TEMPERATE FORESTS By Theresa Kish

Geography  Can be found between ° latitude  Most lie between 40 degrees and 50 degrees latitude  Originally covered  In Asia, much of Japan, eastern China, Korea, and eastern Siberia  In western Europe, extended from southern Scandinavia to northwestern Iberia and from the British Isles through eastern Europe

Geography  In North America, found from the Atlantic sea coast to the Great Plains and reappear on the West Coast as temperate coniferous forests that extend from northern California through southeastern Alaska  In the Southern Hemisphere, found in southern Chile, New Zealand, and southern Australia

Climate  May either be coniferous or deciduous  Occur where temperatures are not extreme and where annual precipitation averages anywhere from about 650mm to over 3,000mm  Generally receive more winter precipitation than temperate grasslands  Deciduous trees usually dominate, where the growing season is moist and at least 4 months  Though snow fall may be heavy, winters are relatively mild

Climate  Where winters are more severe or summers drier, conifers are more abundant the deciduous trees  Coniferous forests of the Pacific Coast of North America receive most of their precipitation during fall, winter, and spring  Are subject to summer drought  The few deciduous trees in these forests are largely restricted to streamside environments, where water remains abundant during the drought-prone growing season

Soils  Usually fertile  Most fertile soils develop under deciduous forests, where they are generally neutral or slightly acidic and rich in both organic matter and inorganic nutrients  Rich soils may develop under coniferous forests but coniferous forests but conifers are also able to grow on poorer and more acidic soil  Nutrient movement with between soil and vegetation tends to be slower and more conservative in the coniferous forest

Soils  Nutrient movement with in deciduous forest is generally more dynamic

Biology  While the diversity of trees found here is lower than that of tropical rain forests, temperate forest biomass can be as great or greater  Like the tropical rain forest, they are vertically stratified  Layers of vegetation  Lowest layer/herb layer  Shrub layer  Layer of shade-tolerant understory trees  Finally the canopy formed by the largest trees

Biology  Height of canopy varies from approximately 40m to over 100m  The birds, mammals, and insects make use of all layers of the forest from beneath the forest floor through the canopy  Some of the most important consumers are fungi and bacteria, which, along with a diversity of microscopic invertebrate animals, consume the large quantities of wood stored on the floor of old-growth temperate forests  Activities of these organisms recycle nutrients, a process upon which the health of the entire forest depends

Biology  The 2 largest trees in the world the sequoias of western North America and the giant Eucalyptus trees of southern Australia  Temperate forest of North America, Europe, and Asia still harbor ancient trees that are no less impressive

Human Influences  The 1 st human settlements in temperate forests were concentrated along forest margin, usually along rivers and streams  Agriculture was practiced in these clearings  Animals and plants products were harvested from the surrounding forest  this was the circumstance:  In Europe and Asia several thousand years ago  In North America 5 centuries ago

Threats  Since the most of the ancient forests have been destroyed by clear cutting  Reasons for clear cutting  Clear land for farming, building new cities, and expending the size of existing cities  For the trees lumber which was in high demand  The lumber from trees was used to make building, bridges, furniture, paper, heat building, and fuel

Threats  Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, London, New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Toronto, Chicago, and Seattle are all built on lands that once supported a temperate forest  Few tracts of virgin deciduous forests which once covered the eastern ½ of North America remain  Disparate interests struggle over the remaining 1% to 2% of old growth forests left in western North America

Laws and regulations  Currently there are several laws and regulations for clear cutting  Cutting Practices Laws Cutting Practices Law  Chapter 132: Section 40. Declaration of policy of commonwealth.  132: Section 41. State forestry committee; members; forest cutting practices and guidelines.  Chapter 132: Section 42. Notice of proposed cutting of forest products; final work order; report to director; appeal of decision of director.

 Chapter 132: Section 43. Failure to give notice.  Chapter 132: Section 44. Exempted cuttings.  Chapter 132: Section 46. License to harvest forest products.  SLASH LAW  Chapter 48: Section 16A. Handling of slash.  Chapter 48: Section 17. Disposition of slash cut near highways.  Chapter 48: Section 18. Disposition of slash cut by public utility companies.