Sky Media presents

1. TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS
SKY M=DIA presents

2. Natural terrestrial environments
i. Tropical rain forests
ii. Montane forests
iii. Dry mixed ever green forests
iv. Thorny shrubs and scrublands

3. Tropical rain forest
i. These are also called wet ever green forests.
ii. They are found in highlands up to 900M above sea level.
iii. The annual rainfall is above 2000MM,and the temperature is high.
iv. Almost no dry season, many streams and rivers can be seen.
v. Many economically important trees such as
Keena,Kaledal,Halmilla,Nadun,Hora can be found.
vi. Tropical rain forests show the highest bio diversity in the world.
vii. Tropical rain forest can be considered as a unique environment for
conserving the “Gene pool” of our country
viii. Examples of these forests are Sinharaja,Kithulgala and Kanneliya forests.

4. Montane forest
i. These are found at heights of 900M above sea level.
ii. A annual rainfall of about 4000MM,this area is subjected to strong
winds.
iii. Trunks are twisted and gnarled, top of the trees form a flat canopy
iv. No stratification can be seen.
v. Leaves are small, Common plants are walsapu,veralu,mihiriya and dan
varieties.
vi. Trees trunks are moist, hence they are covered with lichen, mosses and
epiphytes.
vii. Examples for montane forests are Piduruthalagala, Adam’s peak,
Kikiliyamana, Knuckles range, Horton place and pattipola forest reserve.

5. Dry mixed ever green forests
i. These are also known as monsoon forests.
ii. They are located around 900M above sea level in dry zone.
iii. Temperature is more than 30 degrees Celsius with and annual rainfall of
about 1250 – 1900MM.
iv. These are found in the dry, but not arid areas of the country.
v. Most plants found here are those which can withstand long periods of
droughts.
vi. No marked stratification can be seen.
vii. Barks are thick and trunks are twisted, root penetrate deep in to the soil.
viii. It has a well grown undergrowth, Common plants are
weera,palu,burutha,kalwara,welang,kolon ,kon, kohomba etc.

6. Thorny shrubs and scrublands
i. These ecosystems are found in the arid zone, northwest and south east of
the island.
ii. Temperature is higher than 34 degrees Celsius, and annual rainfall is
below 1250MM.
iii. Therefore, these are called semi and areas.
iv. Soil is dry and sandy, humidity is low.
v. Day time is mostly sunny.
vi. Some examples of plant types are nawahandi, daluk, pathok, komarika,
kaneru, andera, eraminya.
vii. This type of vegetations can be founded in Mannar,Killinochi,Mulativu and
Hambantota districts.

8. Thank You!
Presentation by
Rashaad Azhar &
SKY MEDIA