types of jungle

[muduri]

I had unexpected chances to visit the real-world equivalents of Lopango and Mhair and now want to do justice to my fantasy jungles! Any suggestions for what could differentiate that belt of dark green on every fantasy equator? Climate and terrain are what I'm thinking of first but other factors could count too. So far real and imagined biomes have gotten me this far:

Tropical rainforest: the baseline type.
Highland jungle: similar to the Virunga Mountains or central Papua New Guinea.
Cloud forest: I understand rainfall and moisture patterns might make this a slightly different biome than the above?
Flooded forest: poor drainage and swampy, perhaps in an inland valley bowl and perhaps seasonal.
Coastal swamp: river delta or shallow littoral area.
Deluge forest: noticeably higher rainfall than even typical jungle, e.g., Quibdó in western Columbia.

Primary vs secondary vs recently cleared forest: applicable to any of the above; I understand secondary is, surprisingly, often thicker than primary because the understory hasn't grown up / cleared out? These may show up more on the local maps, and have distinct patterns based on hunter-gatherer, swidden, or continuous-farming cultures.

Enchanted jungle: not a biome but applicable to any of the above.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by muduri

I had unexpected chances to visit the real-world equivalents of Lopango and Mhair and now want to do justice to my fantasy jungles! Any suggestions for what could differentiate that belt of dark green on every fantasy equator? Climate and terrain are what I'm thinking of first but other factors could count too. So far real and imagined biomes have gotten me this far:

Tropical rainforest: the baseline type.
Highland jungle: similar to the Virunga Mountains or central Papua New Guinea.
Cloud forest: I understand rainfall and moisture patterns might make this a slightly different biome than the above?
Flooded forest: poor drainage and swampy, perhaps in an inland valley bowl and perhaps seasonal.
Coastal swamp: river delta or shallow littoral area.
Deluge forest: noticeably higher rainfall than even typical jungle, e.g., Quibdó in western Columbia.

Primary vs secondary vs recently cleared forest: applicable to any of the above; I understand secondary is, surprisingly, often thicker than primary because the understory hasn't grown up / cleared out? These may show up more on the local maps, and have distinct patterns based on hunter-gatherer, swidden, or continuous-farming cultures.

Enchanted jungle: not a biome but applicable to any of the above.

How do you intend to differentiate between 'jungle' and 'forest/woodland'? I ask because much of New Zealand's bush is rainforest, but it's not tropical (or even warm sometimes). It could be called 'jungle' by some definitions.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Rupert

How do you intend to differentiate between 'jungle' and 'forest/woodland'? I ask because much of New Zealand's bush is rainforest, but it's not tropical (or even warm sometimes). It could be called 'jungle' by some definitions.

I actually do a three-way distinction: tropical rainforest, temperate forest, and taiga. Tropical rainforest has intense rainfall at least part of the year (it may have a monsoon and a dry season) and never gets cold. Temperate forest has a cold season and typically has deciduous trees. Taiga has mostly evergreens. This is a crude approximation; in terms of the Köppen system they're A, C and a little of D, and the colder part of D. I think that the word "jungle" is used for A, or tropical rainforest, and not for C or D.

[The Colonel]

I know the canopy type makes a massive difference - old growth, high canopy stuff can be pretty open at ground level because there's not much light makes it that far down. The stuff without the high canopy - including regrown, cleared land can be almost impenetrable due to how thick the brush is.
Rhododendron forest and mangrove swamp are both particularly evil terrain types to try and move in, and the mangroves also tend to have a serious wildlife problem. Most of the things that live in regular jungle will get out of your way as you make an immense amount of noise crashing through the foliage towards them ... in the mangroves, not so much. The crocodiles/gators and carnivorous fish tend to be the big ticket items, closely supported by snakes, biting insects and leeches. Plus an almost infinite range of bacteria to infest the wounds of any survivors.

[Rolando]

Part of the problem you will have is that some parts of the forest change when you get higher altitude and it gets thicker or more open in the ground depending on the canopy, not just for old vs new forest but because some trees let more light reach the bottom.

In the Caribbean and Central America you may have "dry" fores or jungles near the coasts, more palms and more bush and thickets, they are dry and hot as hell because lots of sun gets in but little air flow. these jungles are hard to navigate and many dangers may hide near by, low visibility because of the tall bushes and few water sources, if you dig you may get salt water and the soil is sandy in many parts.

Near some coasts you also have Mangrove Forests or jungles, there are not places you should travel on foot, people that live there or near them do it and I have done it but it is not something you want to "adventure" in. Some places it is flooded, you wal over the roots of the mangrooves trees and there are all kinds of animals below, and insects above. Other parts have earth, you still try to walk on the roots because the earth is incredibly soft and you may dig your leg up to the knee in mud, you may loose a boot there easily (it suck you shoes), it's kind of a gelatinous mud. It is hot but the mangroves lets a lot of air go through (a lot considering it is a jungle type environment) and the places with water make it more bearable too, but it is very uncomfortable and you will get mud in places you didn't knew you can get mud just by walking. In the mud some snakes and alligators may be hidden, also worms, in the flooded places also alligators, snakes (the water ones are more dangerous), dangerous fishes "barracuda" like (not sure if the actual barracuda but thinks like that that can bite a chunk of flesh) and stuff like that.

As you get inland you find the "regular" rain forest or jungle where you have a dry and damp season, in the dry season there is some rain but not constantly raining, in the rainy season it rains almost every day sometimes during the entire day, sometimes for a few days non-stop, but less than in in the South East Asia monsoon season. In these jungles yo may find patches of open spaces below big canopy trees but most of it is covered by bush, thickets, brambles and tangles of plants and vines. Sometimes a big tree fall and make some open space above but overall enough light gets to the bottom to have a lot of low vegetation. this type of jungle is dangerous because of lack of visibility, the ground is very irregular, rarely flat, may have holes from roots and dangerous animal may live hidden almost anywhere; laso water is possible contaminated by bacteria and parasites, also lots of dangerous ticks that can transmit diseases, rivers and creeks may be common but there is always danger in jungle waters as animals go there, for preys and drinking. it is almost impossible to find dry wood during rainy season and very hard during dry season. Also, this jungles are very hot, damp with little air if any flow, you may dehydrate fast, past midnight they get very cold, you may get pneumonia easily. During the early morning there may be mist.

As you go up in height you find the cloud forest or jungle. This one is a bit colder with a fairer weather, still almost no air flow is any but the temperature is a lot more comfortable. In these forests the canopy is thicker and less light gets to the bottom, so they are easier to travel and have a better visibility, even with the reduced light, they are very dark. They are in mountain regions so the ground is very irregular, you almost always will be standing in tilted terrain and going up and down to reach anywhere. It is still a dangerous place because of the many bugs, snakes and stuff like that but water tend to be cleaner, you may find creeks that go through rock that is almost safe to drink straight but not really, just almost safe (I would say a HT roll with no mods at best, but better than the other jungles). It is almost impossible to find dry wood, wood in the ground gets spongey. It is called Cloud Forest because at its height clouds get inside the forest, there may be mist but sometimes they are actual clouds, it can gets misty at any hour during day or night. The nights are dangerously cold.


This is a layman knowledge of jungles in the middle of the Central America, not real botanical knowledge, but will give you an idea. For game rules there is a lot of similarity, so much that a single survival skill will work perfectly fine for all, but the equipment or familiarity with each may change. Also the feel and descriptions of each will be different.

My advice, search for pictures of jungles from different places and get inspired, don't forget to always hint at unseen dangers because the jungles are like that, there is almost nothing dangerous most of the time but you never know because you can barely see beyond a few meters.

[KarlKost]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

I know the canopy type makes a massive difference - old growth, high canopy stuff can be pretty open at ground level because there's not much light makes it that far down. The stuff without the high canopy - including regrown, cleared land can be almost impenetrable due to how thick the brush is.
Rhododendron forest and mangrove swamp are both particularly evil terrain types to try and move in, and the mangroves also tend to have a serious wildlife problem. Most of the things that live in regular jungle will get out of your way as you make an immense amount of noise crashing through the foliage towards them ... in the mangroves, not so much. The crocodiles/gators and carnivorous fish tend to be the big ticket items, closely supported by snakes, biting insects and leeches. Plus an almost infinite range of bacteria to infest the wounds of any survivors.

Yeah I always get astounished by hippies worshipping "mother nature". They only do that because they dont have to live in the woods. Because in truth, those jungles are green hellholes and death traps.

A massive jungle would actually make a better hell than lava and fire.

[Rolando]

Agree, a lot of poisonous and venomous stuff and less food potential than other environments.

You can get by fairly well if you know what it is all about and many communities live in that "hell", knowing how to deal with it makes them kind of paradises but it is not easy by any means.

Knowing how to move and that you should not be touching things is a big part of it. Many people touch the plants when they move through forest, it's natural to take them out of your face and path, but doing that in the jungle can be dangerous, a poisonous worm can be behind a big leaf and you just have to brush it a bit (those hairy worms that are like a natural piece of art) and you will get fever, pain and inflammation in the part brushed, not fun at all, if you are allergic to it for some reason you may die, in the best of case you will be with a painful fever for a day or two.

Mos trails for tourists and adventurers are known trails and very traveled, so less animals and the path are widened by locals so there is less risk of brushing something or stepping in a hole or other of the multiple dangers. Mangroves are usually traveled by boat or only by people that really have to do it, in many places are protected areas so there is little if any industry, fishing or farming.

Looking at videos is another good way of getting an idea of how it is done by people that know what they are doing (and many that don't) and good for inspiration for descriptions and interesting places, you can find places in the jungle that are simply magical looking and amazing and are purely natural, and if there are ruins it can be surreal.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by KarlKost

Yeah I always get astounished by hippies worshipping "mother nature". They only do that because they dont have to live in the woods. Because in truth, those jungles are green hellholes and death traps.

A massive jungle would actually make a better hell than lava and fire.

New Zealand bush is relatively benign in many ways - no large dangerous animals (at least not until we introduced pigs), no venomous spiders and the few venomous bugs are unlikely to interact with humans.

On the other hand parts have mosquitoes in bothersome numbers and other parts have sandflies in vast numbers. Most places the temperature never gets down to freezing, yet people die of exposure every year because the weather is changeable and it doesn't have to get very cold to kill you when you're wet through. People also die each year because the rain turns small creek into raging torrents, and they try and cross them. Anywhere that's not very old rainforest is choked with vegetation, and the combination of supplejack vines (which tend to trip you up and entangle you) and bush lawyer (which has lots of thorns and grabs hold of you and won't let go) is incredibly slow to move through and painful and annoying. And then there are the tree nettles - venomous plants that have killed people, so you can't just go bashing through the bush swatting the plants out of the way, because some bite back.

Oh, and NZ bush is either on 'hills' (which here means very rugged country with knife-edge ridges and steep slopes), or if on the flat, swamp.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by KarlKost

Yeah I always get astounished by hippies worshipping "mother nature". They only do that because they dont have to live in the woods. Because in truth, those jungles are green hellholes and death traps.

A massive jungle would actually make a better hell than lava and fire.

To the hippies (or at least the stereotypical ones) 'nature' is the safe campgrounds and public parks that they do not realize are quite so heavily managed to be that safe and peaceful. Druids have a more nuanced view.

[muduri]

Originally Posted by Rupert

How do you intend to differentiate between 'jungle' and 'forest/woodland'? I ask because much of New Zealand's bush is rainforest, but it's not tropical (or even warm sometimes). It could be called 'jungle' by some definitions.

Originally Posted by whswhs

I actually do a three-way distinction: tropical rainforest, temperate forest, and taiga. Tropical rainforest has intense rainfall at least part of the year (it may have a monsoon and a dry season) and never gets cold. Temperate forest has a cold season and typically has deciduous trees. Taiga has mostly evergreens. This is a crude approximation; in terms of the Köppen system they're A, C and a little of D, and the colder part of D. I think that the word "jungle" is used for A, or tropical rainforest, and not for C or D.

These are key points. Taking a cue from the WWF maps and Columbia Games I've been color-coding for other types of forests similar to WHSWHS - seasonal monsoon forest and savannal scrub, temperate / subtropical rainforest, mediterranean hardwood, temperate forest and woodland, coniferous forest and scrub etc. I think under that system the dense parts of New Zealand would be "temperate / subtropical rainforest" - also a useful type!