The Temperate Rainforest
NTRODUCTION
Where? Temperate Rainforests are mainly found in North America including British Columbia,
New Zealand, and Chile.
Stretch across from the beginning of Europe to the end of Asia and is partly in Russia. It also
covers parts of the west coast and partially the Midwest.
What? -Abundant moisture and mild climate results in rich thick soil (Ocean moist climate)
-Word “temperate”= mild temperature
-Grow in temperate zones and have high rainfall
-Close to body of water and coastal mountains
-Rarest biome
-Both tropical and temperate rainforests are disappearing at an alarming pace
Adaptation of Species
4 Animal Adaptations. Camouflage, Migration, Hibernation, Insulation
Insulation , Animals grow thick fur and coats because of the high rainfall to protect them from
moisture but also to prepare for winter
Camouflage, Animals/Species are less colorful and nowhere near the tropical rainforests because
they need to blend in with their surrounding to avoid being seen by predators or prey
Migration, Many leave during the winter to lower drier elevations or travel thousands of miles
away, birds are an good example of this event
Hibernation, Due to food shortages during the winter and the cold temperature, many species
hide away and sleep, they eat tons before to ensure they don’t starve during the winter, ex.
Raccoons, woodchucks, bears, skunks
Insulation, Animals grow thick fur and coats because of the high rainfall to protect them from
moisture but also to prepare for winter
Banana Slug, The slug adapted to the wet environment and maintained a slimy texture which it
needs in order to live. The slug produces body slime to maintain overall moisture and to also
keep away predators such as birds from picking it up easily, mucus also has bad taste. Mucus in
the foot of the slug helps it crawl up trees. Tall height to reach sunlight for photosynthesis.
Developed thick bark to withstand forest fires that happen often. Rapid growth cycle as well as
long lifespan helps the abundance of trees to help prevent a scarce population.
Black Bear, Adapted to biome because of thick fur to block out moisture from rain and cold
during winter. Bears avoided prey by learning how to climb trees which was their number one
defense. Black Bears for most part are vegetarian, temperate rainforest provide perfect food for
the bears. Large forest openings happen often because of natural forest fires , these fires clear the
area's leading a few trees standing but create a rich soil from which are after a few years erupts
dense greenery and a abundance of insect life (bears eat insects) known as succession.
Human Impacts, Trees get cut down for timber resulting in global warming. Certain areas of the
forest are also used to dig for oil and metals. Organism’s habitats are destroyed or they are either
killed by pollution. Monocultural plantations of introduced tree species have also replaced
temperate rainforests. Industrial exploitation of the lands and waters of the coastal temperate
rain forest has meant insecure livelihoods for thousands of residents.
How Can We Help?
- Several groups have bought certain areas of the forests to prevent industrial exploitation
- Groups persuade wood industries to cut down on logging
- Know where your wood is coming from, don’t buy wood coming from endangered trees or
forests.
Temperature
Temperate rainforests have a comfortable and mild temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius
and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
-The temperature and the precipitation of the temperate rainforest allows more animals and
plants to grow. Creating more biodiversity, more species of animals and plants
-The temperature of this biome is set like this because the coastal mountain ranges trap moist air
as it rises from the pacific ocean
-The lower temperatures in a temperate rainforest can be experienced during wet seasons, lower
temperatures can reach freezing point
-Higher temperatures can be experienced during dry seasons where it can reach up to the 20’s
and 30’s in degrees Celsius.
-Oceans create a moderating effect on the temperature and it keeps the temperature in a more
steady flow
-All this can create many species of life and of course provide many essentials for a species to
thrive
Soil
-Soils in any rainforest will guarantee to provide rich nutrients because of heavy decaying by
decomposers
-Organic matter in the soils include things such as dead animals and plants, dead insects or just
even leaves. It will then be consumed by bacteria, other insects, or mushrooms
-The high precipitation combined with the rich soil is a great place for enormous trees to grow
on. Trees like the coastal redwood thrives in this biome
-The surface is made up of leaves, twigs and just mosses and rocks
-The second layer is topsoil which contains humus and is the where the quality of the rich soil is
found
-Layers under that can be just minerals and clay
Lights
-Light and sunlight can be very limited within a temperate rainforest because of the heavy trees
and the clouds/ fog that can block most of the light
-Things like mushrooms and insects thrive on the amount of light that shines through the forest
-The top layer called the emergent layer receives the most light, which means less sunlight goes
through the forest canopy. Less sunlight reaches the forest floor
Unique Animals
-The rubber boa is a small boa that is very common within the boa family. It loves moist
environments and usually lives under a damp log as shelter. Feeds on small animals such as mice
or shrews
-A flying squirrel can be found as well. These creatures usually come out and scavenge only at
night. They can eat a variety of things such as mushrooms, fungi, lichens, or insects. The
population of this species is not endangered but just unique.
-Pumas can also be found in this biome but are rare to see because of its limited numbers.
Pumas/cougars/mountain lions belong to the larger animals in a temperate rainforest and can
hunt and eat many animals. They are always the predator and can belong to the higher trophic
levels
Unique plants
-Temperate rainforests contain the worlds tallest tree, the coastal redwood. It is enormous in size
and can even reach to 375 feet tall! It takes up most of the space in the biome and the trees are
usually these redwoods.
- The stinging nettle is a special plant that is known for its sharp points that grow out of the
leaves. It can actually be eaten raw or cooked because it’s a good source of iron, vitamin B, and
protein.
- Another type of plant is called a fireweed, it can be found in forest openings where there’s
sunlight. Plus it can easily be found in burnt or leveled areas as well. The stalk can be made in the
fibers that make good ropes/ cordage, and the seed fluff can be used to stuff jackets. The name
comes from the flammable fluff that it has. Making it a good way to start a fire.
Endangered Species
-Mountain caribous are one of the most endangered species in where we live today.
-They are endangered mainly because of lose of habitat due to our human activities. Mainly
because of human settlement
-This is a big problem because 98% of the worlds 2500 mountain caribous live in British
Columbia. There used to be around 10,000 caribous, now populations are only around 2000
-We can help in this situation right now by capturing them so we can protect them and allow the
population to grow again under the monitoring of humans. Since hunters used to hunt caribous
all the time, there is no more hunting season for mountain caribous. Any act of hunting them
should be, and will be illegal. There should also be more parks or no-logging zones to maintain a
healthy environment.
Climate for Temperate rainforest
-The element of the temperate rainforest is mainly precipitation.
- The range goes from 200 (least) to 350 (in some of the warm areas)
- The temperature is normally above 0 degree because of the ocean near by.
- In some of the warmest parts of the temperate rainforest it goes up to an annual temperature of
20 degree.
- Temperate rainforest is relatively warm.
In terms of area for the temperate rainforest it is a really small biome compared to all the other
biomes. There are only 3 parts of temperate rainforest on earth. The main one is from
northwestern coast of North America ( California all the way to southern Alaska) and Chile, New
Zealand.
-The Temperate Rainforest is mainly covered by the Big coniferous trees.
- There are also a number of deciduous trees found in some of the warmer spots of the rainforest.
( Big-Leaf Maple)
-Mosses and lichens are common in this area.