Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
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Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 30 to 61 m (100 to 200 ft) high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) shorter than the canopy. The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy composed of smaller mature trees, saplings, and suppressed juvenile canopy layer trees awaiting an opening in the canopy. Below the sub-canopy is the shrub layer, composed of low growing woody plants. Typically the lowest growing (and most diverse) layer is the ground cover or herbaceous layer.
Contents
Trees
In the Northern hemisphere, characteristic dominant broadleaf trees in this biome include oaks (Quercus spp.), beeches (Fagus spp.), maples (Acer spp.), and birches (Betula spp.).[1] The term "mixed forest" comes from the inclusion of coniferous trees as a canopy component of these forests. Typical coniferous trees include: Pines (Pinus spp.), firs (Abies spp.), and spruces (Picea spp.). In some areas of this biome the conifers may be a more important canopy species than the broadleaf species. In the Southern hemisphere, endemic genera such as Nothofagus and Eucalyptus occupy this biome.
Climate
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests occur in areas with distinct warm and cool season, which give it a moderate annual average temperature—3 to 15.6 °C (37 to 60 °F). These forests occur in relatively warm and rainy climates, sometimes also with a distinct dry season. A dry season occurs in the winter in East Asia and in summer on the wet fringe of the Mediterranean climate zones. Other areas have a fairly even distribution of rainfall; annual rainfall is typically over 600 mm (24 in) and often over 1,500 mm (59 in). Temperatures are typically moderate except in parts of Asia such as Ussuriland where temperate forests can occur despite very harsh conditions with very cold winters.
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions
Australasia
|
Australasia Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
|
|
|---|---|
| Chatham Islands temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Eastern Australian temperate forests | Australia |
| Fiordland temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Nelson Coast temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Northland temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Northland temperate kauri forests | New Zealand |
| Stewart Island / Rakiura temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Richmond temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Southeast Australia temperate forests | Australia |
| Southland temperate forests | New Zealand |
| Tasmanian Central Highland forests | Australia |
| Tasmanian temperate forests | Australia |
| Tasmanian temperate rain forests | Australia |
| Westland temperate forests | New Zealand |
Eurasia
| Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests | Bhutan, India, Nepal |
| Northern Triangle temperate forests | Myanmar |
| Western Himalayan broadleaf forests | India, Nepal, Pakistan |
Americas
| Allegheny Highlands forests | United States |
| Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests | United States |
| Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests | United States |
| California mixed evergreen forest | United States |
| Central U.S. hardwood forests | United States |
| East Central Texas forests | United States |
| Eastern forest-boreal transition | Canada, United States |
| Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests | Canada, United States |
| Florida tropical savannas | United States |
| Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests | Canada |
| Lac Saint-Jean and Saguenay valley forests | Canada |
| Mississippi lowland forests | United States |
| New England-Acadian forests | Canada, United States |
| Northeastern coastal forests | United States |
| Ozark Mountain forests | United States |
| Southeastern mixed forests | United States |
| Southeastern subtropical evergreen forests | United States |
| Southern Great Lakes forests | United States |
| Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition | United States |
| Western Great Lakes forests | Canada, United States |
| Willamette Valley forests | United States |
| Juan Fernandez Islands temperate forests | Chile |
| Magellanic subpolar forests | Argentina, Chile |
| San Felix-San Ambrosio Islands temperate forests (Desventuradas Islands) | Chile |
| Valdivian temperate rain forests | Argentina, Chile |
See also
References
External links
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