Global Connections:
Forests of the World
Activity 3
Mapping the World’s Forests
1
Objectives
Learn to interpret maps to identify global
patterns of forest cover.
Analyze temperature and moisture data
and their relation to global ecological
zones.
Collect data on local climate conditions
and vegetation.
2
Searchable Key
Words







boreal forests
forest climate
forest temperature
Köppen-Trewartha
subtropical forests
temperate forests
tropical forests
3
Background
Activity 3
4
Activity 3 – Background - Vocabulary
Forest cover
Definition: the percentage of land that is covered
by a forest’s tree crowns
5
Activity 3 - Background
Forest’s relevant features
 location
 diversity
 classification systems
 variables: forest cover
vegetation types
soils
local environmental conditions
temperature extremes
seasonal precipitation
6
Activity 3 - Background
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
http://www.fao.org/forestry/fra/41256/en/
• Part of the United Nations
• Report on the “state, changes, and conditions” of
the world’s forests about every 10 years, since
1947.
• FAO system uses temperature and precipitation
to distinguish forest types.
7
Activity 3 – Background - Vocabulary
Forest type
Definition: Groups of tree species commonly
growing in the same stand because their
environmental requirements are similar
8
Activity 3 - Background
Satellite Technologies and
Remote Sensing…
…and the growing use of GIS (Geographic
Information Systems): improved the quantity
and quality of data available about the world’s
forests.
9
Activity 3 - Background
FAO five basic climate grouping:
based on Köppen-Trewartha
•
•
•
•
•
tropical
subtropical
temperate
boreal
polar
10
Activity 3 - Background
Köppen-Trewartha
A classification system for the world’s climates first
introduced by German climatologist Wladimir
Köppen, in 1928 and later modified by
American geographer Glen Trewartha.
 The world major climate regions are based on:
1. average annual precipitation,
2. average monthly precipitation,
3. and average monthly temperature.
11
Activity 3 - Background
12
Activity 3 - Background
Temperature and Equator, Sun and Earth
• Mean monthly temperature depends on where an area is
in relation to the equator.
• Higher mean temperatures, generally along the equator
with the most direct sunlight.
• Five domains fall in rough bands parallel to the equator.
13
Activity 3 - Background
Global Ecological Zones
 Within each of the domains, are forests with
different levels of precipitation, ranging from
desert to rainforest.
 FAO: 20 global ecological zones (distinctive
precipitation and vegetation each).
14
15
“E-zones”
The higher elevation of
mountain forests can
affect temperature
and vegetation and
are considered to be
a separate ecological
zone within each
domain.
16
Activity 3 - Background
The 5 domains…
17
Activity 3 - Background
1. Tropical
 Found along the equator, tropical forests have consistent
warm temperatures throughout the year, but rainfall can
be extreme.
 Tropical dry forests, such as those found in East Africa
and Central America, have long seasons of drought and
appear as open woodlands with shrubs and grassy
understories.
 Vast tracts of evergreen tropical rainforest in the Amazon
and Congo basins and in Southeast Asia receive more
than 2.5 meters (100 inches) of rain annually.
 Tropical forests provide homes to more than half the plant
and animal species on Earth as well as many indigenous
people.
 Much of the world's tropical forests are being lost because
of human development.
18
Activity 3 - Background
2. Subtropical
 Widely scattered north and south of the tropics (Africa, Asia,
Australia, Mexico, South America, and the southern United
States).
 At least 8 months of the year when the temperature is more
than 10° C (50° F).
 The seasonal rainfall can vary dramatically, creating flooded
forests such as the Brazilian pantanal or sparsely wooded
scrub landscapes.
 Oak, eucalyptus, and pine are typical trees.
 The so-called mediterranean forests have moist, mild winters
and dry summers.
 Known as mallee in Australia, matoral in Chile, maquis in
Europe, fynbos in South Africa, and chaparral in the U.S. state
of California, the trees often have leathery evergreen leaves to
conserve moisture.
 Much of the world’s subtropical forests have been converted to
grazing lands, agricultural uses, or plantations, but patches
of native forests remain in national parks and wildlife
preserves.
19
Activity 3 - Background
3. Temperate
 Having a generally moderate climate; the temperate zone
is the region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic
Circle, or between the Tropic of Capricorn and the
Antarctic Circle.
 Dramatic seasonal changes and a mild, humid climate
allow temperate forests of the middle latitudes to host a
great variety of trees including beech, cedar, fir, hemlock,
maple, oak, pine, and spruce.
 Many of these forests have long been cut over, but
advances in conservation, changes in fuel wood
consumption, and improvements in agriculture have
allowed some of those forests to recover in parts of
Europe and North America.
 Some of the world’s largest and oldest trees can be
found in temperate forests.
20
Activity 3 - Background
4. Boreal
 A forest area of the northern and mountainous parts of the
Northern Hemisphere
 Long, cold winters and short, cool summers shape the
vast forests spreading across Canada, Russia,
Scandinavia, and the U.S. state of Alaska.
 By far the largest forests on Earth, boreal forests host
aspen, birch, fir, larch, pine, spruce as typical tree
species.
 Millions of lakes, ponds, and wetlands – frozen for much
of the year – create vast breeding grounds for many of the
planet’s waterfowl and shorebirds.
 These forests are also the world’s major source of
commercial softwood, and global demand for that wood is
expected to intensify.
 Russians call their dense conifer forest taiga.
21
Activity 3 - Background
5. Polar
 This is the zones near or within the Arctic or Antarctic
circles; also the vegetation, organisms, and climate typical
of this cold, icy region, with average temperatures less
than 10° C (50° F).
 Polar regions have very little forest land because the
climate is too cold for trees to survive.
 The ground remains frozen most of the year, and the soil
is covered in ice and snow.
 Because of these conditions, polar forests are often
excluded from charts and graphs showing the world’s
forest types.
22
Activity 3 – Background - Vocabulary
Plantation
Definition: an area in which trees are grown as a
crop, and which was established by sowing or
planting.
23
Doing the activity
Activity 3
24
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
Now, time to work!
1. Brainstorm a list of different types of forests
you know either from first-hand experience or
from what you have heard or read.
25
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
2. With a partner…
a. Use your lists to choose two or three forest
types to compare.
b. Identify as many features as you can that
make the forests different from one another
(such as the forest’s location, the dominant
tree species found there, the rainfall, etc.).
c. Share with the class the differentiating features
you identified.
26
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
3. Look at the map and discuss
a.
Where are the world’s forests?
b.
What do you notice about their distribution over the
planet?
c.
What patterns do you see? How does this map
represent our area?
d.
How does our area compare with the areas around it?
e.
Why might there be dense forests in the Amazon
basin, but not in northern Africa?
f.
What factors might influence where forests are found?
27
28
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
4. Look at the Equator and Tropics:
a.
What do you notice about forest coverage in relation to
these lines?
b.
As you move away from the equator, how does
temperature or climate change?
c.
What causes this change?
d.
How might forests change as you move away from the
equator?
e.
Tropical forests have an average temperature of more
than 18° C (64° F) all months of the year. Where would
you expect to find such forests?
f.
Boreal forests have an average temperature of more
than 10° C (50° F) for just 1 to 4 months of the year.
Where would you expect to find such forests?
29
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
5. The 5 domains in forest classification
Indicate on the map where those broad domains
would roughly be found
30
6.Global Ecological Zone Map
31
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
7. Extreme Journeys:
a. Make a copy of the “E-Zones” and “Extreme
Journeys” student pages (page 48-51)
b. Do one of the three journeys suggested on the
“Extreme Journey” page
32
33
34
35
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
8. Discussion about the journeys
a.
What patterns did you observe as you moved
along a longitude line from south to north?
b.
Would you have observed similar patterns if you had
followed a latitude line from west to east? Why or why
not?
c.
What factors might influence the moisture in a
particular area? (elevation, proximity to oceans,
seasonal variation, topography, and so on)
d.
Are those factors something that one could predict by
looking at a map?
e.
Why might it be useful to be able to categorize and
map different forest types around the world?
f.
How might the type of forest present in a given location
affect the people living there or elsewhere?
36
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
9. State or regional map
1. Look at the State or region map
2. Identify the types of forests
3. List factors that might cause a certain type of
forest in one particular area, but not in another.
37
Activity 3 – Doing the activity
10. Nearby forested area tour
a.
Use the “Forest Type Inventory” questions as a guide
to your exploration.
b.
Identify the dominant tree species.
c.
Measure the air temperature.
d.
Determine the average temperature and precipitation of
the forest area for a 1–year and a 10–year period.
e.
Make a profile or graph showing long-term climate
trends of the forest area.
f.
Determine whether the forest they observe matches
what they would expect under the FAO classification
system.
38
39
Assessment
 Make a map of your state or region showing
the global ecological zone (s) and depicting
the types and distribution of forests.
 The map should include photos and
descriptions of the different types of forests,
with information about temperature and
moisture conditions.
 Questions: “How might global climate change
affect the forest in your area?”
40
Enrichment
Activity 3
41
Activity 3 – Enrichment 1
Plan a road trip
Using a map of
forests in your
state or region,
plan a road trip that
goes through as
many different
forest zones as
possible.
42
Activity 3 – Enrichment 2
Effect of temperature or moisture
a.
b.
c.
Design an experiment to see the effect of temperature or moisture
on different plants.
For example, put a conifer leaf (pine needle), a rhododendron
leaf, and a lettuce leaf in the freezer (less than 0° C [32° F]) and
then in the oven at a very low temperature (less than 125º C [200º
F]).
Compare the leaves after a few minutes, or observe what
happens to plants under various moisture and temperature
conditions.
43
Activity 3 – Enrichment 3
Growth rates
Compare the growth rates of a given species of trees in
different countries by looking for data tables on the
internet or in the library.
44
Resource
• FAO: ecological zone maps for each country.
http://www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp
• National Climatic Data Center: historical climate data
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html,
• U.S. Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us
• About Com Forestry: photos and maps of trees and
forests
http://forestry.about.com/library/gallery/blg_photo_gal.h
tm
• The National Atlas gov: Forest Cover Types map for
the
United
States,
http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html
• Efieldtrips: virtual field trips http://www.efieldtrips.org
45