Cloud murus cloud and is the result of air feeding into the storm. Supplementary cloud formations detached from the main cloud are known as accessory clouds. The heavier precipitating clouds, nimbostratus, towering cumulus (cumulus congestus), and cumulonimbus typically see the formation in precipitation of the "pannus" feature, low ragged clouds of the genera and species cumulus fractus or stratus fractus. A group of accessory clouds comprise formations that are associated mainly with upward-growing cumuliform and cumulonimbiform clouds of free convection. "Pileus" is a cap cloud that can form over a cumulonimbus or large cumulus cloud, whereas a "velum" feature is a
Cloud forest contribution to the hydrologic cycle. Due to the high water content of the soil, the reduced solar radiation and the low rates of decomposition and mineralization, the soil acidity is very high, with more humus and peat often forming the upper soil layer. Stadtmüller (1987) distinguishes two general types of tropical montane cloud forests: Although far from being universally accepted as true cloud forests, several forests in temperate regions have strong similarities with tropical cloud forests. The term is further confused by occasional reference to cloud forests in tropical countries as "temperate" due to the cooler climate associated with these