Understanding the Difference of a Jungle to a Rainforest

Sunday

Probably you might be one of the few victims of misnomer – misuse of a word in place of a right word with the right meaning, and to tell you, the forest – rainforest misnomer might be one of the most common.

Yes, forest and rainforest are two different terms used interchangeably.  These two might sound the same, but take note, they connote two different meanings. So next time, be reminded of their contrasting explanations so you might not use one that should be the other.

WHAT IS A FOREST ANYWAY?

In the ancient times, the term forest is defined extremely different unto how we understand it today. It was originally a word that means ‘for rest’ which refers to clear areas and woodlands in which kings of Medieval Times like William the Conqueror designated it a royal place for hunting.

Forest, also known as wood or woods is an area with high density of trees. Aside from trees and plants, there are also numerous kinds of living organisms bound in the forest that’s why it is classified to be an ecosystem. Forest is a very broad subject, too broad that even the subcategories under it are used to term just the real ‘forest’. Classification of forest is indeed important to increase our understanding through space and time. It can be classified according to geography, climate, species composition, or dominant vegetation. One of the most typical types of forest is the rainforest. It is just a mere subcategory under the vast subject of forest.

RAINFOREST IN A FOREST?

A rainforest is a classification of a forest defined by the amount of rain it generates.  Rainforest houses varied species from plants to animals. Rainforests are further broken down into two classifications: the temperate rainforest and the tropical rainforest. Temperate rainforest are found in temperate zones or those hot areas in North America, specifically. Tropical rainforests are found on tropical areas near the equator as in the Pacific.

Both forest and rainforest share common responsibilities of providing habitat to species living in the wild. That’s why government and conservation groups all over the world are doing preservation efforts to protect flora and fauna in their natural habitat from human destruction.

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