The temperate forest is a biome found in central Europe, southern Australia, Chile, eastern Asia, mainly Korea, Japan and some parts of China and the eastern United States.
It is also called temperate deciduous forest or deciduous forest because the leaves fall in late autumn.
Features
Learn about the main characteristics of temperate forests:
Climate
Temperate forests present temperate climate, with the four seasons well defined. Summer is hot and humid, while winter is cold and may have snow.
Rainfall rates range from 75 to 100 centimeters per year. The decomposition of the leaves that fall in winter guarantees the richness of nutrients in the soil, which acquires a darker color.
Due to the differences in climate during the year, animals and plants have survival strategies for each season.
Flora
The flora is composed of three main groups of deciduous, coniferous and broad-leaved trees.
The leaves vary in color during autumn, ranging from reddish to brown and golden tones. At the beginning of winter, they lose their leaves as a way to reduce metabolism, which only reappear in spring.
Examples of temperate forest trees include maples, oaks, chestnuts, beeches and elms.
Coniferous trees are so named because the seeds develop into a cone shape. These trees are also called evergreens because they are green at all times of the year. Examples of coniferous trees are fir and cedar.
In addition to the trees, the vegetation cover also features shrubs, herbaceous and creeping plants.
Fauna
The fauna in temperate forests is quite varied. In this biome are found wild boar, wild cats, lynx, wolves, foxes, large birds, bears, squirrels and deer.
Due to the clear definition of the seasons, there are animals that have peculiar behavior in winter, such as bears, which hibernate, and squirrels, which store food. There are also animals with nocturnal habits, such as bats, owls, possums and wild cats.
Due to the particularities of the regions, the occurrence of animals varies from forest to forest. Animals such as marsupials, koala bears, possums and kangaroos are commonly found in Australia.
Deer, bears, mountain lions and rabbits live in the temperate forests of Canada and the United States. Giant panda bears and red pandas are characteristic of China.
In Canada and the United States, deer, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, rabbits, woodpeckers and many smaller birds are typical in this biome. In China, endangered species such as giant pandas and red pandas survive in the temperate forest.
Learn more, read also:
- What is a biome?
- Tropical forest
- Equatorial Forest
- Biomes of the world
