Tropical Dry Forest

Tropical dry forests are located all across the hot and dry areas of the globe near the equator. Examples of these areas are Madagascar, Southern Mexico, Central Brazil, and areas with similar hot and dry conditions.

The major limiting factors of these forests are the long dry periods they withstand every year. Thus the name tropical dry forest. They can go almost rainless from 4-7 months. These months hinder the ability for plants to grow.

During these months, the accumulated rainfall can get as low as around 50mm for the entire timespan.

As illustrated by the graph of a tropical dry forest on Madagascar, from April to November the average rainfall is almost zero.

What makes these forests "tropical" is that they are located near the equator. This makes it so they have fairly high temperatures the entire year. Mahajanga's temperatures are on the lower end of common tropical dry forests.

Dry Weather

• Easy to erode the soil from the lack of rain
• Wildfires are common during dry spells

Warm Climate

• Specific plant and animal life is able to survive in these parts

Soil

• weak soil - low in nutrients

There is a large variety of animals creating large food and energy pyramids. What dry forests usually lack though are massive animals that we see in other biomes such as elephants or giraffes. These forests tend to consist of insects and smaller furry creatures. There is not enough energy to support large animals due to long growing droughts.

Examples: shrews, bats, coyotes, foxes, ringtails, raccoons, badgers, bobcats and mountain lions

Dry forests are some of the most deforested places in the world. Their land is constantly shrinking.

Precipitation patterns will reduce with an increase in global warming. This will result in more dry climates and a decrease in the forest since the growing season will be much shorter.