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'''Jungle''' usually refers to a dense [[forest]] in a hot climate, such as a [[tropical rainforest]]. The word ''Jungle'' originates from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''Jangala'' which means a [[desert]] or ''uncultivated land''<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/jungle?cat=technology</ref>. The term ''Jungle'' is prevalent in many colloquial languages of the Indian subcontinent and generally used to refer a dense [[tropical forest]] or a [[swamp]]. About 6% of the Earth's land mass is classified as jungle. Jungles are vital to sustaining the [[ecosystem]]s of the Earth as we know it. About 57% of all species live in jungle environments<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/jungle/</ref>.
The term may still be used in a technical context to describe the forest [[biome]] [[rainforest]], a forest characterised by extensive [[biodiversity]] and densely tangled undergrowth including young [[tree]]s, [[vine]]s and [[liana]]s, and [[herbaceous]] plants. As a forest biome, "jungles" are present in both [[equatorial]] and [[tropical]] climatic zones, and are associated with preclimax stages of the [[rainforest]]. For this reason, jungle is to be distinguished from tropical rainforest in that the former is a profuse thicket of tropical shrubs, vines, and small trees growing in areas outside the light-blocking canopy of a tropical rainforest. Hence, 'jungle' is often found at the edges of climax rain-forests, where human activity may increase sunlight penetration.

Not all regions called "jungles" would qualify as "rain forests" because many would apply "jungle" to the forests of northern [[Thailand]] or southern [[Guangdong]] in [[China]]: but scientifically, these are "[[monsoon]] forests" or "tropical [[deciduous]] forests" but not "rain forests".

==As a metaphor==
[[Upton Sinclair]] gave the title ''[[The Jungle]]'' (1906) to his book about the life of workers at the Chicago Stockyards in order to imply that the workers were being mercilessly exploited and had no legal or other recourse.

The term "[[The Law of the Jungle]]" is also used in this kind of context, drawn from [[Rudyard Kipling|Rudyard Kipling's]] ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' (1894) - though in the society of jungle animals portrayed in that book and obviously meant as a metaphor for human society, that phrase referred to an intricate code of laws which Kipling describes in detail, and not at all to a lawless chaos.

The "[[Cities in Flight]]" science fiction series by [[James Blish]] depicted spaceborne cities flying through the galaxy, which the writer compared to Hobos or Okies of space. The term "jungle", borrowed from the above Hobo term, is used for an area of space where such flying cities congregate.

==See also==
*[[Center for Tropical Forest Science]] (CTFC)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/jungle BBC interactive site]
* [http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/worldbiomes.html Link illustrating Biomes]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/jungle?cat=technology]

[[Category:Forests]]
[[Category:Climate]]

[[bs:Džungla]]
[[ca:Jungla]]
[[da:Jungle]]
[[de:Dschungel]]
[[es:Jungla]]
[[eo:Ĝangalo]]
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[[ko:밀림]]
[[hr:Džungla]]
[[lt:Džiunglės]]
[[nl:Oerwoud]]
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[[pl:Dżungla]]
[[pt:Selva]]
[[ru:Джунгли]]
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[[uk:Джунглі]]
[[yi:דזשונגל]]
[[zh:叢林]]

Revision as of 18:12, 13 October 2008