In equitorial areas,these hot and wet conditions are feasible for plant growth so the vegeatation is varied. For example in Britain,there would be 4 or 5 species of trees in a forest, whereas in the same area near the equator, there can be about 500 species. Equatorial rainforest also have a very diverse fauna.
