Types of Temperate Forests

Since the Temperate Forests cover a vast area at different latitudes, there are different kinds of trees that prevail different areas. In general, the canopy has the characteristic of being moderately dense allowing the light to penetrate giving rise to high understory flora biodiversity and stratifying the animals (UCMP). The main categories are coniferous, mixed broadleaved/ coniferous forests and broadleaved forests. Within these categories there are different types of forest depending on the soil, temperature and rainfall.

For example deciduous forests-the ones that have the more profound changes with seasonality- have broadleaved trees with large, thin leaves allowing maximum absorption of light. In the colder areas winter, they shed their leaves. Deciduous trees include oak, chestnut, maple and elm. Most of the natural forests in the northern hemisphere are now farmland, the ones that have survived are located along the west coast of USA, and Canada (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Deciduous Forest, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska (SkolaiImages)



The great Douglas fir and hemlock are considered to be Temperate Rainforests since they receive> 2000 mm/year of rain. They are located in the British Colombia in Canada, Northwest USA in addition to Chile. These forests are dominated by conifers.

The forests that are close to my heart are the Mediterranean Forests which include pines and small oaks and cork-oak. This type of vegetation can accommodate longer hot summers of southern Europe. They are sometimes pervcieved as not 'true forests'  since they are scrublands that do not grow to thick to become a forest (WWF).

The wildlife in Temperate Forests is adapted against predation and therefore can be hard to see. With the different colours and markings they are camouflaged where as others are nocturnal. Most of the species of animals that we can easily recognize have Temperate Forests as their home. For example the small marsupials, in addition to koalas, kookaburras and many others depend on the Australian forests for survival. In North America these forest host the very familiar to us bears, deer, rabbits in addition to a vast number of other animals and birds. China’s temperate forests protect endangered species such as the giant pandas and my personal favorite red pandas (Figure 2)(GLOBIO)

Figure 2:Endangered Red Panda (NatGeo)

Temperate Forests have helped human populations in many ways but in my opinion they are underestimated due their availability to the developed world. In the following posts I will be discussing the changes Temperate Forest have undergone in addition to the ecosystem services they provide.