Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Core Area: Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Lessons:
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2:
Lesson 3:
Lesson 4:
Forest Ecology (Definitions)
Forests of the World
Forests of North America
California Forest Communities
Performance Standards:
7.8 Forestry Resource
Students will develop a historical and regional perspective of the forest industry. They will
understand the concept of urban forestry.
References:
Curtis, H, Invitation to Biology, Second Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York. 1980.
Harris, RW, Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Vines.
Second Edition. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1992.
Sharpe, G.W., Hendee, C.W., Sharpe, W.F., Hendee, J.C. Introductions to Forests and
Renewable Resoruces. Sixth Edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York. 1995.
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Lesson 1: Forest Ecology (Definitions)
Duration: 2 Hours
Students will be able to:
1. Define forest, ecology, ecosystem, and succession.
2. Discuss the ecological components of the forest, including climate and soil.
3. Define biomes and identify the major biomes of the world.
Suggested Activities:
13.1A Ecosystems: Students investigate a field study or a pictorial of an ecosystem and
determine which parts are biotic and which are abiotic. Students summarize the
interrelationships within the ecosystem and share their conclusions as part of a class
discussion.
13.1B Plant Community, Topography, and Climate: In small groups, students graph the
changes in temperature with increased elevation. The groups construct a topographical
model of a local mountain and show the plant communities and temperature ranges at the
varying elevations using information given to each student.
Teaching Outline
I. Definitions
A. Forest: A community of trees, vegetation and animals interacting together
B. Ecology: The study of the interrelationship between living and nonliving organisms
1. Because all things in a natural system are related, disturbing the system can effect
many different components (TM p 6)
C. Ecosystem: The relationship between, soil, water, plants, climate, time, and animals
D. Succession: Natural, gradual change in an ecosystem (TM p 10)
II. Components of the forest
A. Climate: Long-term atmospheric conditions (TM p 5)
1. Weather: short-term conditions
2. Climatic trends: Long-term in duration (i.e., global warming)
3. Moisture: Each forest plant has a different water need
a. Rain, fog, drought, snow melt, and flooding all represent different forms of
moisture conditions
4. Wind
a. Forest communities grow close together providing wind protection to its members
5. Temperature
a. Light and temperature needs vary by plant
B. Soil: Thin layer of weathered mineral and organic material
1. Forest soil provides support, nutrients and water to plants
2. Soil varies depending on parent material, age, surrounding vegetation and climatic
conditions
3. Soil litter: Twigs, leaves, flower, fruit, etc. in all stages of decomposition (TM p 7)
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
a. Forest litter holds in moisture, provides habitat, slows run-off and erosion, and
provides mineral nutrients to surrounding plants
4. Forest soil profile: O - organic litter; A - topsoil; B - subsoil; C - parent material
5. Soil texture
a. Sand
b. Silt
c. Clay
6. Soil fertility: Ability of soil to supply essential nutrients to plants
a. N and P are key components of fertile soil (C, H and O are all supplied in the air)
b. Other nutrients, including sulfur, calcium, potassium and magnesium come from
decomposing organic material in the soil
C. Biomes (TM p 4, 8, 9)
1. Tropical Rain Forests: Equatorial zone; characterized by heavy rain and extreme
biodiversity.
2. Savanna: tropical grasslands.
3. Desert: Characterized by very little rain fall; located at latitudes of 30˚ north and
south.
4. Chaparral: Regions of mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers; southern
California, Chile, coastal Australia.
5. Grasslands: transitional areas between deserts and temperate forests; region includes
plains and prairies of North America, steppes of Russia, veld of South Africa and the
pampas of Argentina.
6. Temperate Deciduous Forests: Characterized by a warm, mild growing season, with
moderate rainfall.
7. Coniferous Forests: Taiga - northern forests with long, severe winter; Pacific Coast
forests - Alaska to Baja California, Japan, Korea and coastal Siberia
8. Tundra: Characterized by extremely cold climate, with very long winters; little plant
life is supported here.
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Biomass vs. Latitude
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Climate and Elevation Effects on Vegetation
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
A Terrestrial Food Web
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
The Nitrogen Cycle
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Major Biotic Regions
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Vegetation and Elevation
Tropical Mountains
Temperate Zone Mountains
(s.w. United States)
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Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit 13: Forest Ecology
Succession from Lake to Forest
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