FOREST Ecosystems
Description
Forests represent a third of the earth's land, and are
found in the four corners of the globe. The major
attribute of the forest biome is its trees. While they
are different from animals in many ways, they share
one common characteristic: they breathe. While
humans and animals breathe in oxygen and exhale
carbon dioxide, trees take in carbon dioxide and
produce oxygen.
Forests have well-defined seasons with a distinct
winter
PLANTS
In a temperate forest, most
of the trees lose their leaves
in the winter. During the fall,
when the weather gets
cooler, the trees begin to
shut down. Their leaves turn
beautiful shades of colors.
Because light can get to the
floor of the forest, it is also
covered with smaller plants
PLANT Adaptations
Wildflowers grow on forest floor early in
the spring before trees leaf-out and
shade the forest floor
Most deciduous trees have thin, broad,
light-weight leaves that can capture a
lot of sunlight to make a lot of food for
the tree in warm weather; when the
weather gets cooler, the broad leaves
cause too much water loss and can be
weighed down by too much snow, so
the tree drops its leaves. New ones will
grow in the spring.
Some forests called taiga
have mostly pine type
trees. Theses trees
have thin spiny leaves
all year long to reduce
water loss. This is why
they are called
evergreens.
Common animal Adaptations
The animals have developed different
ways of surviving in this biome. Many
of them migrate to warmer places to
escape the cold winter months, while
others hibernate (sleep) through the
winter when food is scarce.
Some animals such as squirrels,
chipmunks and jays store food when it
is plentiful, using hollows of trees as
storehouses for nuts and seeds. In
winter this store of food keeps them
fed.
Forest Food web example
Herbivores include:
Mammals that can be
found include squirrels,
wood mice, deer, elk, and
bison.
Birds such as doves,
turkeys, and pheasants.
Carnivores include:
Mammals such as
coyotes, wolves, and
mountain lions.
Birds such as owls and
eagles.
Omnivores include:
Skunks, bears, and
racoons.