GE2201 : Terrestrial Environments

Monday, March 13, 2006

Temperate Deciduous Forest

There are five layers here too, like the tropical rainforest.
The upper canopy consists of trees between 60 to 100 feet (much shorter than in the tropics). The lower canopy is made up of younger and shorter trees. The understory is the shrub layer. The fourth zone consists of short shrubs (mostly herbs). The ground cover consists of fungi and lichen.
Animals occupy several layers but there is much less organism diversity here as compared to the tropical forests. There is most light in spring that reaches the understoreys, and least light in midsummer when all the trees bear thick crowns of leaves which block out the sunlight. It is most humid in summer and more humid at night than during day.
Temperate deciduous forests are also mostly limited to the northern hemisphere, but they are closer to the equator than their coniferous counterparts. They are found in large patches of land over eastern Asia, Western Europe and eastern North America. There are also small areas on Australia. The average annual temperature here is 10C, with temperatures increasing towards midyear and decreasing toward year end. Precipitation is pretty even all year round, about 0.9m yearly, about the same as temperate coniferous forests. There are very distinct seasons here, as with temperate coniferous forests. During autumn, the leaves change to orange and red and during winter, they are shed in order to conserve water. New leaves are grown in spring.
The adaptations of the plants include leaning toward the sun. Besides migrating south and hibernating in the winter when food is scarce and weather is harsh, the animals are also camouflaged to look like the ground.
The soil is very fertile. Because of the slow rate of decomposition, like its coniferous counterparts organic material accumulates on the topsoil. This organic material gives out ions as it decomposes, supplying the plants with ample minerals for growth. Hence, deciduous forests make for good agricultural land, explaining the onslaught the farmers are waging upon them. China, Europe and North America have cleared most of them, leaving precious few species of trees left. The forests in Australia and other parts of the southern hemisphere are covered with different plants than those up north.
Spring is warm and breezy, summer hot and humid, fall cool and breezy and winter cold and frosty. However, unlike its coniferous cousin, there are no more larger mammals living here due to the extensive deforestation carried out by humans.

< a temperate deciduous forest in michigan
^ spring ^autumn

1:06 AM

.tts all folks.