Q. “Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result, the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees.” This is the most likely description of

  • Coniferous forest
  • Dry deciduous forest
  • Mangrove forest
  • Tropical rain forest

Answer: (d) Tropical rain forest

Tropical rain forest:
  • ​The tropical rain forest is a forest with tall trees in a region of year-round high temperatures where an average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly.
  • Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 34°C or drops below 20°C, average humidity is between 77 and 88%. Rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. Almost all rainforests lie near the equator.
  • Many of the trees have straight trunks that don’t branch out.
  • The majority of the trees have a smooth, thin bark because there is no need to protect them from water loss and freezing temperatures.
  • It also makes it difficult for plant parasites to get a hold on the trunks.
  • The bark of different species is so similar that it is difficult to identify a tree by its bark.
  • Many trees can only be identified by their flowers.
  • The fertility of topsoil in rainforest regions is very poor. Torrential downpours wash out most of the topsoil nutrients.
  • The soil deteriorates rapidly with subsequent soil erosion and soil impoverishment.
  • The equatorial vegetation comprises a multitude of evergreen trees that yield tropical hardwood, e.g. mahogany, ebony, dyewoods etc.
  • In tropical rainforest biome, hot, moist atmosphere and all the dead plant material create the perfect conditions in which bacteria and other microorganisms can thrive. This leads to rapid decomposition of leaf litter material. The tropical rainforest is known for its dense canopies of vegetation that form three different layers.