Temperate Deciduous Forest
By: Haleigh Baker, Maddie Bishop,
and Rachel Bush
General Climate
• Weather systems usually travel from West to East,
with the wind.
• Western Coasts receive winds/ weather that has
crossed the ocean and Eastern Coasts receive winds/
weather that has crossed over land.
• Each month you can expect typical average
temperatures and certain types if weather, temperature
and humidity can change in a day, hour, or even a
few minutes, though. Each day is hard to predict.
General Climate (cont.)
• 60-80% relative humidity helps to moderate temperature
change from day to night
• Precipitation is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year,
there are no rainy or dry seasons.
• There are four seasons:
-Spring (moderately cool to warm), summer(Typically
hotter temperatures), fall(moderately warm to cool),
and winter(Cold season).
Common
Characteristics
• -Latitude ranges between 23 degrees North and 38 degrees
South.
• This biome occupies the eastern half of the United States and
a large portion of Europe. It is characterized by:
-hardwood trees (e.g., beech, maple, oak, hickory)
are deciduous; that is, shed their
leaves in the autumn.
Common Characteristics(cont.)
-The number of different species is
far more
limited than in the jungle.
-Large stands dominated by a single
species
are common.
-Deer, raccoons, and salamanders
are
characteristic inhabitants.
-During the growing season, this
biome
can be quite productive in both natural and agricultural
ecosystems.
Adaptations
• Adaptation to fire
– Opportunist species, which are quick to colonize open or
disturbed ground, are killed by fire, but their seeds are
not. These species produce seeds in prodigious amounts.
The seeds disperse widely and germinate rapidly. It is a
strategy that allows species to occupy sites cleared by fire
in the northern and western United States and to mature
and produce seed before conifers grow taller and shade
them.
Adaptations(cont.)
• Seasonal Adaptations
– These animals have unique adaptations suited for seasonal
life. For example, some rodents and mammals store up
fat, and then hibernate during cold winters. Some birds
also migrate south for the winter so they can continue to
live in a warm environment.
Common Animals
• Mammals
– Brown Bears: Ursus arctos
– Wild Boar: Sus scrofa
– North American Beaver: Castar Canadensis
• Birds
– Yellow Warbler: Dendroica petechias
– Magnolia Warbler: Dendroica magnolia
– Brown Thrasher: Toxostoma rufum
Animals(cont.)
• Amphibian
– Longtail salamander: Eurycea longicaudata
– American Toad: Bufo americanus
• Reptiles
– Black Rat Snake: Elaphe obsoleta
• Insects
– Sassafras Borer: Oberea ruficollis
Common Plants
•
•
•
•
•
•
White Oak: Quercus alba
American Beech: Fagus grandifolia
Myrtle Beech: Nothofagus cunning hamii
Bald Cypress: Taxodium ascendens
Scarlet Pimpernel: Anagallis arvensis
Marsh Marigold: Caltha palustris
•
Bibliography
•
•
•
•
Allaby, M. (2006). Temperate Forests. Chelsea House Publishers. Print.
Photograph. Web. <http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Dana/50-16f-TempForest.jpg>.
Photograph. Web. <http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodweb/deciduous-sm.jpg>.
Photograph. Web. <http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/biomes/deciduous/decfor/decchain.gif>.
• Photograph. Web. <http://www.stephsnature.com/images/Websitelifescience/ecology/foodweb.gif>.
• Web. <http://www.stephsnature.com/images/Websitelifescience/ecology/foodweb.gif>.