Plants of temperate origin can be grown in tropical areas in the vegetation zones of the

Analyze the question: Temperate plants need cool conditions. The question asks which tropical vegetation zone has a climate cool enough to support them.

Explain the concept: Temperature drops as altitude increases (roughly 6.5°C per 1000 m). In tropical regions, high-altitude areas are cooler and can resemble temperate climates. The vegetation zone found at high altitude in the tropics is the montane forest, found on mountains and highlands such as the Jos Plateau, Obudu Plateau, and Mambilla Plateau in Nigeria.

Go through the options:

• A. Rain forest: Hot and humid all year, with high rainfall. It is suited to tropical plants like cocoa, oil palm and rubber, not temperate crops.
• B. Guinea savanna: Warm with distinct wet and dry seasons. It is good for yam, maize and sorghum, which are tropical crops.
• C. Sudan savanna: Hotter and drier, with a short rainy season. It supports millet, groundnut and cotton, so it is too hot for temperate plants.
• D. Montane forest: Found at high altitudes with cool temperatures and often mist. The conditions are close to temperate ones, so temperate plants such as Irish potato, apple, tea and wheat do well there.

Answer: The montane forest zone is the correct choice, which is D.

Tip: Think "altitude = cooler = temperate-like." Whenever a question asks about temperate plants growing in the tropics, look for the option that mentions mountains, highlands or plateaus. Montane means "mountain."