Forest Biomes -Coniferous Forests -Deciduous Forests -Rain Forests

Forests Cover 30% of Earth land surface Contain 75% of Earth’s biomass Rain forests are most complex and diverse biome Rain forests cover only 6-7% of land, but hold 50% of land biomass and has 70% of land species

What Do the Forests Provide Us? Wood, paper, fruits, nuts, & beauty They have an essential role in the earths natural cycle by: Absorbing Carbon Releasing oxygen Preventing floods Controlling erosion

Show The Miracle Resource DVD 13min

Loosing Our Forests  Logging-each year an area the size of Florida is lost.  They use the timber for fuel, wood products, industry, & farming, just to name a few.  Because of the lack of trees in the forest-- animals have no support, erosion begins,air & water pollution.  Acid rain destroys the trees. It weakens them, insect and disease kill the trees.

Coniferous Forests Coniferous means “cone-bearing” Coniferous trees, or conifers, produce seed cones The cones hold the seeds The leaf of a conifer is the needle Needles help conserve water b/c they are long, thin and covered in thick wax Most conifers are evergreen, meaning they do not lose all their leaves at one time during the year. It happens slowly through the entire year Pine, hemlock, fir, and spruce, are common in coniferous forests Also aspen & birch which have broad leaves

Where Mostly in subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia Climate Warm summers, 2-5 months Long, cold, dry winters cm of precipitation/yr (rain in summer, snow in winter) Limiting factors Must be able to survive harsh winters, soil is frozen so no moisture Soil is poor and acidic Ferns, lichen, sphagnum moss can grow on forest floor

Boreal Forest - Taiga Aboreal –means tree dwelling

Tree Adaptations Taiga--- slanted tree branches to allow snow to fall off easily Flexible trunks to allow for strong winds Waxy resin on needles to hold in moisture.

Boreal Forest locations

Pine Needles Pairs of needles -Pine tree Square needles -Spruce Flat needles -Fir Hemlock -Flat triangular needles on either side

Coniferous Trees - Taiga Four kinds of conifers are common in the taiga. Hemlock Spruce Fir pine. Another common conifer is the tamarack, or larch, a deciduous tree. Under certain conditions, broadleaf trees, such as birch and aspen, are able to survive the harsh climate of the taiga

Soil in the Taiga Soil is characterized by an upper dark organic zone overlying a white to gray zone formed by leaching, overlying a reddish-orange zone formed by the deposition of iron oxide, alumina, and organic matter. Podzols form in coniferous areas or under heath vegetation in cool, humid climates.

Podzolization The process by which soils are depleted of bases and become acidic from leaching of pine needles Podzolization occurs in cool and moist climates under pine forests. They are typical of the colder portions of the humid continental and subarctic climates like taiga.

Animals of the Boreal Forest

Logging in Coniferous Forests Large stretches of coniferous forests in Soviet Union and North America haven’t been logged because of harsh climate But the need for wood is growing Governments of Soviet Union are selling these lands because they are in need of money

Deciduous Forests Temperate zones climates with four, well-defined seasons Most forests in temperate zones are deciduous examples:maple, oak, beech, ash, hickory, birch Climate Temps vary greatly, 30 degrees celcius in summer to -30 degrees celcius in winter Precipitation is about cm/yr Precipitation is in snow or rain, and falls regularly through entire year.

Tree adaptations Have to adapt to varying climate Growing season is about 6 months, tree grows quickly and stores large amounts of food During fall, tree sheds its leaves and becomes dormant. This helps conserve water during winter Trees feed off of their stored food until spring, when grow new leaves

Animals of Deciduous Forest Mammals that can be found include bears, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, wood mice, and deer. Animals like bobcats, elk, bison, mountain lions, timber wolves, and coyotes used to be found in the deciduous forests, but have been hunted down by humans and almost wiped out

Three Levels Canopy-highest layer, made up of upper branches and leaves of tall trees.The canopy captures most of sunlight, but some filters through to bottom layers Understory-under canopy, made of trees that are younger and smaller than canopy, also has shrubsmosses, ferns, and other plants that grow on ground layer Forest Floor -

A Emergent tree canopy B Large trees of Middle layer C Lower tree layer D Shrub/small tree layer E Ground vegetation

Human Influence Deciduous forests used to stretch across Europe and Asia, and covered eastern US Very little of that remains today Replaced by farms, orchards, and urban development

Causes Logging Mining Oil and gas extraction Cattle ranching Agriculture: Cash crops

What is deforestation? Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations

Deforestation destruction of forest as a result of human activity--in 1950, more than 10% of Earth’s land was rainforest; now it is down to 6% and decreasing due to destruction from developing countries, population growth, logging, farming, mining Animals habitats are quickly destroyed, especially since the ecosystem is vertical (goes up, not spread out) One acre cleared will destroy millions of habitats This (biodiversity loss) is the most serious issue with rainforest destruction

Reforestation Show video clip from real player from Discovery Project ?Ntt=reforestationhttp://app.discoveryeducation.com/search ?Ntt=reforestation

We can help save our forests by: Recycling - the more paper we recycle, the less trees we have to be cut down. For every tree we cut down, plant two more. Do not purchase products made of wood or purchase the at a higher quality so they last longer.

Show The Forest Service and Climate Change 13 min