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Coniferous Forests. What are They?. Dense forests consisting of cone bearing evergreen trees such as pines, spruces, firs, cedars Important source of biodiversity. Where are they found?. Found south of arctic tundra, north in North America, Asia, Europe 11% of land
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What are They? • Dense forests consisting of cone bearing evergreen trees such as pines, spruces, firs, cedars • Important source of biodiversity
Where are they found? • Found south of arctic tundra, north in North America, Asia, Europe • 11% of land • also called boreal forests, taigas
Precipitation, Temperature • Subarctic climate • winters long, dry/heavy snows, cold • north, sun 6-8 hours • summers short, mild to warm temp. 19hrs • 25-125cm yearly
Characteristics of Plants • Tiny, needle, waxy leaves- slows down heat loss/evaporation • can withstand cold and drought of winter when snow covers ground • diversity low (few species b/c soil moisture frozen)
Decomposition • Beneath trees, deep layer of 1/2 dec. conifer needles and leaf litter • slow: low temp, wax coating, and high acidity • when needles decompose, thin, nutrient poor soil acidic-other plants do not grow-interface competition (one species limits another’s access to some resource
Characteristics of Animals • Mostly seed eaters (squirrels, nutcrackers) • insect herbivores • large browsers (elk, moose, bears, wolves) • in summer, soil becomes waterlogged- forms acidic bogs and muskegs (low-lying areas) • creates feast for birds (flies, mosquitoes, and caterpillars
Scattered, coastal, temperate areas ample rainfall and moisture from ocean fogs coastal coniferous forests, temperate rain forests along coast of North America Dominated by dense strands of large co- nifers such as spruce, firs, redwoods nearness to ocean: moderates temp, winters mild, summers cool trees depend on rain/fog from Pacific Other Types
Human Uses • Lumber • minerals/mining • water • energy
Human Effects • Large predators (timber wolf) basically extinct • extract too much lumber-forests disappearing rapidly • taking trees and making them into paper • trees grow slowly-long time for recuperation
Human Effects Cont. • Mining polluting forests (iron, gold, diamonds) • in Russia, air pollution and acid deposits • being settled with industrial plants (paper and pulp mills, ore-smelting plants • because acidic soil, cannot neutralize the acid deposits • being drowned by hydroelectric plants
