Rolando Jr. T.

Amad
GE15 (7451)
1st BSCE/s

LET’S CHECK
Activity 2. Answer the following questions:
Biomes 1. They are diverse biological communities were various
plants and animal species share common characteristics for the environment, they
are thriving in.
Tropical Moist Forest 2. These forests share standard features such as
rainfall and unchanging temperatures.
Tropical Seasonal Forest 3. These forests have annual dry seasons but with
periodic rain to support tree growth.
Tropical Savannas and Grasslands 4. These are areas with too little rainfall to
support
forests.
Deserts 5. The plants and animals are adapting to prolonged
droughts, and both extreme heat and cold in this area.
Temperate Rainforest 6. A rainy forest which is often enclosed in fog, cool in
temperature, and the most humid coastal forests.
Tundra 7. It is a treeless landscape located in the
mountaintops or high latitudes, and the growing season
of this biome is only
two to three months.
Phytoplankton 8. They are free-floating photosynthetic plants,
microscopic algae which are essential to support the
marine food web.
Wetlands 9. They are shallow biological systems where the land
surface is saturated or lowered in the late part of the
year.
Bogs 10. They are areas of concentrated land, and usually,
the ground is comprised of deep layers of accumulated,
undecayed vegetation known as peat.
LET’S ANALYZE
Activity No. 2. In this activity, you require to elaborate your answer once again to each
of the questions provided below.

1. Why are tropical rainforests so interesting to scientists and so potentially valuable to

human society?
-Scientists are fascinated by tropical rainforests because they are home to over 30
million plant and animal species. This represents half of all wildlife and at least two-
thirds of all plant species on the planet. Thousands of new rainforest plant and animal
species have yet to be discovered. Furthermore, it has the potential to be beneficial to
human society because it absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, both of which
we require. The absorption of this CO2 also helps to stabilize the Earth's climate.
Tropical rainforests also contribute to the global water cycle by evaporating water into
the atmosphere, resulting in clouds.
2. Describe the environmental variables and explain their importance to plants and
animals.
-Environmental variables are physical aspects of a person's environment that influence
their behavior. Beneficial environmental variables include sunlight, temperature, water
and dissolved salts, oxygen, metabolic waste, and nutrients. The majority of plants and
animals thrive in areas with extremely specific climatic conditions, such as temperature
and rainfall patterns. This emphasizes the importance of these environmental factors.
Any change in the local climate has the potential to affect the local flora and fauna as
well as the entire ecosystem.
3. Differentiate the following:

a. Tundra from Taiga

-The presence of trees is the most noticeable visual distinction between Tundra and
Taiga. The Taiga has a dense forest of conifers such as pine and spruce, whereas trees
are absent in the tundra. This is due to a lack of water in the Tundra, but it is also due to
permafrost.

b. Temperate Forest from Boreal Forest

-The climate of Boreal and Temperate Forests is what distinguishes them. Temperate
forests can be found in areas where the summers are warmer and the winters are
milder than in the Boreal Forest. As a result, the Temperate Forest is located to the
north of the Boreal Forest. Temperate Forests contain both coniferous and deciduous
plants, whereas Temperate Forests are primarily deciduous.

c. Wetlands from Lakes

-Wetlands are shallow biological systems with a saturated or lowered land surface in the
late season. Wetland vegetation has evolved to thrive in saturated conditions. These
are shallow and beneficial. In contrast, lakes are larger bodies of water. It is a slow-
moving body of open water that fills a land depression.
IN A NUTSHELL
Activity No. 2. Make research of the different types of forest in the Philippines. Provide
a clear photo of each type and a description. Include the different species that are most
likely found, their limiting factors, and the threats it is facing for each type.

Mangrove Forest

-The Philippines is estimated to have 360,000 ha of mangrove forests. Despite their

protective role, these ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate
change, as evidenced by Typhoon Haiyan's devastation in 2013. Aug 17, 2022.
-Out of the world's more than 70 salt-tolerant mangrove species, around 46 species
exist in the Philippines. The mangrove is known as the “rainforest of the sea,” and like
the inland rainforest, a mangrove provides both economic and ecological benefits to the
coastlines.
- Human intervention, particularly the conversion of areas to fish ponds, and natural
phenomena such as typhoons and sea level rise are major threats to the Philippines'
mangrove community.

Beach Forest.

- Beach forests are necessary for carbon sequestration, reduction of greenhouse gases,
and biodiversity conservation. The coastal forests cover in the Philippines has been
reduced drastically over the years through unregulated human activities.
- This new publication supported by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme
introduces researchers and the general public to beach forest species and mangrove
associates and describes their medicinal, traditional and commercial uses based on
recent research and the older, hard-to-access literature. The shorelines and riverbanks
of the Philippines were among the first sites opened for human settlement. Not
surprisingly, vegetation in coastal forest was the first to disappear, followed by
mangroves and other forest types. Due to their early loss, beach forests are not well
studied as other flora and therefore not familiar to the average Filipino.
- The beach forests in the Philippines are facing threats from erosion, garbage, seawall,
and road widening developments for beach resorts and summer houses, as well as
deforestation for tourism developmental purposes. Additionally, mangroves are being
cleared at an alarming rate due to land development, pollution, and deforestation for
fuel, while hunting, poaching, and flora collection follow human migration into upland
areas, aggravating the threat to wildlife. The Philippines is one of the most severely
deforested countries in the tropics with the most deforestation happening in the last 40
years.

Molave Forest

-This type of forest is more open than the dipterocarp type and the volume of timber per
unit is much less, averaging 30 m3 per hectare. It occurs in regions where there are
distinct wet and dry seasons, each of several months' duration. During the dry season,
the vegetation is largely leafless, but in the wet season, it grows luxuriantly. Under
certain local soil conditions during the dry season, there are places approaching desert-
like conditions. On dry limestone ridges molave, Vitex parviflora, predominates.
-Most of the species found in this type of forest produce woods that are highly valued
for: their natural beauty and durability. Among the most important are molave; narra,
Pterocarpus spp.; tindalo, Pahudia rhomboidea; ipil, Intsia bijuga; akle, Albizzia acle;
and banuyo, Wallaceodendron celebicum.
- The Molave forest in the Philippines is threatened by deforestation, destructive
swidden cultivation of uplands and logged-over areas, illegal logging, hunting, and
collection of wildlife and flora as well as climate change which is set to further
undermine their survival]. Additionally, Global Forest Watch shows that deforestation
rates in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur are increasing. Mining and logging also threaten
the area's biodiversity.
Dipterocarp Forest

- Many of the lowland rainforest’s giant trees are members of the dipterocarps hardwood
family, which includes apitong, bagtikan, lauan, tangile, guijo, and yakal. These trees'
crowns can reach 30 to 50 meters in height, and their trunks can reach nearly two
meters in diameter.
- Anisoptera thurifera (Blanco) Blume, Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (Blanco), Shorea
contorta S Vidal, Shorea negrosensis Foxw., Shorea polyspermy (Blanco) Merr, Shorea
squamata (Turcz), and Shorea sp. are the seven recorded dipterocarps species from
the Philippines. This also corresponds to the findings of a previous study, which
discovered four Shorea species in the southern part of Mt. Malindang: Shorea
polysperma, Shorea negrosensis, Shorea contorta, and Shorea squamata. Shorea
contorta, Shorea negrosensis, and Shorea polysperma are critically endangered in.
Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (Blanco) is a vulnerable and endangered species. Synonym
of Shorea squamata. Shorea palosapis is a critically endangered species. Anisoptera
thurifera has been designated as vulnerable.
- Deforestation, climate change, habitat alteration, and global climate change all pose
threats to the Philippines' dipterocarp forests. In addition, to assess the sustainability of
dipterocarp forests in the Philippines, socioeconomic preferences in five forest-
dependent communities were surveyed.

Pine Forest

- Pine forest can be found in parts of Luzon and Mindoro where fires occur fairly
frequently (yearly up to once every 20 years), at elevations ranging from 900 m to 2500
m, and usually on rather steep slopes. In areas where fires occur every few years, the
understory is nearly pure grass, with no humus and little leaf litter. Bracken and other
ferns are common in areas where fires are less frequent, and as fires become less
frequent, small, native woody plants begin to invade. If no fires burn for several
decades, broad-leafed plants gradually resume their pattern of plant succession,
resulting in the return of the original montane or mossy broad-leafed forest, with no
further recruitment of young pines.
- Khasia pine, also known as Benguet pine and even Luzon pine, is the dominant tree
species. The understory is typically composed of grasses and is sparse. Montane
broadleaf forests interdigitate with pine forests, resulting in mixed broadleaf and pine
forest vegetation in many places. The origins and ecological processes that sustain pine
forests are unknown. According to one model, the original vegetations were montane
and submontane rainforests that were transformed by anthropogenic activities such as
shifting cultivation and fires.
- Pine forests in the Philippines are threatened by timber, firewood, and turpentine
production, destructive swidden cultivation of uplands and logged-over areas, illegal
logging, hunting, and, collection of wildlife and flora, as well as natural and man-made
causes. Additionally, bracken and other ferns are common in places with less frequent
fires, and small native woody plants can begin to invade.

Mossy Forest

-The remaining patches of mossy forests in the Northern Philippines' Central Cordillera
support a diverse range of unknown endemic floral species that sustain the headwaters
of the region's major rivers. The highest ridges are covered in stunted or bonsai plants.
- Mossy forest (sometimes called “upper montane forest” or “cloud forest”) is
characterized by short trees, often with gnarled trunks and branches, that reach 8 m in
protected spots but only 2-3 m on ridgetops. In very exposed, steep, windy places, only
shrubs 1 m high may be present. Moss covers most tree trunks and branches, often
hanging in sheets, and most ground surfaces are covered by moss and leaf litter over a
thick layer of humus. It typically occurs from about 1700 m elevation up to the highest
peaks, but on some large mountains on Mindanao, the mossy forest begins at 2300 m,
and on some ridgetops on low mountains, the mossy forest may be present as low as
1000 m. Podocarp conifers with low height but large girth (up to 2 m dbh) are found in
some mossy forests; oaks, laurels, myrtles, and other trees often are common, and
rhododendron often common shrubs. Ants and termites are absent, and earthworms are
abundant. Most trees have small leaf sizes, 2-4 cm. Because this forest occurs high in
the mountains, it is often on steep slopes, and many areas are rocky. Rainfall typically
exceeds three meters per year, and may reach five to eight meters in some years;
heavy fog is common. Daily high temperatures typically range from 15 to 20° C but may
be lower on the highest peaks. Frost is sometimes present on the highest peaks in
Luzon during January and February.
- Anthropogenic disturbances such as burning, logging, clearing for bird entrapment,
and commercial farming, as well as mining and logging, endanger mossy forests in the
Philippines. Furthermore, these forests are in danger of extinction due to deforestation
and the destruction of their distinct ecosystems.