Friday, November 2, 2018

Biomes of Sundaland

During the last ice age the world was dryer and slightly cooler as much of the water was locked up in ice-sheets. Sundaland had a range of biomes, from mountain jungles to swamps and tropical shrub and grasslands.

Here's a vegetation map from WikiPedia of the world during the last ice age. Click the image for a bigger view so you can read the legend.

Ice Age vegetation map




Ice Age vegetation map Eurasia and Africa


Sundaland vegetation map

From a research paper:

Sundaland ecosystem map


The results indicate that central Sundaland, exposed because of lower sea levels at glacial maxima, harbored suitable environmental conditions for Dipterocarpaceae and was probably covered by rainforest
This video give you an idea of what the main biome types look like. The most relevant sections are:

10:22 Flooded Grasslands & Savannas

13:39 Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

19:01 Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests

23:15 Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests

30:43 Mangroves

34:16 Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests



A look at Earth's biogeographical realms. The Indomalayan realm overview starts at 15:15.


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