Cloud Forest

Cloud Forest. Written and photographed by Nick Bishop.

《云雾森林》，作者兼摄影：尼克·毕肖普

What is a cloud forest? A cloud forest is a very special type of forest. It grows high in the mountains where the trees are nearly always covered in clouds. Clouds blow through the trees, wetting their leaves and branches, and rain falls almost every day. These forests are rare because they only grow on the cloudiest mountain ranges. You can see them in different places around the world, in tropical parts of Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas.

什么是云雾森林呀？ 云雾森林是一种非常特别的森林，它生长在高山上，那里的树木 几乎总被云雾包裹着。云在林间穿行，打湿树叶 和树枝，而且几乎天天下雨。 这种森林很稀有，因为它们只长在云雾最多的山脉上。你能在全球很多地方见到它们，比如亚洲、非洲、澳大利亚和美洲的热带区域。

Cloud forests are rich in plants and animals that live nowhere else on earth. They also have secrets to tell us. Many cloud forests are so hard to reach that they haven't been explored by scientists. Perhaps three quarters of their plants and animals haven't yet been found. Only a tiny number of tropical forests are cloud forests. This brilliant flower grows in the cloud forest. A beetle scurries along a branch.

云雾森林里有很多地球上其他地方都没有的动植物。 它们还藏着好多秘密等着我们发现呢。 好多云雾森林都很难抵达，科学家们还没去探索过。 大概四分之三的动植物都还没被人类发现哦。 热带森林里只有极少一部分是云雾森林。 这种亮闪闪的花就长在云雾森林里。 一只小甲虫正沿着树枝匆匆爬过。

A Climb to the Cloud Forest Imagine you are going to climb a tropical mountain. At the bottom you will find rainforest. It's very warm and damp and some trees grow as tall as 50 metres, higher than an office block. As you climb higher up the mountain you'll notice that the air gets cooler and the trees are a little shorter. Then you'll reach a place where clouds brush against the mountain. Blowing mists soak the leaves and branches of the trees with water that trickles and drips to the ground. This place is the cloud forest and it's very different from the rainforest lower down. It's much cooler and always soggy. Cloud forests can get from 3 to 8 metres of water each year.

向着云雾森林攀登 想象一下你要去爬一座热带的高山。 山脚下你会看到热带雨林。 那里又暖又湿，有些树能长到50米高，比办公楼还高呢。 你越往山上爬，就会发现空气变凉了，树也变矮了一点。 接着你会走到一个云雾贴着山飘的地方。 吹过来的雾气把树叶和树枝都浸得湿湿的，水珠一滴滴落到地上。 这里就是云雾森林啦，它和山下的热带雨林可大不一样。 这里凉快多了，而且总是湿漉漉的。 云雾森林每年的降水量能达到3到8米哦。

In the cloud forest, the tallest trees are only about 30 metres high. There are hundreds of mosses and ferns which cover everything in a soft green coat. If you study the forest closely, you'll find that many of the plants and animals are different from those in the They need to be able to cope with the cool dampness of the cloud forest. As you climb further upwards, the air becomes even colder and the trees become even smaller. Near the top of the mountain, the trees may only be four metres tall. Their growth is crooked and stunted by the strong cool winds that blow almost every day. The twisted branches look spooky like the legs and arms of strange green creatures. That's why this type of cloud forest is called Elfin Forest.

云雾森林里最高的树也只有30米左右。这里有成百上千 种苔藓和蕨类植物，给所有东西都披上了软软的绿外衣。要是你仔细观察森林 仔细观察的话，你会发现这里的好多动植物都和低地雨林里的不一样。 它们得能适应云雾森林里又凉又湿的环境才行。 你再接着往山上爬，空气会变得更冷，树也会变得更矮。 快到山顶的地方，树可能只有4米高。它们长得歪歪扭扭的， 几乎每天都刮的凉劲风把它们吹得长不高。扭曲的树枝看起来 怪吓人的，就像绿色怪物的胳膊腿。所以这种云雾森林 也叫小精灵森林。

Cloud forest life There are lots of different plants and animals that live in cloud forests. But nobody knows exactly how many. Some of them can only live in the cloud forests. Some can only live in one particular cloud forest. You may find plants and animals in the cloud forest on one mountain that are different to the cloud forest on the very next mountain. There are only a few hundred mountain gorillas left. They live in the cloud forests of Africa. Cloud forests are especially rich in mosses and ferns which like to grow in damp places. In the cloud forest on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo there are 600 different kinds of fern growing. That's more kinds of fern than grow in the whole of North America. Cloud forests are the best place to see tree ferns which can grow up to 5 meters tall. Plants like these were growing before dinosaurs walked on earth.

云雾森林里的生命 云雾森林里住着好多各种各样的动植物。 但没人确切知道到底有多少种。 有些动植物只能住在云雾森林里。 有些甚至只能住在某一片特定的云雾森林里。 你可能会在一座山的云雾森林里发现的动植物 和旁边那座山云雾森林里的都不一样。 现在全世界只剩下几百只山地大猩猩了。 它们就住在非洲的云雾森林里。 云雾森林里的苔藓和蕨类植物尤其多 这些植物最喜欢长在潮湿的地方。 在婆罗洲京那巴鲁山的云雾森林里 生长着600种不同的蕨类植物。 这比整个北美洲的蕨类种类还要多哦。 云雾森林是看树蕨的最佳去处 树蕨最高能长到5米呢。 早在恐龙出现在地球上之前，这类植物就已经存在了。