Download Chapter 9 Forest Biomes

Chapter 9
Forest Biomes
Covers 30% of the Earth
Contains 75 % of Earth’s Biomass
9.1 Coniferous Forest
 Limited to the Northern
Hemisphere (far from the
equator)
 High latitudes (closer to
the Arctic)
 Summers are warm and
last 2-5 months
 Winters are long and very
cold
 40-200 cm of precipitation
(as rain and snow) per
year
9.1 Coniferous Forest
 Coniferous means
“cone bearing”
 Conifers (coniferous
trees) producer seeds in
cones
 Leaves have adapted to
conserve water by
producing long-thin
with a thick waxy coat
called needles
9.1 Coniferous Forest
 Tree is also a cone-
shaped - the needles
allow heavy snow to fall
through the branches
 Conifers are
“evergreen” they do not
loose all their leaves in
winter but keep them all
year round
9.1 Coniferous Forest
 Examples of conifers:
Hemlock, Spruce,
Cedar, Pine
 Forests are not diverse –
usually only one or two
types of pine.
Scotch Pine
 Soil is poor and very
acidic
Eastern Cedar
Blue Spruce
Hemlock
9.1 Coniferous Forest
 Plants: Ferns, Lichens
and Sphagnum moss
grown on forest floor
 Animals: Large
herbivores – moose, elk
 Small herbivores –
beaver, snowshoe hare,
squirrel, mouse, blue jay
 Carnivores – grizzly
bear, wolves, fox,
weasel, lynx, owl, eagle
9.2 Deciduous Forest
 Deciduous tree sheds its
leaves during the winter
 Temperature ranges
from 30oC in summer
to -30oC in winter
 Precipitation 50 – 300
cm (rain/snow) per year
 Forests found in the
temperate zones –
mostly Europe and
North America
Maple tree
9.2 Deciduous Forest
 Growing season is 6
months long
 Sunlight is used by
chlorophyll in the leaves
to make food
 Autumn has shorter
days – chlorophyll fades
–other pigments show
through
 All pigments fade,
leaves dry up and fall
off tree
9.2 Deciduous Forest
 Deciduous forest has 4
layers:
 Canopy – top layer
 Understory – third layer
 Shrubs – second layer
 Floor – bottom
 Lots of biodiversity so
lots of organic matter in
the soil (humus-Ch 8)
9.2 Deciduous Forest
 Food web has many
organisms:
 Decomposers (fungi
and bacteria)
 Insects (bees, flies) and
invertebrates (worms)
 Herbivores (deer,
rabbits, mice)
 Carnivores (mountain
lions, wolves, eagles,
owls)
9.2 Deciduous Forest
 Human activity has
shrunk the vast area
that was the temperate
deciduous forest.
 Two reasons: rich soil
for farming and the
trees for wood, fuel and
paper
 Replanting trees does
not restore the forest
ecosystem
9.3 Rain Forest
 Tropical zone is located
at or near the equator.
 Direct rays from the sun
keep temperatures
warm 25oC or higher
 Growing season is 12
months
 Precipitation 100-450
cm of rain a year
9.3 Rain Forest
 Dense canopy of
evergreen broadleaf
trees
 Contains 70-90% of all
species on Earth
 Only 6% on the Earth’s
surface
 40% of the Earth’s
biomass
 Most biodiverse biome
9.3 Rainforest
Several levels:

 Emergent trees- top layer,
99% sunlight (50-60 m)
 Upper canopy – next layer
– less than 1% filtered
sunlight
 Lower canopy – third
layer, less than 1% filtered
sunlight
 Understory – fourth layer,
dense shade
 Forest floor – little or no
sunlight
9.3 Rainforest
 Top soil is thin – 99%
of available nutrients in
only 5 cm of top layer
soil
 Tree roots are shallow
and trees develop extra
roots - Buttresses - to
support the immense
height
 Dead organic matter
decomposes and is
recycled quickly
9.3 Rainforest
 Most activity takes place
in the canopy layer
 Many rainforest
organisms never touch the
ground
 Vast diversity of plant life
leads to vast diversity of
animals
 Habitats vary from tree to
tree and level to level
 Complex food webs with
many species interactions

9.3
Rainforest
Greatest biodiveristy for
plants, animals and insects
 Many species haven’t even
been discovered yet
 Fungus beetle, toucans and
howler monkeys spend their
time in the upper canopy
 Blue bird-of-paradise travels
from the lower canopy to the
forest floor
 Margay cat hunts understory
and forest floor
 Tapir lives on the forest floor
9.3 Rainforest Deforestation