Temperate Deciduous Forest

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Temperate Deciduous Forest

• By Joy Ulrickson
• AP Biology

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Climate
The temperate deciduous forest receives 2-5 ft.
of precipitation (rain and snow) each year.
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Climate
Temperate deciduous forests have a moderate
climate. They have all four seasons and 4-6
months of summer. The average temperature is
about 50 F, hence the name temperate forest
the weather is neither too hot nor too cold. The
cold winters cause many animals to hibernate, but
the warm 6 months of growing season make up for
it. An important characteristic of temperate
deciduous forests are the deciduous trees, which
lose their leaves in the fall. The temperature
ranges from an average of 4 degrees Celsius in
January to 28 degrees average in July.
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Climate
These are graphs of the yearly changes in
temperature and precipitation in a typical
deciduous forest located in Virginia.
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Soil Type
Brown forest soils develop in the deciduous
forest. Until humans developed the technology to
break soil, the soil in temperate deciduous
forests was considered the most fertile. This is
because of the high levels of humus found there.
Beneath the layer of humus there is a deep layer
of clay. The soil in the deciduous forests is
quite fertile, since it is often enriched with
falling leaves, twigs, logs, and dead organisms.
The autumn leaf fall provides for an abundant and
rich humus which begins to decay rapidly in
spring just as the growing season begins.
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Vegetation
The factor that distinguishes temperate deciduous
forests from other biomes is that its trees lose
their leaves each fall. This is a result of the
decrease in sunlight that occurs each fall. Less
light causes some plants and trees to stop
producing chlorophyll (a green pigment that
converts sunlight into chemical energy) and
eventually lose their leaves. The lack of
chlorophyll causes these leaves to turn brilliant
colors, ranging from red to orange to yellow to
brown.
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Vegetation
The vegetation of temperate deciduous forests
consists mainly of deciduous trees. There are
five layers (also called zones or strata) in the
temperate deciduous forest. These include the
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Vegetation

• Tree stratum- the tallest layer, 60 -100 feet
  high. It is dominated by large oak, maple, beech,
  chestnut, hickory, elm, basswood, linden, walnut,
  or sweet gum trees, depending on the region.

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Vegetation

• Small tree or sapling layer young trees and
  saplings, including small trees such as dogwood
  and redbud.
• .

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Vegetation

• Shrub layer - shrubs like rhododendrons, azaleas,
  mountain laurels, and huckleberries. (members of
  the heath family)

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Vegetation
Herb layer - short plants. Perennials that
usually bloom in the early spring.
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Vegetation
Ground layer - lichens, club mosses, and true
mosses. Lichens and mosses also grow on the
trunks of trees.
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Vegetation
Other typical vegetation found in a deciduous
forest includes ash trees, a few pine trees,
wild flowers such as bluebells, primrose, and
oxlip maple. Wild grape, poison ivy, and Virginia
creeper climb the trees high in the forest
canopy. Also found in the deciduous forest are
bilberry plant, mosses, mushrooms, and shrubs
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Prevailing Winds
In the areas of the world in which the temperate
deciduous forest biome is located, the prevailing
winds are the Northeast Trade Winds and the
Prevailing West Wind. Prevailing winds drive
ocean currents.
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Animals
Animals in the temperate forest have to be able
to deal with the cold winters. Some migrate to
warmer areas, while others hibernate. The next
few slides show typical animals in the deciduous
forest. To see a movie of some cute little
forest mammals, click here http//www.jlhs.nhusd
.k12.ca.us/Classes/Science/Net_Lessons/Biomes/deci
duous.mov
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Mammals
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Reptiles
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Birds
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Insects
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Ocean Currents
On this map temperate forests are the dark green
areas. In these areas the ocean currents are
in North America- the Gulf Stream and North
Equatorial Current, South America- the Peru and
Brazil Currents, Europe- Canary Current and
North Atlantic Current, and in Asia- the Kuroshio
Current and the North Equatorial Current,
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The Carbon Cycle
This is Captain Carbon.
In the carbon cycle, plants absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and use it,combined with
water they get from the soil, to make the
substances they need for growth. The process of
photosynthesis incorporates the carbon atoms from
carbon dioxide into sugars. Animals eat the
plants and use the carbon to build their own
tissues. Other animals eat these animals and then
use the carbon for their own needs. These animals
return carbon dioxide into the air when they
breathe and when they die, since the carbon is
returned to the soil during decomposition. The
carbon atoms in soil may then be used in a new
plant or small microorganisms.
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Carbon Cycle
This diagram represents the carbon cycle in the
forest. See previous slide for explanation.
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The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is the major component of earth's
atmosphere.It enters the food chain by means of
nitrogen-fixing bacteria and algae in the soil.
This nitrogen which has been 'fixed' is now
available for plants to absorb. These types of
bacteria form a symbiotic relationship with
legumes--these types of plants are very useful
because the nitrogen fixation enriches the soil
and acts as a 'natural' fertilizer. The
nitrogen-fixing bacteria form nitrates out of the
atmospheric nitrogen which can be taken up and
dissolved in soil water by the roots of plants.
Then,the nitrates are incorporated by the plants
to form proteins, which can then be spread
through the food chain. When organisms excrete
wastes, nitrogen is released into the
environment. Also, whenever an organism dies,
decomposers break down the corpse into nitrogen
in the form of ammonia. This nitrogen can then be
used again by nitrifying bacteria to fix nitrogen
for the plants.
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Nitrogen Cycle
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The Phosphorus Cycle
The phosphorus cycle is different from the
water,carbon, and nitrogen cycles because
phosphorus is found in sedimentary rock, not the
atmosphere.Phosphorus is a necessary element in
DNA, in many molecules found in living cells, and
in the bones of vertebrate animals. A smaller,
less important source of phosphorus is the
droppings (guano) of fish-eating sea birds.
Erosion caused by rainfall and the run off of
streams removes phosphorus from phosphate
rock.This results in a phosphorus supply in the
soil which is available to plants.
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More of the Phosphorus Cycle
The phosphorus is absorbed by the plants' roots
and used to make organic compounds.As animals eat
the plants, the phosphorus is passed along to
them. Decomposing plant or animal tissue and
animal droppings return organic forms of
phosphorus to the water and soil. Much of the
phosphorus is eventually lost in the oceans. The
phosphorus in the soil is dissolved in water,
which in turn flows into bodies of water. Some of
this phosphorus is used by plankton, which in
turn is eaten by fish. These fish are then
consumed by sea birds. But the majority of
phosphorus washed into the sea sinks to the ocean
floor and is not recycled.
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Primary Succession
Primary succession in a deciduous forest is
pretty much the same as in any other biome.
Primary succession begins when there is no soil
in an area. Lichens that are able to survive in
these conditions grow and spread over the rock
and produce organic acids, which dissolve some of
the rock. When the lichens die they add to the
organic matter and mosses are then able to grow
in the forming soil. As mosses die they
contribute to the soil, and eventually the seeds
of small rooted plants are able to grow.
Gradually larger and larger plants are able to
survive in the new environment.
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Secondary Succession
Secondary succession in a deciduous forest occurs
after most of the soil and vegetation had been
destroyed, most often after fire, farming, or
logging. Fire is instrumental in keeping forests
healthy by destroying dead vegetation that
otherwise builds up on the forest floor. It also
helps certain gymnosperms reproduce, because some
pine trees have cones that open and germinate
only when they are exposed to extremely high
temperatures. After a fire has burned or a
farmer has stopped farming a field, grasses and
annual weeds quickly move back on to the existing
soil and begin to spread out.
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Secondary Succession Continued
These plants are called the pioneers. Soon after
the pioneers move in, slower-growing perennial
plants start to take over, shading out the
pioneers and taking all of the water with their
longer root systems. Soon these plants are
choked out by the seedlings of pioneer trees,
which take longer to get established but
monopolize the resources in the area.
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Climax Community
The trees in the final stage of the secondary
succession are finally displaced by the larger
and slower-growing trees of the climax community.
After 5 to 30 years, oak, maple, and hickory
trees will take over. In about a century or two,
the land will be covered in a complete climax
community forest.
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Niche of a Deer
A deer in a temperate deciduous forest plays many
roles in the environment. It eats many grasses
and plants, and must drink fresh water. Deer are
eaten by larger predators, such as wolves and
bears. Deer compete with other herbivores for
food, but they are able to travel long distances
to find it. Shelter for deer consists of shrub
and dense foliage areas where they can hide from
predators.
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Intraspecific Competition
An example of intraspecific competition in the
deciduous forest is between timber wolves. The
wolves all eat the same type of food-basically
any mammals smaller than the wolves- and hunt for
their prey in the same areas. Therefore they
will be competing for food, water, territory,
mates, and social dominance within their pack.
This ensures that only the biggest, strongest,
and smartest animals survive to pass their genes
on to the next generation.
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Interspecific Competition
The timber wolf and the coyote are an example of
interspecific competition. These two species eat
similar foods-rabbits, deer, etc., and therefore
compete for prey. They also roam freely around
the forest rather than staying in one location
(like a tree) and so compete for territory.
Wolves are bigger and stronger and will usually
kill the coyote in a direct confrontation.
However, coyotes will readily disperse throughout
the forest and often live in agricultural and
suburban areas where wolves do not choose to
live. This balances out the populations and
prevents one species from eliminating the other.
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Passenger Pigeon
The passenger pigeon is an extinct bird that once
populated the deciduous forests of North America.
This species once numbered approximately 5
billion 40 of the total bird population in the
U.S! Flocks of passenger pigeons could be a mile
across and about 300 miles long. When John J.
Audubon observed a migrating flock over Kentucky
in 1813, he reported that the sky was "black with
birds" for three days. However, this species of
birds is now extinct due to hunting. The
commercial hunting of passenger pigeons was a
lucrative business in the 1800s. In New York,
one operation processed 18,000 pigeons each day
in 1855. In one year in Michigan alone, a billion
birds were harvested. Obviously, the population
of pigeons could not handle this kind of
extermination. Within a few decades the species
was as good as extinct, and in 1914 the last
passenger pigeon, named Martha, died alone at the
Cincinnati Zoo.
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Effects of Humans
Humans have many effects on the deciduous forest
biome. The mild temperatures and fertile soil of
the forest attract people to live in this
location, and more people live in the temperate
forest biome than any other biome. The forests
have suffered as a result of the human
population, however, and only scattered remnants
of the original deciduous forests remain
today. 1.      Many deciduous forests have been
cleared for farming, since they have the most
fertile soil. 2.      The logging industry has
cut down entire forests, leaving the area so
completely destroyed that secondary succession
cannot occur. 3.      Game animals in the
deciduous forest have been hunted to extinction
or to the point of becoming endangered.
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Effects of Ozone
The ozone depletion process begins when CFCs and
other ozone-depleting substances leak into the
atmosphere. CFCs are extremely stable, and they
do not dissolve in rain. CFCs release chlorine
atoms, and halons release bromine atoms in the
atmosphere. It is these atoms that destroy
ozone. It is estimated that one chlorine atom can
destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules before
finally being removed from the stratosphere. As
the ozone layer decreases there are many effects
on the environment. Increased UVB rays can harm
plants and damage the trees and vegetation in the
temperate forest.
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Terms