During the fall, trees change color and then lose their leaves. This is in preparation for the winter season. Because it gets so cold, the trees have adapted to the winter by going into a period of dormancy or sleep. They also have thick bark to protect them from the cold weather. Trees flower and grow during the spring and summer growing season. The air is still as you wander through the trees. Leaves slide under your feet and thick tree trunks surround you.
Above your head everything is green, as leaves block the sky. You feel twigs crunch under your feet, and mushrooms peek out from under beds of leaves. Somewhere off in the trees you hear the pecking of a woodpecker. All sorts of birds call or fly off as you walk by. You stay quiet and see a deer pass by in the distance. In a typical temperate forest, you have large trees, like these oaks, with younger saplings below.
Image by Haidamac. Even if you've spent time in temperate forests, these ecosystems hold many plants and animals that you've likely never seen. In parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, temperate forests used to cover huge areas of land. In several places they still cover large areas, though we've cut down most of the old growth forests.
In many ways, temperate forests are in between the other land biomes. In fact, the word temperate means not extreme. They are warmer and more diverse than boreal forests. However, they are not as warm or diverse as rainforests. Koalas, possums, wombats and other marsupials roam Australian temperate forests, while in North American and Eurasian ecosystems deer, bears, foxes, wolves, squirrels and rabbits are common inhabitants.
Many migratory songbirds nest in temperate forests, taking advantage of their spring and summer bounty of blossoms, berries, seeds and insects. Marianne Luke has been writing professionally since She has experience writing instruction manuals, research, fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and she also reviews Orlando local music for "Orange Ave Lab" magazine. Luke earned a Bachelor of Arts in technical communications and creative writing from the University of Central Florida in TL;DR Too Long; Didn't Read Temperate forest often refers specifically to the temperate deciduous forests widespread in eastern North America and Eurasia, but other temperate-forest types exist in the planet's middle latitudes where moderate, frequently four-season climates encourage diverse tree growth.
Related Articles Forest Ecosystem Classification. Due to abundant rainfall and thick soil humus, temperate forests are able to support a wide variety of plant life and vegetation. This vegetation exists in several layers, ranging from lichens and mosses on the ground layer to large tree species like oak and hickory that stretch high above the forest floor.
Other examples of temperate forest vegetation include:. Mosses are nonvascular plants that play an important ecological role in the biomes they inhabit. These small, dense plants often resemble green carpets of vegetation. They thrive in moist areas and help to prevent soil erosion and also serve as a source of insulation during colder months. Unlike mosses, lichens are not plants. They are the result of symbiotic relationships between algae or cyanobacteria and fungi.
Lichens are important decomposers in this environment littered with decaying plant material. Lichens help to recycle plant leaves, thus generating the fertile soil in this biome. Temperate forests are home to a diverse wildlife biosystem including various insects and spiders , wolves, foxes, bears, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, eagles, rabbits, deer, skunks, squirrels, raccoons, squirrels, moose, snakes, and hummingbirds.
Temperate forest animals have many different ways to deal with the cold and lack of food in winter. Some animals hibernate during the winter and arise in spring when food is more plentiful. Other animals store food and burrow underground to escape the cold.
0コメント