Forest

A forest is a piece of land with many trees. Many animals need

forests to live and survive. Forests are very important and grow in
many places around the world. They are an ecosystem which includes
many plants and animals.

Temperature and rainfall are the two most important things for forests.
Many places are too cold or too dry for them. Forests can exist from
the equator to near the polar regions, but different climates have
different kinds of forests. In cold climates conifers dominate, but in
temperate zone and tropical climates forests are mainly made up of Biogradska forest in Montenegro
flowering plants. Different rainfall also makes different kinds of
forest. No forests exist in deserts, just a few trees in places where their
roots can get at some underground water.

Contents
Forest biomes
Coniferous forests
Deciduous forests
Rainforests Old-growth beech trees: Brussels,
Related pages part of the Sonian Forest

References

Forest biomes
The three major forest biomes are coniferous forests, deciduous
forests, and tropical rain forests.

Coniferous forests
Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's
Coniferous forests stretch across Canada, Alaska, Northern Asia, Hellyer Gorge
and Northern Europe. Their main trees are evergreen conifers which
produce seeds in cones.

The weather during the winter is cold, but when snow melts in the spring, some parts of the forest become
swamps. There are not many different types of trees in coniferous forests because of the cold weather, and the
poor soil. Fallen branches, needles, and dead animals do not decay as fast as in warmer regions. This is why
the soil in coniferous forests is not very fertile. Also, only those trees that have adapted to cold weather and
poor soil can survive. These trees have flexible branches that support heavy snowfalls. Less water evaporates
from their leaves because of the shape of their needles.[1]
Many coniferous trees shade large parts of the soil below them, which
keeps many plants from growing on the forest ground. Some animals
that live in the coniferous forests are pine martens, deer, bears,
caribou, moose, lynes, heavers, and birds such as grey owls,
crossbills, and marblers.

Deciduous forests

Deciduous forests mostly grow in the temperate zone of North

America, Europe and Asia. They have a moderate climate during the The Fatu Hiva rainforest, Polynesia.
spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter, with rainfall of at least
500mm a year. Summers are warm and winters are cold, but not as
cold as the northern coniferous forests. In the winter, snow covers the
ground and the deciduous trees and plants lose their leaves. The
decaying leaves help make the soil rich in nutrients. Many insects,
spiders, snails, and worms make their homes in this rich soil. Wild
flowers and ferns grow almost everywhere in the spring. New leaves
capture the energy of the sun and sprout before the tall trees shadow
them.[2]

During the winter, many birds migrate to warmer climate. Many small
animals hibernate or aestivate, in other words, slow down their Parambikulam Forest, Kerala, India
metabolism and sleep or stay in their burrows. Some of the other
animals just slow down their metabolism and eat food they stored
during the summer and fall months. The trees in winter are bare, but
with the coming of spring, leaves sprout, birds return, animals are
born, and all the forest animals get busy with their lives. Animals that
we may see or hear in this biome include bears, deer, raccoons, otters,
beavers, foxes, frogs, squirrels, snakes, salamanders, and birds such as
woodpeckers, robins, owls, blue jays and the small birds usually
called tits.

Some deciduous forests grow in tropical places that do not have a

winter but do have a wet season and a dry season.

Rainforests

Tropical rainforests grow in South America, the Congo, Indonesia

and some nearby countries, Hawaii, and eastern Australia. Tropical
rainforests are aptly named, as it rains here on about half the days. Ancient woodland at Brading, Isle of
The only season in a tropical rain forest is summer, so plants grow for Wight, England showing bluebells
all 12 months of the year. Trees are tall and thick in the rain forest and (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), ramsons
they grow so close together that they seem to form a big umbrella of (white flowers, Allium ursinum) and
greenery called a canopy. This blocks out most of the sunlight. The air hazel trees (Corylus avellana)
is muggy as it filters through the dense canopy cover of the trees. The
light that filters through this tree cover is dim and green. Only along
river banks and in places that have been cleared does enough sunlight allow plants to grow on the forest
ground.
Millions of species of plants and animals live in the world's tropical forests. Life in the rain forest exists at
different levels or layers in the trees. Each layer has a name, such as 'emergent', 'canopy', 'understory', and
'forest floor. Animal life is found on all levels.

Related pages
Deforestation

References
1. Blue Planet. McGrawHill. 2010. |first= missing |last= (help)
2. In a deciduous forest there are alway places where the sunlight reaches the ground.

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