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Monday, March 13, 2006
Temperate coniferous forests
Temperate coniferous forests are thus named because the trees there, which bear chiefly needle leaves, never shed their leaves throughout the year. There is little rainfall here compared with their tropical counterparts, only about 0.3 to 0.9m annually. Temperatures also fall short in comparison because of location; coniferous forests are located furthest away from the equator relative to the other forests.
Temperate coniferous forests usually bear cones instead of flowers and needles instead of leaves. The cones stay on the tree all year along and are not shed at all, and they serve to conserve heat and water. Temperatures fall from between -40C to 20C. They are located only in the northern hemisphere, covering northern America and northern Europe, and some parts of Asia, in the higher, mountainous regions.
Coniferous forests are characterized by cold dry winters and warm wet summers. They are made up of mainly pure stands—hectares of trees made up of a single species. They are noted for the massive trees rarely found in other biomes.These forests consist of mainly two layers, upper and understory. There may also be a shrub layer that is made up of grasses which are frequently subject to wildfires that are ecologically important. Of all the forests, including tropical ones, the coniferous has the highest biomass, the result of low litterfall but low rate of decomposition because of the temperatures and decomposers, or rather, lack of.
In the boreal forests, which are coniferous forests higher up north, there is a layer of permafrost (frozen soil) which melts in summer, forming acidic bogs in low-lying areas. The animals living there are generally larger in size, excluding the ground birds.
The largest biome on Earth, these forests take up about 11% of the world’s surface area. The soil is mostly covered with needles that have been shed, and these needles acidise the soil, preventing other plants from growing on it. The soil is hence nutrient-poor and acidic, and does not support much life.
1:00 AM
.tts all folks.
