1. Covers 30% of the Earth Contains 75 % of Earth’s Biomass
Chapter 9 Forest Biomes
Covers 30% of the Earth
Contains 75 % of Earth’s Biomass

2. 9.1 Coniferous Forest
Limited to the Northern Hemisphere (far from the equator)
High latitudes (closer to the Arctic)
Summers are warm and last 2-5 months
Winters are long and very cold
cm of precipitation (as rain and snow) per year

3. 9.1 Coniferous Forest Coniferous means “cone bearing”
Conifers (coniferous trees) producer seeds in cones
Leaves have adapted to conserve water by producing long-thin with a thick waxy coat called needles

4. 9.1 Coniferous Forest
Tree is also a cone- shaped - the needles allow heavy snow to fall through the branches
Conifers are “evergreen” they do not loose all their leaves in winter but keep them all year round

5. 9.1 Coniferous Forest
Examples of conifers: Hemlock, Spruce, Cedar, Pine
Forests are not diverse – usually only one or two types of pine.
Soil is poor and very acidic
Scotch Pine
Eastern Cedar
Blue Spruce
Hemlock

6. 9.1 Coniferous Forest
Plants: Ferns, Lichens and Sphagnum moss grown on forest floor
Animals: Large herbivores – moose, elk
Small herbivores – beaver, snowshoe hare, squirrel, mouse, blue jay
Carnivores – grizzly bear, wolves, fox, weasel, lynx, owl, eagle

7. 9.2 Deciduous Forest Deciduous tree sheds its leaves during the winter
Temperature ranges from 30oC in summer to -30oC in winter
Precipitation 50 – 300 cm (rain/snow) per year
Forests found in the temperate zones – mostly Europe and North America
Maple tree

8. 9.2 Deciduous Forest Growing season is 6 months long
Sunlight is used by chlorophyll in the leaves to make food
Autumn has shorter days – chlorophyll fades –other pigments show through
All pigments fade, leaves dry up and fall off tree

9. 9.2 Deciduous Forest Deciduous forest has 4 layers: Canopy – top layer
Understory – third layer
Shrubs – second layer
Floor – bottom
Lots of biodiversity so lots of organic matter in the soil (humus-Ch 8)

10. 9.2 Deciduous Forest Food web has many organisms:
Decomposers (fungi and bacteria)
Insects (bees, flies) and invertebrates (worms)
Herbivores (deer, rabbits, mice)
Carnivores (mountain lions, wolves, eagles, owls)

11. 9.2 Deciduous Forest
Human activity has shrunk the vast area that was the temperate deciduous forest.
Two reasons: rich soil for farming and the trees for wood, fuel and paper
Replanting trees does not restore the forest ecosystem

12. 9.3 Rain Forest Tropical zone is located at or near the equator.
Direct rays from the sun keep temperatures warm 25oC or higher
Growing season is 12 months
Precipitation cm of rain a year

13. 9.3 Rain Forest Dense canopy of evergreen broadleaf trees
Contains 70-90% of all species on Earth
Only 6% on the Earth’s surface
40% of the Earth’s biomass
Most biodiverse biome

14. 9.3 Rainforest Several levels:
Emergent trees- top layer, 99% sunlight (50-60 m)
Upper canopy – next layer – less than 1% filtered sunlight
Lower canopy – third layer, less than 1% filtered sunlight
Understory – fourth layer, dense shade
Forest floor – little or no sunlight

15. 9.3 Rainforest
Top soil is thin – 99% of available nutrients in only 5 cm of top layer soil
Tree roots are shallow and trees develop extra roots - Buttresses - to support the immense height
Dead organic matter decomposes and is recycled quickly

16. 9.3 Rainforest Most activity takes place in the canopy layer
Many rainforest organisms never touch the ground
Vast diversity of plant life leads to vast diversity of animals
Habitats vary from tree to tree and level to level
Complex food webs with many species interactions

17. 9.3 Rainforest Greatest biodiveristy for plants, animals and insects
Many species haven’t even been discovered yet
Fungus beetle, toucans and howler monkeys spend their time in the upper canopy
Blue bird-of-paradise travels from the lower canopy to the forest floor
Margay cat hunts understory and forest floor
Tapir lives on the forest floor

18. 9.3 Rainforest Deforestation