The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone). The tropics include all the areas on the Earth where the Sun reaches a point directly overhead at least once during the solar year. About 40 percent of the world's human population lives within the tropical zone (by 2008 statistics), and by 2060, 60% of the human population will be in the tropics, owing to high birth rates and migration.

Seasons and climate

"Tropical" is sometimes used in a general sense for a tropical climate to mean warm to hot and moist year-round, often with the sense of lush vegetation.

Many tropical areas have a dry and wet season. The wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region falls. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics. Under the Koppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a wet season month is defined as a month where average precipitation is or more. Tropical rainforests technically do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall is equally distributed through the year. Some areas with pronounced rainy seasons will see a break in rainfall mid-season when the intertropical convergence zone or monsoon trough move poleward of their location during the middle of the warm season.

When the wet season occurs during the warm season, or summer, precipitation falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season is a time when air quality improves, freshwater quality improves, and vegetation grows significantly, leading to crop yields late in the season. Floods cause rivers to overflow their banks, and some animals to retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients diminish and erosion increases. The incidence of malaria increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures. Animals have adaptation and survival strategies for the wetter regime. Unfortunately, the previous dry season leads to food shortages into the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature.

Regions within the tropics may well not have a tropical climate. There are alpine tundra and snow-capped peaks, including Mauna Kea, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Andes as far south as the northernmost parts of Chile and Argentina. Under the Köppen climate classification, much of the area within the geographical tropics is classed not as "tropical" but as "dry" (arid or semi-arid) including the Sahara Desert, the Atacama Desert and Australian Outback.

Tropical ecosystems

Tropical plants and animals are those species native to the tropics. Tropical ecosystems may consist of rainforests, dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, desert and other habitat types. There are often significant areas of biodiversity, and species endemism present, particularly in rainforests and dry deciduous forests. Some examples of important biodiversity and/or high endemism ecosystems are: El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Costa Rican and Nicaraguan rainforests, Brazilian and Venezuelan Amazon Rainforest territories, Madagascar dry deciduous forests, Waterberg Biosphere of South Africa and eastern Madagascar rainforests. Often the soils of tropical forests are low in nutrient content making them quite vulnerable to slash-and-burn techniques, which are sometimes an element of shifting cultivation agricultural systems.

In biogeography, the tropics are divided into Paleotropics (Africa, Asia and Australia) and Neotropics (Caribbean, Central America, and South America). Together, they are sometimes referred to as the Pantropics. The Neotropical region should not be confused with the ecozone of the same name; in the Old World, there is no such ambiguity, as the Paleotropics correspond to the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and partly the Australasian and Oceanic ecozones.

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Category:Tropics Category:Seasons

Gerard Jan Joling (born 29 April 1960 in Alkmaar) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Known for his high tenor voice, he rose to fame in the late 80's and released a string of singles including "Ticket to the Tropics", "Love is in your Eyes", and his biggest hit, "No more boleros", a song that reached the top 10 in several countries in mainland Europe. He also achieved success in Asia and received more than 20 gold and platinum records.

In 1988 he was the Dutch participant in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, with the song "Shangri-La".

Joling & Gordon Over de Vloer is a television program Gerard Joling made with singer Gordon in 2005. There are 3 seasons of the serie which contained the twosome during work and having a laugh.

In 2007 he was the host of ''Sterren dansen op het ijs'' and ''So You Wanna Be a Popstar'' for the television channel SBS 6. 2007 was also the year that sparked Joling's renewed success, with two number 1 songs, a number 1 album, and 11 gold and platinum awards.

In 2008 Joling became team captain on the Dutch TV show ''Wie ben ik?'' ("Who am I?"), in which the team captains, together with both two guests, have to guess who they are, based on hints and questions they can ask. The other team captain is Patty Brard.

Joling was scheduled to represent The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow as a member of De Toppers but in Autumn 2008 he broke both his arm in a skiing accident. Gerard was replaced in The Toppers with Jeroen van der Boom. In December 2009, De Toppers manager Benno de Leeuw announced in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that Gerard Joling and Gordon are to rejoin the group, turning the trio into a foursome once more.

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Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch pop singers Category:Dutch Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1988 Category:People from Alkmaar Category:LGBT musicians Category:LGBT people from the Netherlands Category:Dutch tenors