Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest in Yunnan, southwest China.

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial biome, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.

The term 'Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest' is used by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in global biogeography as one of the biome designations under which to organize ecoregions.[1]

Ecology

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.

Trees

In the Northern hemisphere, characteristic dominant broadleaf trees in this biome include oaks (Quercus spp.), beeches (Fagus spp.), maples (Acer spp.), or birches (Betula spp.).[2] The term "mixed forest" comes from the inclusion of coniferous trees as a canopy component of some 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, as in the Eastern United States and Southeastern Canada, 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

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
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

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