Stratus cloud a region. Some call these clouds "high fog" for the fog-like cloud. While light rain may fall, this cloud does not indicate much meteorological activity. Stratus clouds form when a sheet of warm, moist air lifts off the ground and depressurizes, following the lapse rate. This causes the relative humidity to increase due to the adiabatic cooling. Stratus clouds look like featureless gray to white sheets of cloud. They can be composed of water droplets, supercooled water droplets, or ice crystals depending upon the ambient temperature. Stratus nebulosus clouds appear as a featureless or nebulous veil or layer of stratus
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