Deciduous Forests
What is a Deciduous Forest?
Deciduous Forests are forests found throughout the world, notably in eastern North America, Europe and Japan. Deciduous Forests also has four distinct seasons, summer, spring, winter and autumn.
Picture courtesy of: http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/images/deciduous/deciduous_500.jpg
Animals in the Deciduous Forest
The animals of the Deciduous Forest adapted to the cold winters by hibernation.
Some animals use the trees in the forest as shelter. Some animals have evolved to look somewhat like the ground o avoid predators. Some well known animals in the Deciduous
forests are the Bald Eagle, Chipmunk, Deer and Weasel.
Picture Courtesy of: http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&enlarge=0000+0000+0708+0112
Plants in the Deciduous Forests
Plants in the Deciduous forests are grouped into five different zones, the first zone is the Tree Stratum zone. The Tree Stratum zone contains large plants like oak, beech and maple trees.The second zone has young and short trees. The third zone has shrubs such as rhododendrons, azaleas and huckleberries. The Herb zone is the fourth zone. It contains short plants. The final zone is the Ground zone containing lichen and club mosses. Each one of these plant zones is characterized by the size of the plants and the amount of sunlight required for the plants to survive.
Picture Courtesy of: http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/picts/biome35.jpg
The Threats to the Deciduous Forests
Housing developments in the Deciduous forests and over-hunting are major threats to the Deciduous Forests. The excessive practice of logging is destroying the Deciduous Forests.
In Ohio, what used to be 95% forest now is only 15% forest. Logging also damages the water in the forests by loosening soil that enters the water flow, hurting fish.
What is so Special About Deciduous Forests
The lush and beautiful Deciduous Forests are in great danger of loss to human interaction. This can not occur because of the beautiful animals in the forests and the incredible wonder of the four special seasons, each bringing its unique beauty to the forests.