Cambodia pictures

Asian vegetation

In Asia’s north central interior the forests merge into vast grasslands, much of which is short, steppe grasses. Large portions of Southwest Asia and the continent’s interior have semiarid or desert vegetation. Short grasses and other vegetation that require minimal precipitation surround many of the most barren areas in the deserts.

Although tropical rain forest predominates along the southern coastal strip and on the island of Sri Lanka, the eastern side of South Asia is characterized by semiarid tropical vegetation. The Deccan Plateau has mainly tropical dry forest vegetation. Mainland and island Southeast Asia once supported extensive areas of tropical rain forest, which thrived in the warm, moist climate. Significant tracts of forest remain in most countries, but legal and illegal harvesting are too rapid to support sustainable regrowth. Inland from the coastal strips of mainland Southeast Asia and stretching into southern China, tropical seasonal forests predominate. These merge into temperate forests farther north. Around the rim of the Bo Hai gulf the vegetation is chaparral, woody shrubs that grow to 4 m (13 ft) in height. Asia has three main crop production systems. Across a broad band encompassing the Middle East, Central Asia, much of Russian Asia, and the inner regions of China, subsistence livestock production is the mainstay. Around coastal China, and most of South and Southeast Asia, the major form of agricultural activity is subsistence crop production. Scattered throughout the region—especially in Japan, Southeast Asia, the western parts of Russia, and some fertile patches of the Middle East—are pockets of commercial crop production.

Asia vegetation. Picture E. Buchot

Economically important activities throughout Central Asia and Russia include the production of wheat and other grains, cotton, and vegetables. Southeast Asia and the southern parts of China and India are major rice-growing areas, although grain production and consumption is more common in the northern regions of China and India. Rubber trees and oil palm plantations are significant in Malaysia and Indonesia. Tea plantations are significant in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Encarta

Animal life

The great variety of wildlife in Asia includes many species that are unique to the continent. Orangutans, the second tallest of the ape family after gorillas, are found on Borneo and Sumatra. Giant pandas make their home in southwestern China, and snow leopards roam the plateaus and mountains of Central Asia. A rare freshwater seal lives in Lake Baikal. China’s Yangtze River is home to a freshwater dolphin threatened by water pollution and increased numbers of motorized river vessels. The Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard and among the oldest surviving lizards, inhabits a small island in eastern Indonesia Asia’s wildlife generally can be classified by the particular vegetation zones they inhabit. Reindeer live in the southern tundra region of northern Siberia. Small fur-bearing animals, such as sables and foxes, are plentiful in the taiga forest of Russian Asia. The grasslands are home to antelope and many rodents, including marmots. In the mountainous areas of Central Asia live tiny musk deer. Tigers, one species of which inhabits northern Siberia, are found throughout the tropical rain forests of South and Southeast Asia. This area is also home to rhinoceroses, monkeys, and several subspecies of elephants In the hilly regions of Southwest Asia live gazelles. A rare species of antelope known as the oryx is found on the fringes of the desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula. Other animals commonly found in Southwest Asia include wolves and hyenas.Encarta

India’s southwestern coast and the coastal areas and islands of Southeast Asia experience heavy rain throughout the year. Near the equator, this rain results from hot humid air that rises and expands, then cools in the upper atmosphere and condenses into rain. In the coastal areas farther north of the equator, such as the southwestern coast of India, the rainy tropical climate is the result of constant moisture-laden winds coming largely from the sea. Vast areas of Central and Southwest Asia are arid or semiarid. In Central Asia, mountains and highlands block moisture-bearing winds from the sea.Only a few areas of Asia have climates that are typical of the west coasts of continents. A portion of Asia bordering on the Mediterranean Sea in Lebanon and Egypt has a subtropical climate with dry summers. This is similar to the climate of southern California. The remote mountainous region of Vietnam adjacent to the border with Laos has yielded some remarkable discoveries of animals previously unknown by scientists. A new species of cattle-like animal, the sao la (vu quang), was discovered in 1993, only the fourth discovery of this kind in the 20th century. Scientists have discovered other creatures since 1992, including two deerlike animals, the giant muntjac and the quang khem. Encarta