TEMPERATE FORESTS

Characteristics

Temperate forests correspond to forest concentration formed in the northern and southern hemisphere, or in temperate regions. It is the same as a tropical forest except for the climate and some of the animal adaptations. Main characteristics include: wide leaves, large and tall trees, large wild canopy and non seasonal vegetation. Temperate forests can be further distinguished by weather patterns and geographical features that favor the predominance of certain kinds of trees. In temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, a more even distribution exists between evergreen trees and deciduous trees. Temperate deciduous forests, a subgroup of temperate broadleaf forests, consist of trees that lose their leaves every year. Finally, temperate rainforests typically have heavy rainfall and dense humidity. But in some temperate forests there are just trees with needles and do not shed their leaves during the winter, so the climate is a little different and not as cold. They are also known as montane forests.

Negative Impacts

Humans have done serious deforestation to all forests. But the biome has been hit the hardest from the lumber industry, as thousands of square miles of rainforest are clear-cut. The main reason for this is because of the sheer size of the trees that grow in the Temperate Rainforest. The primeval forests of the pacific Northwest alone hold the 5 tallest trees in the world; and most of them are endangered because of over-logging. Other causes for deforestation are Urbanization and artificial forest fires.

                                                                                                            

Positive Impacts

Some people have gone at lengths to stop logging of the now-endangered trees and hunting of animals in the temperate rainforest. British Columbia has made quite a few species of tree illegal to export and poach, such as the Northern Spotted Owl, and Mountain Caribou. But alas, the government has a long way to go, as but five percent of the endangered species are protected.