Some locations of temperate forests include:
- Eastern Asia
- Central and Western Europe
- Eastern United States
What are facts about temperate forest?
- Many animals have sharp claws to climb trees such as squirrels, opossums, and raccoons.
- Much of the forests in Western Europe are gone due to overdevelopment. ...
- A single oak tree can produce 90,000 acorns in one year.
- Trees use birds, acorns, and even the wind to spread their seed throughout the forest.
- Deciduous is a Latin word that means "to fall off".
Where do you find temperate forest?
Where are you most likely to find temperate forests? In the southern hemisphere, temperate forests can be found on the southern tip of South America and in Eastern Australia. In the northern hemisphere, they can be found in northeast Asia (China, Korea and Japan), Western Europe, and the eastern third of the United States.
What is the average temperature in the temperate forest?
What is the climate of temperate forest? The average temperature in temperate deciduous forests is 50°F (10°C). Summers are mild, and average about 70°F (21°C), while winter temperatures are often well below freezing. In the cold winter, deciduous trees and plants go into dormancy, kind of like sleep.
What is the geographic location of temperate forests?
Temperate rainforests are found mostly in coast al, mountainous areas. These geographic conditions help create areas of high rainfall. Temperate rainforests can be found on the coasts of the Pacific Northwest in North America, Chile, the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and southern Australia.
Where are the 7 temperate rainforests?
Temperate rainforest extends through the Appalachian areas of western North Carolina, southeastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, eastern Tennessee, northern South Carolina, and northern Georgia, Red spruce and Fraser fir are dominant canopy trees in high mountain areas.
How much of the world is temperate forest?
25%A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers about 33%.
What is the largest temperate forest in the world?
Tongass National ForestSince early 2018, the southern portion of Alaska's Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, has experienced moderate to extreme drought.
Why are temperate forests located where they are?
Temperate deciduous forests are located in the mid-latitude areas which means that they are found between the polar regions and the tropics. The deciduous forest regions are exposed to warm and cold air masses, which cause this area to have four seasons.
What are some examples of temperate forest?
The temperate forest biome includes a wide range of forest types, including the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Coast of North America, southern Chile, and New Zealand; the temperate deciduous forests of eastern North America, eastern Asia, and Europe; and temperate evergreen forests such as the sclerophyllous ...
Does Africa have temperate forests?
Despite this strong international focus, research and conservation planning around South Africa's forests have been highly neglected, with the country having few dedicated forest ecologists. Few realise that South Africa's forests are some of the most species rich temperate forests worldwide.
What are the 7 rainforests in the world?
17 Biggest and Popular Rainforests in the WorldAmazon Rainforest (South America) ... Congo Rainforest (Africa) ... Valdivian Temperate Rainforest (South America) ... Daintree Rainforest (Australia) ... Southeast Asian Rainforest (Asia) ... Tongass National Forest (North America) ... Kinabalu National Park (Malaysia)More items...
What countries have temperate rainforests?
Temperate rainforests are found along coasts in temperate regions. The largest temperate rainforests are on the Pacific coast in North America, stretching from Alaska to Oregon. Other temperate rainforests are found along the coast of Chile, the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and S. Australia.
What are the 3 biggest rainforests in the world?
The world's largest rainforestsThe Amazon Rainforest. NASA Landsat satellite image of the Amazon rainforest. ... The Congo rainforest. NASA Landsat satellite image of the Congo rainforest. ... Australiasia. NASA Landsat satellite image of the Australiasia rainforest. ... Sundaland. ... Indo-Burma.
In which country there is the largest temperate forest cover in terms of area?
Russia is home to the largest area of forest – 815 million hectares.
Is a temperate forest hot or cold?
Temperate forests have a wide range of temperatures that correlate with the distinctive seasons. Temperatures range from hot in the summer, with highs of 86 degrees F, to extremely cold in the winter, with lows of -22 degrees F.
What are the two types of temperate forests?
Temperate forests are almost always made of two types of trees, deciduous and evergreen. Deciduous trees are trees that lose their leaves in the winter. Evergreens are trees that keep their leaves all year long, like pine trees. Forests can either have deciduous trees, evergreens, or a combination of both.
Do humans live in the temperate forest?
Yes, humans live in the temperate forest. Humans today usually live in larger groups, requiring that sections of forest be cleared to provide farmland for the population, meaning that large sections of temperate forest have been cleared from Europe, North America, and Asia.
What makes a forest a temperate forest?
Temperate forests are characterized as regions with high levels of precipitation, humidity, and a variety of deciduous trees Decreasing temperatures and shortened daylight hours in fall mean decreased photosynthesis for plants.
What is the temperate forest also known as?
Temperate Deciduous Forest Definition A temperate deciduous forest is a biome that has many deciduous trees which drop their leaves in the fall. These forests are also known as broad-leaf forests because the trees have wide, flat leaves.
Is a temperate forest hot or cold?
It never gets really hot (like in the rainforest) or really cold (like in the Taiga) in the temperate forest. The temperature is generally between minus 20 degrees F and 90 degrees F. Four seasons - There are four distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each season is about the same length of time.
Where do temperate rain forests occur?
Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Pacific Northwest as well as the Appalachian temperate rainforest of the Eastern U.S. Sun Belt; the Valdivian temperate rain forests of southwestern South America; the rain forests of New Zealand, Tasmania and southeastern Australia; northwest Europe (small pockets in Great Britain and larger areas in Ireland, southern Norway and northern Iberia ); southern Japan; the Black Sea – Caspian Sea region from the southeasternmost coastal zone of the Bulgarian coast, through Turkey, to Georgia, and northern Iran .
Where is the Pacific temperate rain forest?
Pacific temperate rain forests. Main article: Pacific temperate rain forests. Temperate rain forest in the Mount Hood Wilderness, Oregon , US. This area, on the west side of the mountain, receives close to 100 inches of rain per year.
What are the Valdivian forests?
The Valdivian forests are a refuge for the Antarctic flora, and share many plant families and genera with the temperate rainforests of New Zealand , Tasmania, and Australia.
What are the trees in the Valdivian rainforest?
The Valdivian rainforests are home to a variety of broadleaf evergreen trees, like Aextoxicon punctatum, Eucryphia cordifolia , and southern beech ( Nothofagus ), but include many conifers as well, notably Alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ), one of the largest tree species of the world.
What is the average annual temperature of a temperate rainforest?
For temperate rainforests of North America, Alaback's definition is widely recognized: Annual precipitation over 140 cm (55 in) ( KJ) Mean annual temperature is between 4 and 12 °C (39 and 54 °F). However, required annual precipitation depends on factors such as distribution of rain over the year, temperatures over the year and fog presence, ...
Where are oakwoods found?
The woodlands are variously referred to in Britain as Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods, Western Oakwoods or Temperate Rainforest, Caledonian forest, and colloquially as 'Celtic Rainforests'. They are also listed in the British National Vegetation Classification as British NVC community W11 and British NVC community W17 depending on the ground flora. The majority of surviving fragments of Atlantic Oakwoods in Britain occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples on the islands and shores of Loch Maree, Loch Sunart, Loch Lomond and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in Argyll. There are also small areas on steep-sided riverine gorges in Snowdonia and Mid Wales. In England, they occur in the Lake District ( Borrowdale Woods) and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in Devon and Cornwall and the Microclimate discussed slate & granite quarries in these counties. This includes the Fowey valley in Cornwall and the valley of the river Dart which flows off Dartmoor and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.
What are the understory conditions of temperate rain forests?
The moist conditions of temperate rain forests generally support an understory of mosses, ferns and some shrubs and berries. Temperate rain forests can be temperate coniferous forests or temperate broadleaf and mixed forests .
What is the second largest biome in the world?
A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on the planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers about 33%. These forests cover both hemispheres at latitudes ranging from 25 to 50 degrees, ...
What is a coniferous forest?
Coniferous forests are composed of needle-leaved evergreen trees, such as pin e or fir. Evergreen forests are typically found in regions with moderate climates. Boreal forests, however, are an exception as they are found in subarctic regions. Coniferous trees often have an advantage over broadleaf trees in harsher environments.
What is the wettest rainforest in the world?
Temperate rainforests are the wettest of all the types, and are found only in very wet coastal areas. Trees here are all evergreens, and are typically covered with thick moss and underbrush. Adding to its rarity is that most of the temperate rainforests outside protected areas have been cut down and no longer exist.
What are the two types of forests that cover both hemispheres?
Due to its large size spanning several continents, there are several main types: deciduous, coniferous, mixed forest, and rainforest .
Where are deciduous forests found?
Deciduous. Main article: Temperate deciduous forest. They are found in Europe, East Asia, North America, and in some parts of South America. Deciduous forests are composed mainly of broadleaf trees, such as maple and oak, that shed all their leaves during one season.
Where are temperate forests located?
Temperate forests are located in the middle latitudes where much of the planet's population is. Not only were these forests cut down to build cities (i.e. New York City, Seattle, London, Tokyo, Paris), they have also been "cut down long ago to make way for cultivation." This biome has been subject to mining, logging, hunting, pollution, deforestation and habitat loss.
Do temperate forests freeze?
Temperate forests typically have winters that often reach below freezing, however even this is not always true . The East Coast forests retain their deciduous nature largely due to the excessive freezing days each winter, as the leaves often freeze over and are only designed to live for one season.
What is a temperate forest?
Temperate forest, vegetation type with a more or less continuous canopy of broad-leaved trees. Such forests occur between approximately 25° and 50° latitude in both hemispheres. Toward the polar regions they grade into boreal forests, which are dominated by evergreen conifers, so that mixed forests containing both deciduous ...
How did temperate forests evolve?
Temperate forests originated during the period of cooling of world climate that began at the start of the Cenozoic Era (65.5 million years ago). As global climates cooled, climatic gradients steepened with increasing latitude, and areas with a hot, wet climate became restricted to equatorial regions. At temperate latitudes, climates became progressively cooler, drier, and more seasonal. Many plant lineages that were unable to adapt to new conditions became extinct, but others evolved in response to the climatic changes, eventually dominating the new temperate forests. In areas that differed least from the previously tropical environments—where temperate evergreen forests now grow—the greatest numbers of plant and animal species survived in forms most similar to those of their tropical ancestors. Where conditions remained relatively moist but temperatures dropped in winter, deciduous trees evolved from evergreen rainforest ancestors. In areas that became much more dry—though not to the extent that tree development was inhibited and only scrubland or desert environments were favoured—sclerophyllous trees evolved.
How did humans affect temperate forests?
Human activities have had pronounced effects on the nature and extent of modern temperate forests. As long ago as 8,000 years, most sclerophyllous forests of the Mediterranean region had been cut over for timber or cleared to make space for agricultural pursuits. By 4,000 years ago in China the same process led to the removal of most broad-leaved and deciduous forests. In Europe of 500 years ago the original deciduous forests had disappeared, although they are remembered in nursery tales and other folklore as the deep, wild woods in which children and princesses became lost and in which dwarfs and wild animals lived.
Where are deciduous forests found?
Deciduous forests are found in regions of the Northern Hemisphere that have moist, warm summers and frosty winters—primarily eastern North America, eastern Asia, and western Europe. In contrast, evergreen forests—excepting boreal forests, which are covered in boreal forest —typically grow in areas with mild, nearly frost-free winters. They fall into two subcategories— broad-leaved forests and sclerophyllous forests. (Sclerophyllous vegetation has small, hard, thick leaves.) The former grow in regions that have reliably high, year-round rainfall; the latter occur in areas with lower, more erratic rainfall. Broad-leaved forests dominate the natural vegetation of New Zealand; they are significantly represented in South America, eastern Australia, southern China, Korea, and Japan; and they occur in less well-developed form in small areas of southeastern North America and southern Africa. Sclerophyllous forests occur particularly in Australia and in the Mediterranean region.
Where do sclerophyllous forests occur?
Sclerophyllous forests occur particularly in Australia and in the Mediterranean region. trees, deciduous and coniferous. Prominent structural differences between coniferous and deciduous trees. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
How did the character of the Australian sclerophyllous forests change?
The character of the Australian sclerophyllous forests changed in response to more than 38,000 years of burning by the Aboriginal people, and the range of these forests was expanded at the expense of broad-leaved forests.
What type of vegetation is found in temperate forests?
Vegetation. 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.
What biome is characterized by high levels of precipitation, humidity, and a variety of deciduous trees?
The temperate forest biome is one of the world's major habitats. Temperate forests are characterized as regions with high levels of precipitation, humidity, and a variety of deciduous trees. Deciduous trees are trees that lose their leaves in winter. Decreasing temperatures and shortened daylight hours in fall mean decreased photosynthesis for plants. Thus, these trees shed their leaves in fall and bud new leaves in spring when warmer temperatures and longer hours of daylight return.
What biome experiences dry summers and damp winters?
This type of adaptation comes in handy for both predators and prey. Temperate forests are one of many biomes. Other land biomes of the world include: Chaparrals: Characterized by dense shrubs and grasses, this biome experiences dry summers and damp winters.
How much precipitation does a temperate forest receive?
Temperate forests receive abundant amounts of precipitation, usually between 20 and 60 inches of precipitation annually.
What is the coldest biome in the world?
Tundra: As the coldest biome in the world, tundras are characterized by extremely cold temperatures, permafrost, treeless landscapes, and slight precipitation.
Why are lichens not plants?
Unlike mosses, lichens are not plants. They are the result of symbiotic relationships between algae or cyanobacteria and fungi.
Where are temperate grasslands found?
Temperate grasslands: These open grasslands are located in colder climate regions than savannas. They are found on every continent except for Antarctica.
What is a temperate rainforest?
A temperate rainforest is a forest in a temperate climate with ample annual rainfall. These types of rainforests can include both coniferous trees (which do not shed their foliage) and deciduous trees (which lose their leaves on an annual basis).
What is the difference between tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest?
The primary difference between temperate rainforests and tropical rainforests—such as those found in Hawaii, Brazil, Central America, and Southeast Asia—is location, and thus temperature. Temperate rainforests fall within latitudes of 40 to 60 degrees north and south, and their temperature remains mild year-round.
What are the animals that live in the temperate rainforest?
Temperate rainforests serve as habitats for a wide array of plant and animal species. These include tall trees like Sitka spruce and western hemlock, plants, and shrubs like ferns along the forest floor, and animals ranging from bald eagles to black bears to mountain lions to multitudes of insects.
What type of trees are found in the Pacific Northwest?
The species of trees found in temperate rainforests vary by region, but they tend to include a variety of tall conifers and broadleaf trees, including western red cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, coast redwoods, ...
How much precipitation does a rainforest need?
In order to qualify as a temperate rainforest, the forest must have annual precipitation of at least 55 inches (140 cm) and average annual temperatures ranging between 39 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 12 degrees Celsius).
What is the latitude of the tropical rainforest?
Tropical rainforests exist much closer to the equator, falling between latitudes 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south. This means they are much warmer, which allows them to support different species of plants.
Is the temperate rainforest protected?
Most of the world's temperate rain forests are protected in parks. This limits logging within their bounds, permitting the existence of old-growth forests. Climate change has resulted in habitat loss for many common trees, and even the largest temperate rainforests have seen their footprints reduced over time.
Where are temperate forests found?
Temperate forests. Found in such places as eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western and eastern Europe, temperate forests are a mix of deciduous, broadleaved and coniferous evergreen trees. They are simpler in structure than tropical forests and support a smaller number of tree species. Temperate forests have been decimated ...
What type of forest is found in warm summers?
Coniferous forests. Temperate evergreen forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary enormously in their kinds of plant life. In some, needleleaf trees dominate, while others are home primarily to broadleaf evergreen trees or a mix of both tree types.
How much rain does a temperate forest get?
The great Douglas fir and hemlock forests of the United States' Pacific Northwest and Canada's British Colombia receive more than 2,000 mm of rain a year. They are dominated by coniferous trees.
What is the largest forested region on Earth?
Low annual temperatures characterize northerly latitudes; precipitation ranges from 40-100 centimetres per year and may fall mainly as snow. Russian boreal forests (known in Russia as the taiga) represent the largest forested region on Earth (approximately 12 million km2), larger than the Amazon.
Which hemisphere is a coniferous forest?
These comprise of a belt of coniferous forest that encircles the northern hemisphere, running through North America, Europe and Asia. Boreal forests are critical for carbon storage, with many conifer and broadleaved forests in sub-polar regions growing on huge below-ground carbon stores in the form of peat.
Where are the forests in the Northern Hemisphere?
In much of the northern hemisphere, most of the natural broadleaved forests have been cut down to provide farmlands. Forests survive only in small patches, or on mountains. The only large areas of forest left are the coniferous forests of northern Scandinavia, Siberia, the north western United States, Canada and Alaska.
What trees shed their leaves in winter?
These leaves are delicate and vulnerable to winter winds, frost and snow. Broadleaved trees that grow in colder areas shed their leaves in winter - they are deciduous. In autumn, the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow before they drop off the trees. Common deciduous trees are the oak, elm and beech.
Which continent has the most forests?
Asia, the world’s largest continent, has the second-least forest area, at 593 hectares. 10 countries with the largest forest cover in the world. Five countries-Russia, Brazil, Canada, the US, and China- account for more than half of the world’s forest cover. However, in most of these countries, forests cover only a small percentage ...
How much of the world's forest is in Brazil?
Brazil has about 12.2% of the world’s total forest area, approximately 497 million hectares. According to FAO, forests cover about 59% of the country’s total land area. Brazil’s forest area is about 1.5 times larger than India’s total land area.
How much of Indonesia is forested?
About 92 million hectares (0.9 million square kilometers) of Indonesia ’s land area is forested, representing about 2.3% of the global forest area and 49% of the country’s total land area. It has the third-largest area of tropical rainforest and is home to about 15% of the Earth’s known plants and animals. Indonesia has the largest mangrove forest, hosting about 32,000 square kilometers on its over 17,000 islands. Sadly, the country has the world’s highest deforestation rate, exceeding Brazil, whose forest area is twice as large as the country’s forest area. Between 2000 and 2012, the country’s annual deforestation rate was 6,714 square kilometers.
How many forests does Brazil have?
The country has 67 national forests (forest dominated by native species), including the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest forest. Up to 60% of the Amazon Rainforest (approximately 3.3 million square kilometers) lies within Brazil. However, Brazil’s forest area has been diminishing significantly due to the high deforestation rate. Its forest covers reduced from 5.2 million square kilometers in 2000 to 4.9 million square kilometers in 2016.
Why are forests important?
Forests are the world’s most critical ecosystems because they comprise numerous plant species and are inhabited by several animal species, including microorganisms. Of the global total land area, forest covers approximately 31%, about 4.06 billion hectares (40 million square kilometers). Europe, the second-smallest continent by area, ...
How much of the US is forest?
Today, just about 36% of the US is forest.
How many square kilometers are there in the eastern forests?
The eastern forests cover about 1.6 million square kilometers and are dominated by broadleaf forests, most of which (83%) are privately owned. The western forests cover 1.5 million square kilometers and are dominated by coniferous forests.
Temperate Coniferous Forests
- This type of forest grows in areas where the winters are cool, the summers are warm, and there is enough rainfall for tree survival. Evergreen conifers dominate most of these forests although some of them have a mixture of other kinds of trees. These forests grow wildly in the United States, As…
Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests
- This type of forest exists in places where the temperatures range between 37 and 60°F. The places where they occur are characterized by rainy and warm climates that may have dry seasons such as in East Asia. Other areas where these forest exists are characterized by a fair rainfall distribution all around the year. Some of the shortleaf trees that grow in these forests include oa…
Temperate Rainforests
- These forests grow in areas that receive high amounts of rainfall. The average rainfall in these areas is about 55 inches while the mean annual temperature ranges from 39 to 54°F. The wet conditions of these forests allow for the growth of undergrowth, which includes ferns, shrubs, and mosses. In the world, they occur in places such as New Zealand, the southwestern region of So…
Overview
Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Pacific Northwest as well as the Appalachian temperate rainforest of the Eastern U.S. Sun Belt; the Valdivian te…
Temperate rain forest regions by continent
A portion of the temperate rain forest region of North America, the largest area of temperate zone rain forests on the planet, is the Pacific temperate rain forests ecoregion, which occur on west-facing coastal mountains along the Pacific coast of North America, from Kodiak Island in Alaska to northern California, and are part of the Nearctic realm. In the different system established by the Commission fo…
Definition
For temperate rainforests of North America, Alaback's definition is widely recognized:
• Annual precipitation over 140 cm (55 in) (KJ)
• Mean annual temperature is between 4 and 12 °C (39 and 54 °F).
Canopy level
For forests, canopy refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms (epiphytes, lianas, arboreal animals, etc.). The canopy level is the third level of the temperate rainforest. The trees forming the canopy, conifers, can stand as tall as 100 meters or more. A variety of species survive in the canopy. The tops of these trees collect most o…
Global distribution
Temperate forests cover a large part of the Earth, but temperate rainforests only occur in a few regions around the world. Most of these occur in oceanic moist climates: the Pacific temperate rain forests in Western North America (Southeastern Alaska to Central California), the Valdivian and Magellanic temperate rainforests of southwestern South America (Southern Chile and adjacent Argentina), …
External links
• The Rainforests of Home, an atlas of People and Place – from Inforain
• Teacher Pages: Temperate Rainforest (Wheeling University)
• Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – preserving rainforests in Southeast Alaska
Overview
A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers about 33%. These forests cover both hemispheres at latitudes ranging from 25 to 50 degrees, wrapping the planet in a belt similar to that of the boreal forest. Due to its large size spanning several continents, there are several mai…
Types of temperate forest
They are found in Europe, East Asia, North America, and in some parts of South America. Deciduous forests are composed mainly of broadleaf trees, such as maple and oak, that shed all their leaves during one season. They are typically found in three middle-latitude regions with temperate climates characterized by a winter season and year-round precipitation: eastern North America, western Eurasia and northeastern Asia.
Climate
The climate of a temperate forest is highly variable depending on the location of the forest. For example, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada are both considered to be located in a temperate zone, however, Vancouver is located in a temperate rainforest, while Los Angeles is more subtropical. Temperate forests typically have winters that often reach below freezing, however even this is not always true. The East Coast forests retain their deciduous nature largely due to th…
Effect of human activity
Temperate forests are located in the middle latitudes where much of the planet's population is. Not only were these forests cut down to build cities (i.e. New York City, Seattle, London, Tokyo, Paris), they have also been "cut down long ago to make way for cultivation." This biome has been subject to mining, logging, hunting, pollution, deforestation and habitat loss.
See also
• Forest
• Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
• Temperate coniferous forest
• Temperate deciduous forest