Cloud Forest

Cloud forests are high-elevation tropical and subtropical forests where vegetation is regularly immersed in low-level cloud cover. They are typically found between 1,000 and 3,500 metres above sea level in regions such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Tanzania, and Southeast Asia.

Unlike lowland rainforests, cloud forests receive a significant portion of their moisture directly from fog condensation. Mosses, lichens, orchids, bromeliads, and ferns cover branches and trunks, creating one of the most biologically rich ecosystems on Earth.

Although cloud forests occupy less than 1% of global woodland area, they support an exceptionally high concentration of endemic species. Many amphibians, birds, and plants found within these forests exist nowhere else.

Today, cloud forests face increasing pressure from climate change. Rising temperatures are lifting cloud layers to higher elevations, reducing moisture availability and threatening species that rely on stable, humid conditions.

Cloud forests play a critical role in regional water cycles, capturing moisture from the atmosphere and supplying freshwater to millions of people downstream.