Deciduous Forest Biome

Deciduous Forest Biome By: Harman, Digen, David, Michael and Kenny A. Ronshausen

Table of Contents A. Ronshausen

Animal Life in Deciduous Forests A. Ronshausen

Background Information In deciduous forests there are five different zones. The first zone is the Tree Stratum zone. The Tree Stratum zone contains such trees as oak, beech, maple, chestnut hickory, elm, basswood, linden, walnut, and sweet gum trees. This zone has height ranges between 60 feet and 100 feet. The small tree and sapling zone is the second zone. This zone has young, and short trees. The third zone is called the shrub zone. Some of the shrubs in this zone are rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurel, and huckleberries. The Herb zone is the fourth zone. It contains short plants such as herbal plants. The final zone is the Ground zone. It contains lichen, club mosses, and true mosses. The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the autumn the leaves change color. During the winter months the trees lose their leaves. The animals adapt to the climate by hibernating in the winter and living off the land in the other three seasons. The animals have adapted to the land by trying the plants in the forest to see if they are good to eat for a good supply of food. Also the trees provide shelter for them. Animal use the trees for food and a water sources. Most of the animals are camouflaged to look like the ground. The plants have adapted to the forests by leaning toward the sun. Soaking up the nutrients in the ground is also a way of adaptation. A. Ronshausen

The American Bald Eagle is a menacing bird with a white head. It is the national symbol of the US. The female eagle is larger than the male. They are raptors and eat smaller birds. American Black Bear American Bald Eagle: The American black bear is a dangerous animal that interacts with growls. The Black Bear hides in winters. A. Ronshausen

Beaver • Beavers are small rodents that are semi aquatic. They live in small lodges alongside bodies of water. They mainly eat tree barks, twigs, leaves and water plants. Brown Bear Brown bears are large and stay in cool regions. They are omnivores and eat fruits and fish. They are easily awakened. A. Ronshausen

Although it is a fact that coyotes can live anywhere, deciduous forests is one of its favourite dwellings. They hunt alone for their food. It eats small mammals, reptiles mice and fruit. Duckbilled Platypus PlPlatypus Coyote They are mainly found in Australian deciduous forests. They are as large as half of a house cat. They are one of the rare mammals that lay eggs. A. Ronshausen

Red tailed Hawk Hawk • One of the most spread species of hawks is the red-tailed hawk. They are carnivores and eat mammals, rodents and insects. They are found in taigas. Eastern Rabbit Cottontail Rabbit Unlike others, cottontail rabbits require loads of water during winter season than the summer. Other rabbits eat snow in winter. A. Ronshausen

Nightingales have incredibly melodious voices in which they sing mostly during the night hours. They eat insects, larvae and fruits. European Red Squirrel Squirrel The red squirrels are omnivores and hibernate during winter. They live up to 15 years. They are commonly eaten by eagles, hawks, bears and coyotes. Nightingale A. Ronshausen

Plant Life • The deciduous forest is mostly made up of deciduous trees. These are trees that lose their leaves at a certain time each year and then later grow new leaves to replace them. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn. However, before the leaves die, the food material that they contain is drawn back into twigs and branches and is stored there to be used in the spring. Losing its leaves helps the tree conserve water in the winter. Some examples of deciduous trees are ash, beech, birch, maple, oak, hickories, aspens, and larch trees. The trees are extremely vital for the deciduous habitat. They protect the soil, keep the water clean, and provide habitats and food for other organisms. The amount of trees in a forest can also alter the temperature, humidity, and wind speed of that certain habitat. A. Ronshausen

Examples A. Ronshausen

CANYON LIVE OAK A. Ronshausen

Ailanthus A. Ronshausen

Hedge-Nettle A. Ronshausen

Physical Landscape Landscape • Deciduous forests exist in areas with a moderate amount of precipitation, where temperatures in these types of areas. Deciduous forests in general have long summers and short winters. However, the most visible feature of a deciduous forest is that they have a lot of deciduous trees in them, which are trees that fall off at fall. Over 150 cm of rain and other precipitation falls every year. A lot of animals live in a deciduous forest; there are cougars, bears, deer, foxes, owls, opossums, birds, skunks, rodents, birds, insects and the many types of trees, bushes, and flowers. A. Ronshausen

Cove Forest A. Ronshausen

Red MapleMixed Hardwoods A. Ronshausen

Xeric-Oak Pine A. Ronshausen

Human Influences • A lot of human population live in biomes, people are cutting down trees, making animals lose their habitat and people are also polluting water and air. Our current human interaction with the forest can be beneficial and destructive. Humans are killing animals for food. People like you hike or camp in the forest, the way people are destructive to the forest, such as a forest fire, which can be caused by humans. Although some people try to protect the forest, poachers try to kill the animals in the forest. Animals are also losing their homes because of more homes built by humans. A. Ronshausen

Campers A. Ronshausen

Settlers A. Ronshausen

World Maps • Green represents the deciduous forest A. Ronshausen

A. Ronshausen

Questions A. Ronshausen

Is there a certain plant that only exist in deciduous forest? • There is not any species that only exist in deciduous forest. It has normal plants like evergreen trees and more. • Are the plants endangered by other species? Give an example to support your idea. • Yes they are endangered by other species because there are a lot of consumers that are consuming the plants and are endangered by human needs. One of my examples is humans cutting down trees for shelter. A. Ronshausen

If some of the deciduous trees were cut down, what would happen? • If some of the trees were cut down in a deciduous forest, then that part of the biome would slowly clear out of animals, and the flowers there would die because there is no home for bees to live in. Therefore, there would be no bees to pollinate the flowers. • What would happen if there were too many predators in a deciduous forest? • When there is are too many predators in a biome, the predators will greatly decrease the number of prey, so they will eventually get hungry and die, and then the number of prey will rapidly multiply, eating all the plants and there goes your biome. A. Ronshausen

What do you think would happen to the Deciduous forest if humans keep polluting the earth? • There can be a possible chance for these results. One the forest will be cut down and animals will be forced to flee. Two the forest will root from pollution and deforestation. Three the forest will live and some animals will live. • Because of humans what forests like the Deciduous forest suffering of? • They are suffering from deforestation, pollution, habitats and a lot of other things. A. Ronshausen

What would happen if something were to change the landscape of a particular biome? • The habitat of the animals is disrupted due to the cause of possible disasters. These possible natural disasters can be earthquakes, tornadoes etc. • For example: If an earthquake occurs in a deciduous forest it will weaken majority of the trees eventually making them fall. As the trees will die, many species that are inhabited in these trees will be homeless and injured. These species will eventually die off starvation. A. Ronshausen

What if the temperature were to rise or lower significantly? • If the temperature were to rise/lower significantly in a small period of time, the animals in the forest will have difficulty adjusting to the frequent and severe changes in their lifestyle and environment. Some animals may not be able to adjust to these frequent changes and might die. Additionally, some animals may also choose to migrate to a place where the temperature stays stable throughout the year. • For example: If the summers are extremely hot and winters are extremely cold, species such as birds may not be able to adapt to these severe frequent changes and may die off. They may also migrate to a place where the temperature stays constant throughout the year. A. Ronshausen

What if a developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct? • If a developer wants to build on the land, he will cut down trees. This will make animals that depend on these trees, such as squirrels, birds, worms, etc. homeless. These animals will eventually become extinct. This animal extinction process will greatly affect many animals that live in the biome. When a smaller animal is extinct, the animals that are higher on that particular food chain will start dying due to starvation. The extinction (due to starvation) will continue up the food chain, eventually the top consumer will also die off starvation. Therefore, if an animal becomes extinct, all of the animals in the food chain will become extinct and the food chain will end. A. Ronshausen

What if a plant were destroyed, or if the rainfall greatly increases or decreases? • If a plant was destroyed, it would affect the animals that are inhabited in it. For example, small animals will not get enough nutrients from the primary producer (plant) to support themselves. This malnutrition will continue up the food chain, eventually weakening the top consumer. • If the rainfall greatly increases/decreases, it will have a huge effect on the soil and plants. If an area receives very little rain, the soil of the area eventually loosens and is eroded by wind. Also, the trees don’t get enough nutrients (needed from water) and eventually start dying. Over time, this loosen soil turns into a desert. On the other hand, if an area receives very heavy rain, soil erosion occurs due to the excess amount of water. It inhibits the growth of the plants. A. Ronshausen

Question #1: What are the four different species of animals found in a Deciduous Forest Biome? Answer: The four different species of animals found in a Deciduous Forest Biome are: Mammals, Birds, Insects and Reptiles. For Example: A mammal in a deciduous forest is the “American Black Bear.” An example for the bird species would be the “Nightingale.” Examples for Insects and Reptiles would be the a “Butterfly” and a “Turtle.” A. Ronshausen

Question #2: How do animals in the temperate deciduous forest defend themselves? Animals in the temperate deciduous forest defend themselves by the environment they live in and by there adaptations that they have. Animals in temperate deciduous forests also have to adapt to the changing seasons. They must be able to cope with cold winters when food is in short supply. Migration and hibernation are two adaptations used by the animals in this biome. A. Ronshausen

What would happen if something were to change the landscape of a particular biome? • The food chain would change causing harm to the environment and it will cause lack of oxygen. What if the temperature were to rise or lower significantly? If it was too hot really sudden the trees would turn Orange and it wont affect these trees if it were too cold. A. Ronshausen

What if a developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct? • If this happens the area will lack of oxygen and animals will die from that too. What if a plant were destroyed, or if the rainfall greatly increases or decreases? If a plant were to be destroyed the animal that eats it would extinct and soon every organism will extinct in this region. If the rainfall would decrease all the plants will die. A. Ronshausen

ANY QUESTIONS? THE END Thank You!  A. Ronshausen

Deciduous Forest Biome