©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter 2 North American Forest Regions

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Highlights  Description of forests of North America  Most important species of trees in each region  Principles of biological succession  Distinguishing features of conifers, deciduous trees, evergreen trees  Important forest products  Silviculture, what is it?

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Regional Forests: Current Scientific Divisions  Northern Coniferous Forest  Northern Hardwoods Forest  Central Broad-Leaved Forest  Southern Forest  Bottomland Hardwoods Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Regional Forests: Current Scientific Divisions (Continued)  Tropical Forest  Rocky Mountain Forest  Pacific Coast Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Biological Succession  Process of natural changes as higher-order plants and trees replace lower-order vegetation  Primary succession: organisms become established where they did not previously exist

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Biological Succession (Continued)  Secondary succession: modified environment that supports only organisms from earlier stage  Pioneer species—first plants to grow in burned or cleared area  Climax community: stable plant populations when succession complete

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Plant Succession After Fire

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Coniferous Forest  Definition: conifer is tree/shrub that produces cones containing seeds  Territory: northern zone of continent  Characteristics:  Largest forest in North America  Swamps, marshes, rivers, cold climate, poor soils  Mostly designated as wilderness

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Coniferous Forest (Continued)  Dominant trees  Evergreens (Spruces dominate)  Broadleaf variety (Birches, Poplars, Willows)

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Coniferous Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Hardwoods Forest  Territory: blends with Northern Coniferous Forest on North and Central Broad-Leaved Forest on South  Characteristics:  Heavy recreational use  Managed to maintain trees of mixed ages

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Hardwood Forest (Continued)  Important hardwood species  Beech, Maple, Hemlock, Birch  American Chestnut (once a main source of tannin) dominated 100 years ago before epidemic of blight

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Northern Hardwood Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Central Broad-Leaved Forest  Arbitrary grouping of several different forest subgroups  Characteristics:  Productive agricultural land  Small, privately owned forest lands  Most affected by people and recreation of any North American forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Central Broad-Leaved Forest (Continued)  Species of trees:  Oak: the most abundant and valuable  Yellow Poplar (secondary to the oak in economical importance)  Other tree species: Maple, Hickory, Black Walnut, Ash, Sweetgum, Elm, Beech

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Central Broad-Leaved Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Southern Forest  Territory: Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico from North Carolina to Texas  Characteristics:  Humid, subtropical, occasional droughts  Long growing season  Abundance of hardwood trees, mostly oak

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Southern Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Regions of Southern Forest  Coastal Plain: runs parallel to coastline  Swampy, sandy soils  Principal species: Loblolly Pine, Oak, Hickory  Piedmont: inland from Coastal Plain  Heavy harvests caused a 75% loss in topsoil  Soil erosion prevalent with acidic topsoil  Principal species: Loblolly and Shortleaf Pines

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Regions of Southern Forest (Continued)  Interior highlands: Ozark Plateaus and Ouachita Mountains

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Silviculture  Silviculture: management of forests to promote growth and harvest of trees for commercial purposes  Practiced widely in Southern Forest region  Reforestation/regeneration: return of population of forest plants to area from which previously removed

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Bottomland Hardwoods Forest  Territory: floodplains of Southern Mississippi Delta, Central and Southern Atlantic and Gulf Coastal regions  Characteristics:  Flooded much of the time (water-tolerant trees)  Commercially important for pulpwood, paneling veneers, lumber

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Bottomland Hardwoods Forest (Continued)  Conifers and hardwoods in mixed stands: Bald Cypress, Atlantic White Cedar, Pond Pine, Sweetgum, Post Oak, Cherrybark Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak, Pecan, Eastern Cottonwood, Green Ash  Management: thinning, improvement cutting

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Bottomland Hardwoods Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Hardwood Trees in Bottomland  Cottonwood/Willow: river bottom, pioneer species, short-lived species  Willow in dense stands in lowland  Cottonwoods above water, better drained  Cypress-Tupelo: habitats covered with water most of year

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Hardwood Trees in Bottomland (Continued)  Mixed Bottomland Hardwoods: on streambeds of old alluvial deposits from heavy spring water flow  Spread out to cover wide area over time and form alluvial fan  Biological succession affected by sedimentation

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Tropical Forest  Territory: southern tip of Florida and Mexico  Characteristics:  Many species  Possible source of new medicines extracted from plants

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Tropical Forest (Continued)  Different Climatic Zones:  Tropical rain forest: Gulf coast, frequent rainfall  Tropical deciduous forest: Pacific Coast, low elevations, dry winter  Oak and Pine forest: higher elevations, dry winter season

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Tropical Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Rocky Mountain Forest  Territory:  Long band from British Columbia to southern Mexico  Eastern and western boundaries dry and unforested  Characteristics :  Pine varieties most numerous and commercially important  Junipers and Pinions dominate at lower elevations

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Rocky Mountain Forest (Continued)  Functions:  Paper industry  Livestock grazing  Wildlife habitat  Outdoor recreation  Public ownership over 76%

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Rocky Mountain Forest

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Pacific Coast Forest  Territory: Northern California, Oregon, Washington  Characteristics:  Most productive for lumber and paper  Mixed species of trees  Conifers most important, especially Douglas fir  Broad-leaves in lower valleys, Giant Sequoias and Redwoods

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Pacific Coast Forest (Continued)  Two distinct climatic zones:  Coastal mountains (Cascades): capture precipitation; taller trees; greater density  Eastern Oregon and Washington: larger area, less precipitation, lower productivity

©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Pacific Coast Forest